Establishes the hire a vet grant program; provides grants to municipalities where a veteran is hired and employed, for not less than twelve continuous and uninterrupted months in a full-time or part-time position.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A2285
SPONSOR: Stirpe TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the veterans' services law, in relation to establishing
the hire a vet grant program; and providing for the repeal of such
provisions upon expiration thereof
PURPOSE:
To encourage public employers to hire veterans.
SUMMARY OF BILL:
Section 1 allows for a municipal hire a veteran tax credit. Specif-
ically, this is for 15% not to exceed $15,000 for a veteran who works
full time or 20% or $20,000 for a disabled veteran working full time.
This section also creates a $7,500 benefit for part time veterans, and
$10,000 for part time disabled veterans.
Section 2: Sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York has long recognized the sacrifices made by veterans in the
service of their country. This recognition takes many forms, including
extra recognition on civil service exams and pension provisions. To
expand upon that recognition, New York State should provide additional
incentives to municipalities to hire veterans by replicating the hire a
vet tax credit that encourages private businesses to hire vets. This can
and should be accomplished by fashioning the grants to be similar to
those tax credits private businesses receive.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22: A.8465-B/S.142-C - Referred to Veteran Affairs
2019-20: A.5167/S.7036 - Referred to Veteran Affairs
2017-18: A.4325-B/S.3879-B - Reported to Ways & Means/Passed Senate
2015-16: A.9409-B/S.6462-B - Referred to Veteran Affairs/Passed Senate
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same manner as
section 2 of part PP of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, takes effect;
and shall expire and be deemed repealed January 1, 2027.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
2285
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 25, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. STIRPE -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Veterans' Affairs
AN ACT to amend the veterans' services law, in relation to establishing
the hire a vet grant program; and providing for the repeal of such
provisions upon expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The veterans' services law is amended by adding a new
2 section 36 to read as follows:
3 § 36. Hire a vet grant. 1. Allowance of grant. A municipality shall be
4 allowed a grant equivalent to the credit provided to eligible taxpayers
5 in the "hire a vet credit" as established in subdivision twenty-nine of
6 section two hundred ten-B of the tax law, where such municipality hires
7 and employs, for not less than twelve continuous and uninterrupted
8 months (hereinafter referred to as the "twelve-month period") in a full-
9 time or part-time position, a qualified veteran within the state. The
10 municipality may claim the grant in the year in which the qualified
11 veteran completes the twelve-month period of employment with the munici-
12 pality.
13 2. Qualified veteran. A qualified veteran is an individual:
14 (a) who served on active duty in the United States army, navy, air
15 force, space force, marine corps, coast guard or the reserves thereof,
16 or who served in active military service of the United States as a
17 member of the army national guard, air national guard, New York guard or
18 New York naval militia, or who served in the active uniformed services
19 of the United States as a member of the commissioned corps of the
20 national oceanic and atmospheric administration or the commissioned
21 corps of the United States public health service; who (i) was released
22 from active duty by general or honorable discharge; or (ii) has a quali-
23 fying condition, as defined in section one of this chapter, and has
24 received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03822-01-3
A. 2285 2
1 service; or (iii) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section
2 one of this chapter, and has received a discharge other than bad conduct
3 or dishonorable from such service;
4 (b) who commences employment with the municipality on or after January
5 first, two thousand twenty-four, and before January first, two thousand
6 twenty-six; and
7 (c) who certifies by signed affidavit, under penalty of perjury, that
8 he or she has not been employed for thirty-five or more hours during any
9 week in the one hundred eighty-day period immediately prior to his or
10 her employment by the municipality.
11 3. Prohibition. A municipality shall not discharge an employee and
12 hire a qualifying veteran solely for the purpose of qualifying for this
13 grant. This section shall not be deemed to amend, modify or supersede
14 any other law which prescribes the qualifications which a person must
15 have to be appointed to a position subject to the civil service law.
16 4. Amount of grant. (a) The amount of the grant shall be fifteen
17 percent of the total amount of wages paid to the qualified veteran
18 during the veteran's first twelve-month period of employment. Provided,
19 however, that, if the qualified veteran is a disabled veteran, as
20 defined in paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section eighty-five of
21 the civil service law, the amount of the grant shall be twenty percent
22 of the total amount of wages paid to the qualified veteran during the
23 veteran's first twelve-month period of employment.
24 (b) The grant allowed pursuant to this subdivision shall not exceed in
25 any year:
26 (i) fifteen thousand dollars for any qualified veteran, other than a
27 disabled veteran, employed in a full-time position for one thousand
28 eight hundred twenty or more hours in one twelve-month period;
29 (ii) twenty thousand dollars for any qualified veteran who is a disa-
30 bled veteran employed in a full-time position for one thousand eight
31 hundred twenty or more hours in one twelve-month period;
32 (iii) seven thousand five hundred dollars for any qualified veteran,
33 other than a disabled veteran, employed in a part-time position for at
34 least one thousand forty hours but not more than one thousand eight
35 hundred nineteen hours in one twelve-month period; and
36 (iv) ten thousand dollars for any qualified veteran who is a disabled
37 veteran employed in a part-time position for at least one thousand forty
38 hours but not more than one thousand eight hundred nineteen hours in one
39 twelve-month period.
40 5. Definition. For purposes of this section, "municipality" means any
41 county, city, town, village or school district.
42 § 2. This act shall take effect on the same date and in the same
43 manner as section 2 of part PP of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, takes
44 effect; and shall expire and be deemed repealed January 1, 2027.
