- Summary
- Actions
- Committee Votes
- Floor Votes
- Memo
- Text
- LFIN
- Chamber Video/Transcript
A04272 Summary:
BILL NO | A04272 |
  | |
SAME AS | SAME AS S03656 |
  | |
SPONSOR | Norris |
  | |
COSPNSR | Miller B, Tague, Jensen, Brabenec, Morinello, Woerner |
  | |
MLTSPNSR | |
  | |
Add §669-i, Ed L | |
  | |
Creates a volunteer firefighter scholarship program; rewards volunteer firefighters who respond to twenty-five percent of emergency calls for eight years with a student loan award equal to four times the SUNY tuition rate; makes an appropriation therefor. |
A04272 Actions:
BILL NO | A04272 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
02/01/2021 | referred to higher education | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
01/05/2022 | referred to higher education | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
04/27/2022 | motion to discharge lost | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
06/01/2022 | enacting clause stricken |
A04272 Committee Votes:
Go to topA04272 Floor Votes:
No
Abbate
No
Clark
Yes
Friend
No
Kelles
No
Otis
Yes
Simpson
No
Abinanti
No
Colton
No
Frontus
ER
Kim
Yes
Palmesano
Yes
Smith
No
Anderson
Yes
Conrad
No
Galef
Yes
Lalor
No
Paulin
Yes
Smullen
Yes
Angelino
No
Cook
No
Gallagher
No
Lavine
No
Peoples-Stokes
No
Solages
Yes
Ashby
No
Cruz
Yes
Gallahan
Yes
Lawler
Yes
Pheffer Amato
No
Steck
No
Aubry
No
Cunningham
Yes
Gandolfo
Yes
Lemondes
No
Pretlow
Yes
Stern
Yes
Barclay
Yes
Cusick
No
Gibbs
No
Lucas
No
Quart
No
Stirpe
No
Barnwell
No
Cymbrowitz
Yes
Giglio JA
No
Lunsford
Yes
Ra
Yes
Tague
Yes
Barrett
No
Darling
Yes
Giglio JM
No
Lupardo
No
Rajkumar
Yes
Tannousis
No
Benedetto
No
Davila
No
Glick
No
Magnarelli
No
Ramos
No
Tapia
No
Bichotte Hermel
No
De Los Santos
No
Gonzalez-Rojas
No
Mamdani
Yes
Reilly
No
Taylor
Yes
Blankenbush
Yes
DeStefano
Yes
Goodell
Yes
Manktelow
No
Reyes
No
Thiele
Yes
Brabenec
No
Dickens
No
Gottfried
No
McDonald
No
Rivera J
No
Vanel
No
Braunstein
ER
Dilan
Yes
Griffin
Yes
McDonough
No
Rivera JD
Yes
Walczyk
No
Bronson
No
Dinowitz
ER
Gunther
No
McMahon
No
Rosenthal D
No
Walker
Yes
Brown E
Yes
DiPietro
Yes
Hawley
No
Meeks
No
Rosenthal L
Yes
Wallace
Yes
Brown K
Yes
Durso
ER
Hevesi
Yes
Mikulin
No
Rozic
Yes
Walsh
No
Burdick
No
Eichenstein
No
Hunter
Yes
Miller
Yes
Salka
No
Weinstein
No
Burgos
No
Englebright
No
Hyndman
No
Mitaynes
Yes
Santabarbara
No
Weprin
No
Burke
No
Epstein
No
Jackson
Yes
Montesano
No
Sayegh
No
Williams
Yes
Buttenschon
No
Fahy
No
Jacobson
Yes
Morinello
Yes
Schmitt
Yes
Woerner
Yes
Byrne
No
Fall
No
Jean-Pierre
No
Niou
No
Seawright
No
Zebrowski
Yes
Byrnes
No
Fernandez
Yes
Jensen
ER
Nolan
No
Septimo
No
Zinerman
No
Cahill
Yes
Fitzpatrick
Yes
Jones
Yes
Norris
Yes
Sillitti
No
Mr. Speaker
No
Carroll
No
Forrest
No
Joyner
No
O'Donnell
No
Simon
‡ Indicates voting via videoconference
A04272 Text:
Go to top STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4272 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 1, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. NORRIS -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to creating a volunteer firefighter scholarship program; and making an appropriation relating therefor The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 669-i 2 to read as follows: 3 § 669-i. Volunteer firefighter scholarship program. 1. Eligibility. 4 (a) A volunteer firefighter scholarship award shall be made to an appli- 5 cant who: 6 (i) serves as an active volunteer firefighter as defined in subdivi- 7 sion one of section two hundred fifteen of the general municipal law who 8 has attended twenty-five percent of emergency calls for each year; and 9 (ii) complies with the applicable provisions of this article and all 10 requirements promulgated by the office of higher education, hereinafter 11 referred to as the "office", for the administration of the program. 12 (b) Student loans eligible for this program are: 13 (i) student loans accrued while attending a private or public institu- 14 tion of higher education within New York state from which the recipient 15 received credits which were used to acquire a bachelor's degree at an 16 approved program; or 17 (ii) student loans accrued while attending an accredited trade school 18 or vocational program within New York state from which the recipient 19 received a certificate or license. 20 2. Amount. Within amounts appropriated therefor and based on avail- 21 ability of funds, awards shall be granted to applicants that the office 22 has determined are eligible to receive such awards. The office shall 23 grant such awards in an amount up to four times the current tuition rate 24 at a state university of New York college. Upon notification of an award EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01765-01-1A. 4272 2 1 under this program, the office shall pay the interest on the recipient's 2 student loans for eight years and, upon the completion of the program's 3 requirements, any remaining student loan interest and principal up to 4 four times the current tuition rate at a state university of New York 5 college. If the amount of the recipient's remaining student loan inter- 6 est and principal is less than four times the current tuition rate at a 7 state university of New York college at the end of the program, an 8 amount equal to the difference between (a) four times the current 9 tuition rate at a state university of New York college or the initial 10 principal on the recipient's student loans, whichever is less, and (b) 11 the amount of principal and interest paid at the end of the program 12 shall be issued to the recipient. In the event that a recipient fails to 13 maintain eligibility in the program, no further payments shall be made 14 until the recipient again becomes eligible for the program. 15 3. Conditions. (a) A recipient shall agree to reside exclusively in 16 New York state and shall not be employed in any other state, for eight 17 years. 18 (b) A recipient shall be an active volunteer firefighter as defined in 19 subdivision one of section two hundred fifteen of the general municipal 20 law who has attended twenty-five percent of emergency calls for each 21 year, for eight years. The recipient shall annually submit to the office 22 an affidavit signed by his or her chief or company director verifying 23 the recipient's participation in emergency calls is at or above twenty- 24 five percent for the prior year. 25 4. Contract. (a) A recipient shall sign a contract with the office to 26 have his or her full award converted to a student loan according to a 27 schedule to be determined by the office if such recipient fails to 28 fulfill the requirements set out in subdivision three of this section 29 unless such requirement is waived by the commissioner. The terms and 30 conditions of the contract shall be established by the rules and regu- 31 lations by the office. A waiver issued by the commissioner shall only be 32 for up to one year of requirements and must be renewed by the commission 33 to waive requirements for additional years. Any obligation to comply 34 with such provisions as outlined in this paragraph shall be cancelled 35 upon the death of the recipient. 36 (b) The commissioner may, in extreme circumstances including, but not 37 limited to, temporary or permanent disability, illness and family emer- 38 gency resulting in relocation or extended family leave, waive an amount 39 of the award converted into a student loan equal to the amount of the 40 award multiplied by the years the recipient fulfilled his or her 41 requirements under subdivision three of this section divided by eight. 42 (c) Notwithstanding any provisions of this paragraph to the contrary, 43 the office is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to provide 44 for the waiver or suspension of any financial obligation which would 45 involve extreme hardship. 46 5. Recipient selection. The office shall establish: (a) an application 47 deadline of within two years of completing a qualifying course of study; 48 (b) a method of selecting recipients if in any given year there are 49 insufficient funds to cover the needs of all the applicants provided 50 that priority shall be given to eligible applicants; and (c) a method of 51 recording how much each recipient owes in student loans at any time, how 52 much each recipient had taken out in principal in student loans and how 53 much has been paid on each recipient's student loans by the program. 54 6. Rules and regulations. The office is authorized to promulgate rules 55 and regulations, and may promulgate emergency regulations, necessary for 56 the implementation of the provisions of this section including, but notA. 4272 3 1 limited to, the criteria for distributing the awards, which may include 2 a lottery or other form of random selection. 3 § 2. The sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000), or so much thereof 4 as may be necessary, is hereby annually appropriated out of moneys in 5 the state treasury in the general fund to the credit of the state 6 purposes account, not otherwise appropriated, and made immediately 7 available to the office of higher education of the department of educa- 8 tion for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this act. Such 9 moneys shall be payable on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on 10 vouchers certified or approved in the manner prescribed by law. 11 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after 12 it shall have become a law.