STATE OF NEW YORK
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4942
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
March 3, 2017
___________
Introduced by Sen. DIAZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
AN ACT to amend the state finance law, the tax law, the abandoned prop-
erty law and the civil practice law and rules, in relation to estab-
lishing the New York state seniors trust fund and directing certain
moneys to be deposited into such fund
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section
2 98-d to read as follows:
3 § 98-d. New York state seniors trust fund. 1. There is hereby estab-
4 lished in the joint custody of the state comptroller and the commission-
5 er of taxation and finance a fund to be known as the New York state
6 seniors trust fund.
7 2. Such fund shall consist of all moneys appropriated for the purpose
8 of such fund and all moneys transferred to such fund pursuant to section
9 six hundred twenty-nine-b of the tax law.
10 3. Moneys of such fund shall be available for appropriation and allo-
11 cation only upon approval of the director of the New York state office
12 for the aging, for all costs associated with the funding of the home
13 delivered meals program administered by the New York state office for
14 the aging.
15 4. The moneys of the fund shall be paid out on the audit and warrant
16 of the comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the director of
17 the New York state office for the aging or his or her duly designated
18 representative.
19 § 2. The tax law is amended by adding a new section 629-b to read as
20 follows:
21 § 629-b. Gift for New York state seniors trust fund. Effective for any
22 tax year commencing on or after January first, two thousand nineteen, an
23 individual in any taxable year may elect to contribute to the New York
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07176-01-7
S. 4942 2
1 state seniors trust fund for the cost associated with the funding of the
2 home delivered meals program administered by the New York state office
3 for the aging. The contribution shall be one dollar and shall not reduce
4 the amount of state tax owed by such individual. The commissioner shall
5 include space on the personal income tax return to enable a taxpayer to
6 make such contribution. Notwithstanding any other provision of law all
7 revenues collected pursuant to this section shall be credited to the New
8 York state seniors trust fund and used only for those purposes enumer-
9 ated in section ninety-eight-d of the state finance law.
10 § 3. Subdivision 4 of section 1315 of the abandoned property law, as
11 amended by section 19 of part U of chapter 61 of the laws of 2011, is
12 amended to read as follows:
13 4. Any amount representing an unpaid check or draft issued by the
14 state of New York which shall have remained unpaid after one year from
15 the date of issuance or a debit card issued on behalf of the state of
16 New York for the purpose of paying a tax refund which shall not have
17 been activated for one year from the date of issuance in accordance with
18 section one hundred two of the state finance law shall be deemed aban-
19 doned property and shall be paid to the state comptroller, provided,
20 however, any amount deemed to be abandoned property pursuant to this
21 subdivision, which had been issued to a person sixty-five years of age
22 or older, shall be deposited into the New York state seniors trust fund
23 established pursuant to section ninety-eight-d of the state finance law.
24 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 300 of the abandoned property law is
25 amended by adding a new paragraph (a-1) to read as follows:
26 (a-1) Any amounts determined to be abandoned property pursuant to
27 paragraph (a) of this subdivision, which were entitled to a person
28 sixty-five years of age or older, shall be deposited into the New York
29 state seniors trust fund established pursuant to section ninety-eight-d
30 of the state finance law.
31 § 5. Subdivision (c) of section 904 of the civil practice law and
32 rules, as added by chapter 207 of the laws of 1975, is amended to read
33 as follows:
34 (c) The content of the notice shall be subject to court approval,
35 provided, however, that in action seeking a monetary judgment, such
36 notice shall include a space to enable the member of the class to
37 contribute the portion of the monetary judgment to which they are enti-
38 tled to the New York state seniors trust fund. In determining the method
39 by which notice is to be given, the court shall consider
40 I. the cost of giving notice by each method considered
41 II. the resources of the parties and
42 III. the stake of each represented member of the class, and the like-
43 lihood that significant numbers of represented members would desire to
44 exclude themselves from the class or to appear individually, which may
45 be determined, in the court's discretion, by sending notice to a random
46 sample of the class.
47 § 6. The civil practice law and rules is amended by adding a new
48 section 905-a to read as follows:
49 § 905-a. Contributions to the New York state seniors trust fund.
50 Where a monetary judgment has been awarded to a class, and a member or
51 members of such class chooses to contribute the portion of the judgment
52 to which they are entitled to the New York state seniors trust fund
53 pursuant to subdivision (c) of section nine hundred four of this arti-
54 cle, all such monies shall be deposited into the New York state seniors
55 trust fund established in section ninety-eight-d of the state finance
56 law.
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1 § 7. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
2 have become a law.
