NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9205A
SPONSOR: Buttenschon TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to expanding eligibility
under the veterans tuition awards program
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Relates to expanding eligibility under the veteran's tuition awards
program
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one amends paragraph D of subdivision one of section 669-a of
the education law. Section two amends paragraph A of subdivision two of
section 669-a of the education law.
Section three amends subdivision four of section 669-a of the education
law. Section four establishes effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
The state of New York is home to-nearly 800,000 military veterans, all
of whom are deserving of an opportunity to achieve a high-quality higher
education in our state. Currently, the veteran's tuition awards program
is limited only to those veterans who served in active combat roles,
therefore, alienating countless servicemen and women from accessing this
vital program. This act aims to correct this eligibility disparity and
to further deliver much needed access for New York's veterans to fulfill
their educational ambitions.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be Determined
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9205--A
IN ASSEMBLY
February 16, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BUTTENSCHON -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Higher Education -- committee discharged, bill amended,
ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to expanding eligibility
under the veterans tuition awards program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph d of subdivision 1 of section 669-a of the educa-
2 tion law, as amended by section 46 of part PP of chapter 56 of the laws
3 of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
4 d. "Other eligible [combat] veteran" means: an individual who (i) is a
5 resident of this state, (ii) served in the armed forces of the United
6 States [in hostilities that occurred after February twenty-eighth, nine-
7 teen hundred sixty-one, as evidenced by their receipt of an Armed Forces
8 Expeditionary Medal, Navy Expeditionary Medal, or Marine Corps Expedi-
9 tionary Medal], and (iii) was either discharged under honorable condi-
10 tions, including but not limited to honorable discharge, discharge under
11 honorable conditions, or general discharge, or has a qualifying condi-
12 tion, as defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and has
13 received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such
14 service, or is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section one of
15 the veterans' services law, and has received a discharge other than bad
16 conduct or dishonorable from such service.
17 § 2. Paragraph a of subdivision 2 of section 669-a of the education
18 law, as amended by section 3 of part N of chapter 57 of the laws of
19 2008, is amended to read as follows:
20 a. Tuition awards are available for all [Vietnam, Persian Gulf,
21 Afghanistan and] other eligible [combat] veterans, as defined in subdi-
22 vision one of this section, who are enrolled, pursuant to paragraph a of
23 subdivision four of section six hundred sixty-one of this part, in
24 approved undergraduate or graduate programs at degree granting insti-
25 tutions or enrolled in approved vocational training programs and who
26 apply for a tuition assistance program award, for up to the equivalent
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD13592-02-4
A. 9205--A 2
1 of eight full-time semesters, pursuant to section six hundred sixty-sev-
2 en of this subpart.
3 § 3. Subdivision 4 of section 669-a of the education law, as amended
4 by section 4 of part N of chapter 57 of the laws of 2008, is amended to
5 read as follows:
6 4. Every recipient shall receive an award equal to the amount of
7 undergraduate or graduate tuition for residents of New York state
8 charged by the state university of New York or actual tuition charged,
9 whichever is less, for each semester, or the equivalent, of full time
10 study, or a pro-rated amount for part-time study; provided, however,
11 that such award shall not be reduced by any benefits available under the
12 federal Montgomery GI Bill act of 1984 or the federal Pell grant program
13 pursuant to section one thousand seventy-a of title twenty of the United
14 States code.
15 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
