Bill Text: NY A00054 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Makes tuition free for New York state residents at SUNY and CUNY schools and community colleges; requires state residency and employment for a period of five years after completion of academic program.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 53-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to higher education [A00054 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-A00054-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 54 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 6, 2021 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GOTTFRIED, ABBATE, BENEDETTO, BRAUNSTEIN, COLTON, GUNTHER, KIM, PEOPLES-STOKES, PICHARDO, RODRIGUEZ, STECK, SANTABAR- BARA, RAMOS, FAHY, L. ROSENTHAL, SOLAGES, BARRETT, STIRPE, JEAN-PIERRE, ROZIC, BICHOTTE, BRONSON, BARRON, COOK, JOYNER, CAHILL, LAVINE, SIMON, HEVESI, ENGLEBRIGHT, DINOWITZ, DAVILA, AUBRY, PRETLOW, WALKER, ABINANTI, RICHARDSON, HYNDMAN, HUNTER, EPSTEIN, BUTTENSCHON, CYMBROWITZ, SEAWRIGHT, JACOBSON, ZEBROWSKI, MAGNARELLI -- Multi-Spon- sored by -- M. of A. CUSICK, LUPARDO, PAULIN, PERRY, J. RIVERA, THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to enacting "Tuition-Free NY" The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as "Tuition-Free 2 NY". 3 § 2. Paragraph h of subdivision 2 of section 355 of the education law 4 is amended by adding a new subparagraph 1-a to read as follows: 5 (1-a) The trustees shall implement a program to permit any student who 6 has been admitted to a state-operated institution of the state universi- 7 ty to attend without the payment of tuition and fees if such student 8 fulfills the requirements of such program pursuant to the provisions of 9 this subparagraph. The provisions of this subparagraph shall only apply 10 to costs of one undergraduate degree and any additional costs associated 11 with more than one simultaneous undergraduate degree shall not be 12 covered by this program. 13 (i) The trustees shall provide an application process and administer 14 the program according to the following criteria: 15 (A) Any student eligible for resident tuition rates is eligible for 16 this program. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00477-01-1A. 54 2 1 (B) A student shall be required to sign a contract agreeing to reside 2 in New York state for a period of five years subsequent to completion of 3 his or her academic program. 4 (C) Students shall be required to complete their degree program within 5 a minimum period of time to be set by the trustees which shall be no 6 less than three years and no more than five years. 7 (D) A student who benefited from the program outlined in this subpara- 8 graph shall be allowed to attend an out-of-state graduate school without 9 any penalty if such student pursues a graduate degree. Once such student 10 concludes his or her graduate school studies, such student shall return 11 to New York within one year for residency, per the program's require- 12 ments, or else the undergraduate benefit will turn into a student loan 13 pursuant to the provisions of clause (ii) of this subparagraph. 14 (E) A student who benefited from the program outlined in this subpara- 15 graph who is on active duty in the armed forces of the United States 16 shall not be penalized if such student maintains his or her legal resi- 17 dence in the state of New York, during such service. "Legal residence" 18 as used in this subclause shall mean the place where a member of the 19 military intends to return and live after discharge or retirement, and 20 which they consider their permanent home. Legal residency shall be 21 determined by what local and state tax laws a member of the military is 22 subject to, and in which state they may vote. 23 (ii) If a student or former student fails to fulfill any of the 24 requirements set forth in clause (i) of this subparagraph, the trustees 25 shall convert to a student loan the full amount of the tuition which 26 would have been paid by such student, as determined by the New York 27 state higher education services corporation, plus interest, according to 28 a schedule to be determined by such corporation. Such repayment may 29 also be required if a recipient fails to respond to requests for infor- 30 mation necessary to determine continued eligibility or for adminis- 31 tration of the program. The terms and conditions of this clause shall 32 be deferred for students who enroll on at least a half-time basis in an 33 approved undergraduate, graduate or higher degree program or other 34 professional licensure degree program until they are conferred a degree, 35 and shall also be deferred for any interruption in undergraduate study 36 as established by the rules and regulations of the corporation. The 37 terms and conditions of this clause may also be deferred for a grace 38 period, to be established by the corporation, following the completion 39 of an approved undergraduate program or a graduate or higher degree 40 program or other professional licensure degree program. Notwithstanding 41 any provisions of this clause to the contrary, the corporation is 42 authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to provide for the waiver 43 or suspension of any financial obligation which would involve extreme 44 hardship. 45 (iii) Any student who elects to participate in the program under this 46 subparagraph shall be required to apply for tuition assistance program 47 funding. Funds awarded on the tuition assistance program shall be 48 applied towards the cost of tuition prior to an award under this subpar- 49 agraph. 50 (iv) Students shall be responsible for all other costs including hous- 51 ing, fees and other non-tuition related charges. 52 (v) (A) This program shall not apply in academic years commencing on 53 or before the effective date of this subparagraph. (B) For the first two 54 years after the effective date of this subparagraph, this program shall 55 only apply to students attending community colleges as defined by subdi- 56 vision two of section sixty-three hundred one of this chapter. (C) InA. 54 3 1 all other years, this program shall apply to all students attending 2 SUNY, CUNY, and community colleges of the state. 3 § 3. Subdivision 7 of section 6206 of the education law is amended by 4 adding a new paragraph (f) to read as follows: 5 (f) The trustees shall implement a program to permit any student who 6 has been admitted to an institution operated by the city university to 7 attend without the payment of tuition and fees if such student fulfills 8 the requirements of such program pursuant to the provisions of this 9 paragraph. 10 (i) The trustees shall provide an application process and administer 11 the program according to the following criteria: 12 (A) Any student eligible for resident tuition rates is eligible for 13 this program. 14 (B) A student shall be required to sign a contract agreeing to reside 15 in New York state for a period of five years subsequent to completion of 16 his or her academic program. 17 (C) Students shall be required to complete their degree program within 18 a minimum period of time to be set by the trustees which shall be no 19 less than three years and no more than five years. 20 (D) A student who benefited from the program outlined in this para- 21 graph shall be allowed to attend an out-of-state graduate school without 22 any penalty if such student pursues a graduate degree. Once such student 23 concludes his or her graduate school studies, such student shall return 24 to New York within one year for residency per the program's require- 25 ments, or else the undergraduate benefit will turn into a student loan 26 pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph. 27 (E) A student who benefited from the program outlined in this para- 28 graph who is on active duty in the armed forces of the United States 29 shall not be penalized if such student maintains his or her legal resi- 30 dence in the state of New York, during such service. "Legal residence" 31 as used in this clause shall mean the place where a member of the mili- 32 tary intends to return and live after discharge or retirement, and which 33 they consider their permanent home. Legal residency shall be determined 34 by what local and state tax laws a member of the military is subject to, 35 and in which state they may vote. 36 (ii) If a student or former student fails to fulfill any of the 37 requirements set forth in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the trus- 38 tees shall convert to a student loan the full amount of the tuition 39 which would have been paid by such student, as determined by the New 40 York state higher education services corporation, plus interest, accord- 41 ing to a schedule to be determined by such corporation. Such repayment 42 may also be required if a recipient fails to respond to requests for 43 information necessary to determine continued eligibility or for adminis- 44 tration of the program. The terms and conditions of this clause shall 45 be deferred for students who enroll on at least a half-time basis in an 46 approved undergraduate, graduate or higher degree program or other 47 professional licensure degree program until they are conferred a degree, 48 and shall also be deferred for any interruption in undergraduate study 49 as established by the rules and regulations of the corporation. The 50 terms and conditions of this clause may also be deferred for a grace 51 period, to be established by the corporation, following the completion 52 of an approved undergraduate program or a graduate or higher degree 53 program or other professional licensure degree program. Notwithstanding 54 any provisions of this clause to the contrary, the corporation is 55 authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to provide for the waiverA. 54 4 1 or suspension of any financial obligation which would involve extreme 2 hardship. 3 (iii) Any student who elects to participate in the program under this 4 paragraph shall be required to apply for tuition assistance program 5 funding. Funds awarded on the tuition assistance program shall be 6 applied towards the cost of tuition prior to an award under this subpar- 7 agraph. 8 (iv) Students shall be responsible for all other costs including hous- 9 ing, fees and other non-tuition related charges. 10 (v) The provisions of this subdivision shall not be subject to taxa- 11 tion. 12 (vi) (A) This program shall not apply in academic years commencing on 13 or before the effective date of this paragraph. (B) For the first two 14 years after the effective date of this paragraph, this program shall 15 only apply to students attending community colleges as defined by subdi- 16 vision two of section sixty-three hundred one of this title. (C) In all 17 other years, this program shall apply to all students attending SUNY, 18 CUNY and community colleges of the state. 19 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 6304 of the education law is amended by 20 adding a new paragraph e to read as follows: 21 e. The trustees, sponsors or other governing body of a community 22 college shall implement a program to permit any student who has been 23 admitted to such community college to attend without the payment of 24 tuition and fees if such student fulfills the requirements of such 25 program pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph. 26 (i) The trustees shall provide an application process and administer 27 the program according to the following criteria: 28 (A) Any student eligible for resident tuition rates is eligible for 29 this program. 30 (B) A student shall be required to sign a contract agreeing to reside 31 in New York state for a period of five years subsequent to completion of 32 his or her academic program. 33 (C) Students shall be required to complete their degree program within 34 a minimum period of time to be set by the trustees which shall be no 35 less than one year and no more than three years. 36 (D) A student who benefited from the program outlined in this subpara- 37 graph shall be allowed to attend an out-of-state graduate school without 38 any penalty if such student pursues a graduate degree. Once such student 39 concludes his or her graduate school studies, such student shall return 40 to New York within one year for residency per the program's require- 41 ments, or else the undergraduate benefit will turn into a student loan 42 pursuant to the provisions of subparagraph (ii) of this paragraph. 43 (E) A student who benefited from the program outlined in this para- 44 graph who is on active duty in the armed forces of the United States 45 shall not be penalized if such student maintains his or her legal resi- 46 dence in the state of New York, during such service. "Legal residence" 47 as used in this clause shall mean the place where a member of the mili- 48 tary intends to return and live after discharge or retirement, and which 49 they consider their permanent home. Legal residency shall be determined 50 by what local and state tax laws a member of the military is subject to, 51 and in which state they may vote. 52 (ii) If a student or former student fails to fulfill any of the 53 requirements set forth in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph, the trus- 54 tees shall convert to a student loan the full amount of the tuition 55 which would have been paid by such student, as determined by the New 56 York state higher education services corporation, plus interest, accord-A. 54 5 1 ing to a schedule to be determined by such corporation. Such repayment 2 may also be required if a recipient fails to respond to requests for 3 information necessary to determine continued eligibility or for adminis- 4 tration of the program. The terms and conditions of this subparagraph 5 shall be deferred for students who enroll on at least a half-time basis 6 in an approved undergraduate, graduate or higher degree program or other 7 professional licensure degree program until they are conferred a degree, 8 and shall also be deferred for any interruption in undergraduate study 9 as established by the rules and regulations of the corporation. The 10 terms and conditions of this subparagraph may also be deferred for a 11 grace period, to be established by the corporation, following the 12 completion of an approved undergraduate program or a graduate or higher 13 degree program or other professional licensure degree program. Notwith- 14 standing any provisions of this subparagraph to the contrary, the corpo- 15 ration is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations to provide for 16 the waiver or suspension of any financial obligation which would involve 17 extreme hardship. 18 (iii) Any student who elects to participate in the program under this 19 paragraph shall be required to apply for tuition assistance program 20 funding. Funds awarded on the tuition assistance program shall be 21 applied towards the cost of tuition prior to an award under this subpar- 22 agraph. 23 (iv) Students shall be responsible for all other costs including hous- 24 ing, fees and other non-tuition related charges. 25 (v) (A) This program shall not apply in academic years commencing on 26 or before the effective date of this paragraph. (B) For the first two 27 years after the effective date of this paragraph, this program shall 28 only apply to students attending community colleges as defined by subdi- 29 vision two of section sixty-three hundred one of this article. (C) In 30 all other years, this program shall apply to all students attending 31 SUNY, CUNY and community colleges of the state. 32 § 5. Subdivision 1 of section 6304 of the education law is amended by 33 adding a new paragraph a-1 to read as follows: 34 a-1. State financial aid shall be increased above the one-third amount 35 of operating costs set forth in paragraph a of this subdivision by an 36 amount which is equal to the cost of tuition awarded to students who 37 apply and qualify for the program set forth in paragraph e of this 38 subdivision. 39 § 6. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding 40 the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, 41 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation neces- 42 sary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are 43 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
