Bill Text: NY A01568 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: Expands the eligibility period for indigent legal service attorneys to receive certain loan forgiveness; increases loan reimbursement for certain attorneys who work in legal services with indigent clients.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 42-4)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-25 - print number 1568d [A01568 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A01568-Amended.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         1568--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 17, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. SIMON, EPSTEIN, DINOWITZ, MAGNARELLI, TANNOUSIS,
          McDONOUGH, JACKSON, CRUZ, KELLES,  BURGOS,  STIRPE,  WALKER,  FORREST,
          RAGA,  SEAWRIGHT,  SHIMSKY,  JACOBSON -- 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 the New York state
          district attorney and indigent legal services attorney  loan  forgive-
          ness program

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1.   Subparagraph (i) of  paragraph  a  of  subdivision  2  of
     2  section  679-e  of the education law,  as amended by section 1 of part R
     3  of chapter 57 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
     4    (i) "Eligible attorney" means an attorney, who is a resident of and is
     5  admitted to practice law in New York state, who is employed full-time as
     6  either a district attorney, as defined  in  subparagraph  (ii)  of  this
     7  paragraph, or an indigent legal services attorney, as defined in subpar-
     8  agraph  (iii) of this paragraph or an attorney working as assigned coun-
     9  sel pursuant to article eighteen-B of the county  law  who  provides  an
    10  annual average of one hundred twenty hours per month to assigned counsel
    11  cases,  who  is admitted to practice law in this state for not more than
    12  eleven years or who was within the eligible period as defined  in  para-
    13  graph  b  of  this  subdivision during the time for which such person is
    14  seeking a student loan expense grant. Notwithstanding the foregoing,  an
    15  eligible  attorney  shall include those district attorney applicants who
    16  were awarded program eligibility  and  who  provided  qualified  service
    17  between  April  first,  two  thousand  eight and March thirty-first, two
    18  thousand eleven; such an eligible  attorney  shall  remain  eligible  to
    19  participate  in  the program provided they are within an eligible period
    20  measured from six years from the date  which  such  attorney  was  first
    21  employed as a district attorney.
    22    §  2.  Paragraph  b of subdivision 2 of section 679-e of the education
    23  law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56  of  the  laws  of
    24  2009, is amended to read as follows:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02878-03-3
        A. 1568--A                          2

     1    b.  "Eligible  period"  means  the  [six-year] eight-year period after
     2  completion of the [third] second year and before the commencement of the
     3  tenth year of employment as an eligible attorney. For purposes  of  this
     4  section,  all  periods  of  time  during  which an admitted attorney was
     5  employed  as an eligible attorney and all periods of time during which a
     6  law school graduate awaiting admission to the New  York  state  bar  was
     7  employed by a prosecuting [or] agency, criminal defense agency, non-pro-
     8  fit indigent civil legal services corporation, or as assigned counsel as
     9  permitted by section four hundred eighty-four of the judiciary law shall
    10  be combined.
    11    §  3.  Paragraph  d of subdivision 2 of section 679-e of the education
    12  law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56  of  the  laws  of
    13  2009, is amended to read as follows:
    14    d.  "Year of qualified service" means the twelve month period measured
    15  from the anniversary of the attorney's employment as an eligible  attor-
    16  ney,  or  as  a  law  school graduate awaiting admission to the New York
    17  state bar employed  by  a  prosecuting  [or]  agency,  criminal  defense
    18  agency,  non-profit  indigent  civil  legal  services corporation, or as
    19  assigned counsel as permitted by section four hundred eighty-four of the
    20  judiciary law, adjusted for any interruption in employment.  Vacation or
    21  leave time provided by the employer or leave taken for a condition  that
    22  is  a qualifying reason for leave under the Family and Medical Leave Act
    23  of 1993, 29, U.S.C. 2612(a)(1) and (3) shall not be considered an inter-
    24  ruption in qualifying employment. Any period of  [temporary  leave  from
    25  service]  interruption  in  qualifying  employment  taken by an eligible
    26  attorney shall  not  be  considered  in  the  calculation  of  qualified
    27  service. However, the period of [temporary leave shall be considered an]
    28  interruption  in  qualifying  employment and the calculation of the time
    29  period of qualified service shall recommence when the eligible  attorney
    30  returns to [full time] service.
    31    §  4.  Paragraph  a of subdivision 3 of section 679-e of the education
    32  law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56  of  the  laws  of
    33  2009, is amended to read as follows:
    34    a.  An  eligible  attorney  may  apply  for  reimbursement  after  the
    35  completion of each year  of  qualified  service  provided  however  that
    36  reimbursement to each eligible attorney shall not exceed [three thousand
    37  four  hundred]  eight  thousand dollars, per qualifying year, subject to
    38  appropriations available therefor. The president may establish:  (i)  an
    39  application deadline and (ii) a method of selecting recipients if in any
    40  given  year  there  are insufficient funds to cover the needs of all the
    41  applicants.  Awards shall be within the amounts  appropriated  for  such
    42  purpose and based on availability of funds.
    43    §  5.  Paragraph  b of subdivision 3 of section 679-e of the education
    44  law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56  of  the  laws  of
    45  2009, is amended to read as follows:
    46    b. An eligible attorney may apply after the completion of the [fourth]
    47  second  year  of  qualified  service,  and annually thereafter after the
    48  completion of the [fifth] third through [ninth] tenth year of  qualified
    49  service, and may seek a student loan expense grant for only the previous
    50  year  of  qualified  service  within  the time periods prescribed by the
    51  president. An eligible attorney may receive student loan expense  grants
    52  for no more than [six] eight years of qualified service within an eligi-
    53  ble period.
    54    §  6.  This  act  shall take effect April 1, 2024. Nothing in this act
    55  shall be implemented in a manner that diminishes the  current  award  or
    56  status of eligible attorneys currently participating in the program.