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

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

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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 - Dead) 2024-01-25 - print number 1568d [A01568 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A01568-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         1568--C

                               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, LAVINE, HEVESI, LUNSFORD, ALVAREZ,
          REYES,  CARROLL  --  read once and referred to the Committee on Higher
          Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted  as
          amended  and recommitted to said committee -- again reported from said
          committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as amended and  recommit-
          ted  to  said  committee  --  again  reported from said committee with
          amendments, 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.   Paragraph b of subdivision 2  of  section  679-e  of  the
     2  education  law,  as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56 of the
     3  laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
     4    b. "Eligible period" means  the  [six-year]  eight-year  period  after
     5  completion of the [third] second year and before the commencement of the
     6  [tenth]  eleventh  year  of  employment  as  an  eligible  attorney. For
     7  purposes of this section, all periods of time during which  an  admitted
     8  attorney  was  employed  as an eligible attorney and all periods of time
     9  during which a law school graduate awaiting admission to  the  New  York
    10  state  bar  was  employed by a prosecuting [or] agency, criminal defense
    11  agency, non-profit indigent civil  legal  services  corporation,  or  as
    12  assigned counsel as permitted by section four hundred eighty-four of the
    13  judiciary law shall be combined.
    14    §  2.  Paragraph  d of subdivision 2 of section 679-e of the education
    15  law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56  of  the  laws  of
    16  2009, is amended to read as follows:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02878-07-3
        A. 1568--C                          2

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