Bill Text: NY A02504 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes the veterans' services organization capital support program to provide funding to eligible entities for payment of the capital costs of construction, improvement, repairs, rehabilitation, or reconstruction of facilities owned by eligible entities, and for the acquisition of related equipment with a useful life of not less than ten years; appropriates a sum of $10,000,000 therefor.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-17 - referred to veterans' affairs [A02504 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A02504-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2504

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 17, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. BENDETT -- read once and referred to the Commit-
          tee on Veterans' Affairs

        AN ACT to amend the veterans' services law, in relation to  establishing
          the  veterans'  services  organization  capital  support  program; and
          making an appropriation therefor

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

     1    Section 1. The veterans' services law is amended by adding a new arti-
     2  cle 4 to read as follows:
     3                                   ARTICLE 4
     4           VETERANS' SERVICES ORGANIZATION CAPITAL SUPPORT PROGRAM
     5  Section 50. Definitions.
     6          51. Establishment and criteria.
     7          52. Eligible purposes.
     8    §  50.  Definitions.  For  the purposes of this article, the following
     9  terms shall have the following meanings:
    10    1. "Eligible entity" means a veteran service organization  as  defined
    11  pursuant  to  Title 38 U.S. Code Section 5902 and that also is organized
    12  as a not-for-profit organization pursuant to  the  Title  26  U.S.  Code
    13  Section 501(c), which may include but shall not be limited to the Ameri-
    14  can  Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Para-
    15  lyzed Veterans of America, American Veterans  and  Vietnam  Veterans  of
    16  America.
    17    §  51.  Establishment  and  criteria.  There is hereby established the
    18  veterans' services organization capital support program for the eligible
    19  purposes under section fifty-two of this article. The commissioner shall
    20  develop criteria for the disbursement of funds authorized under  section
    21  fifty-two of this article to an eligible entity.
    22    §  52.  Eligible  purposes.  Within  amounts specifically appropriated
    23  therefore, the commissioner shall award grants not to exceed two hundred
    24  thousand dollars for payment  of  the  capital  costs  of  construction,

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06173-01-5
        A. 2504                             2

     1  improvement,  repairs,  rehabilitation,  or reconstruction of facilities
     2  owned by eligible entities pursuant to this article, and for the  acqui-
     3  sition  of  related  equipment  with  a useful life of not less than ten
     4  years.  Such  capital  costs  may  include, but shall not be limited to,
     5  engineering and design costs. No funds  authorized  under  this  section
     6  shall  be  used  as  a  required match or be considered a local share to
     7  other state programs or to leverage state aid or grants.
     8    § 2. The sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000), or so much  thereof
     9  as  may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the department of veter-
    10  ans' services out of any moneys in the state  treasury  in  the  general
    11  fund  to  the  credit  of  the  veterans'  services organization capital
    12  support program, not otherwise appropriated, and made immediately avail-
    13  able, for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this  act.  Such
    14  moneys  shall  be payable on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on
    15  vouchers certified or approved by the commissioner of veterans' services
    16  in the manner prescribed by law.
    17    § 3. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivi-
    18  sion, section or part of this act shall be  adjudged  by  any  court  of
    19  competent  jurisdiction  to  be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
    20  impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall  be  confined  in
    21  its  operation  to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
    22  or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
    23  ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
    24  the legislature that this act would  have  been  enacted  even  if  such
    25  invalid provisions had not been included herein.
    26    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.