Bill Text: NY A03403 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Establishes the staff sergeant Alex R. Jimenez New York state military immigrant family legacy program within the department of veterans' services.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-4)
Status: (Vetoed) 2023-11-17 - tabled [A03403 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-A03403-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3403--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 3, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. CRUZ, BURDICK, BARRETT, THIELE, HEVESI, SIMON, MORINELLO, TAGUE, SILLITTI, WALSH, GONZALEZ-ROJAS, BENDETT, EPSTEIN, ZINERMAN, ZACCARO, SEAWRIGHT, TAPIA, SIMONE, CUNNINGHAM, ANDERSON, BURGOS, CLARK -- read once and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the veterans' services law, the military law and the executive law, in relation to establishing the Alex R. Jimenez New York state military immigrant family legacy program 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 2 section 29-b to read as follows: 3 § 29-b. Staff sergeant Alex R. Jimenez New York state military immi- 4 grant family legacy program. 1. For the purposes of this section, the 5 following terms shall have the following meanings: 6 (a) "Uniformed service member" shall mean a member of the army, navy, 7 air force, space corps, marine corps, coast guard, public health service 8 commissioned corps, or national oceanic and atmospheric administration 9 commissioned officer corps serving on active duty. 10 (b) "The program" shall mean the staff sergeant Alex R. Jimenez mili- 11 tary immigrant family legacy program. 12 (c) "Coordinator" shall mean an employee of the department appointed 13 by the commissioner, or an employee of the division of military and 14 naval affairs appointed by the adjutant general, to serve as a military 15 immigrant family legacy program coordinator pursuant to subdivision 16 three of this section. 17 (d) "Veteran" shall have the same meaning as such term is defined in 18 section one of this article and shall also include any veteran with a 19 qualifying condition, as defined in section one of this article, and has 20 received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD07478-04-3A. 3403--A 2 1 service, or is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section one of 2 this article, and has received a discharge other than bad conduct or 3 dishonorable from such service. 4 (e) "Intended recipients" shall mean uniformed service members, veter- 5 ans, reserve component members and their family members. 6 (f) "Reserve component members" shall mean those serving in the army 7 reserve, navy reserve, marine corps reserve, the army national guard, 8 the air national guard, or reserve corps of the public health service 9 during the time the unit was federally recognized as a reserve compo- 10 nent. 11 2. There is hereby established within the department, in conjunction 12 with the division of military and naval affairs, the staff sergeant Alex 13 R. Jimenez New York state military immigrant family legacy program which 14 shall be jointly developed and implemented by the commissioner and the 15 adjutant general of the division of military and naval affairs, in 16 consultation with the office for new Americans established pursuant to 17 section ninety-four-b of the executive law, and in accordance with the 18 provisions of this section. The primary purpose of the program shall be 19 to assist intended recipients to secure legal immigration status in the 20 United States, including but not limited to, citizenship. 21 3. Two military immigrant family legacy program coordinators shall be 22 appointed, one appointed by the commissioner and one by the adjutant 23 general of the division of military and naval affairs, to administer the 24 program. Each coordinator shall be a veteran. The coordinators' duties 25 shall include, but not be limited to: 26 (a) assisting intended recipients, who may qualify for adjustment of 27 status, special immigration status through the federal Parole in Place 28 program authorized by section 1758 of the 2020 National Defense Authori- 29 zation Act, or any other sort of immigration relief, including relief 30 that can lead to citizenship, in securing legal representation or 31 consultation by qualified immigration attorneys or duly authorized board 32 of immigration appeals representatives as may be necessary to obtain 33 such relief. 34 (b) communicating with the commissioner and the adjutant general and 35 the office for new Americans regarding existing policies and regulations 36 pertaining to the needs of intended recipients and to make recommenda- 37 tions regarding the improvement of benefits and services to such 38 intended recipients. 39 (c) serving as liaison between the department and the division of 40 military and naval affairs, the United States citizenship and immi- 41 gration services, immigration and customs enforcement, the United States 42 department of veterans affairs, the United States department of defense, 43 local veterans' service agencies, state agencies, community groups, 44 advocates, and other veterans and military organizations and interested 45 parties for the purpose of coordinating efforts to provide immigration 46 relief to intended recipients. 47 (d) consulting with qualified immigration attorneys or duly authorized 48 board of immigration appeals approved representatives to facilitate such 49 coordination with the United States citizenship and immigration services 50 or other appropriate agency. 51 (e) advocating for intended recipients. 52 (f) developing and maintaining a clearinghouse for information and 53 resources relating to the program as well as other federal, state, local 54 and non-profit programs that may offer assistance to intended recipients 55 in immigration matters.A. 3403--A 3 1 (g) promoting events and activities that educate and assist intended 2 recipients, including but not limited to, veteran human rights confer- 3 ences, veterans benefit and resources events. 4 (h) including the contributions that intended recipients have made on 5 behalf of the United States and this state on the department's official 6 website. 7 (i) developing information to be made available to congressionally 8 chartered veterans' organizations, and local veterans' services agencies 9 to provide a general overview of the program, including but not limited 10 to, its purpose and the eligibility requirements for adjustment of 11 status, citizenship, or any other form of available relief. 12 (j) preparing reports on topics, including but not limited to, the 13 demographics of intended recipients residing in the state, including the 14 number of such intended recipients by county, an estimate of how many 15 may be eligible for naturalization, and the unique needs of the intended 16 recipients within New York state to the commissioner, the adjutant 17 general of the division of military and naval affairs and the office for 18 new Americans. 19 4. The coordinators shall submit a report to the commissioner and to 20 the adjutant general of the division of military and naval affairs on 21 January first each year following the first full year after the effec- 22 tive date of this section. Such report shall include, but not be limited 23 to, a description and evaluation of the coordinators' activities for the 24 preceding calendar year as well as any recommendations for future 25 programmatic changes. The commissioner shall submit the report to the 26 governor and the legislature in accordance with the provisions of 27 section four of this article. The adjutant general of the division of 28 military and naval affairs shall submit the report to the governor and 29 the legislature in accordance with the provisions of section one hundred 30 sixty-four of the executive law. 31 § 2. Section 4 of the veterans' services law is amended by adding a 32 new subdivision 38 to read as follows: 33 38. To encourage the development of and provide for the establishment 34 of a state military immigrant family legacy program coordinator, as 35 provided in section twenty-nine-b of this article. 36 § 3. The military law is amended by adding a new section 256 to read 37 as follows: 38 § 256. State military immigrant family legacy program support. The 39 adjutant general shall encourage the development of and provide for the 40 establishment of a state military immigrant family legacy program coor- 41 dinator, as provided in section twenty-nine-b of the veterans' services 42 law. 43 § 4. Paragraph (l) of subdivision 5 of section 94-b of the executive 44 law, as added by chapter 206 of the laws of 2014, is amended to read as 45 follows: 46 (l) (i) Coordinate with other state agencies and otherwise marshal the 47 resources of the state to serve the needs of immigrants, and (ii) advise 48 the state military immigrant family legacy program coordinators pursuant 49 to section twenty-nine-b of the veterans' services law; 50 § 5. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 51 have become a law.
