Bill Text: NY A05080 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Authorizes the department of veterans' affairs to provide eligible veterans with financial assistance for purchasing, training and the upkeep of service dogs and emotional support dogs.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-12 - referred to veterans' affairs [A05080 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A05080-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5080

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 12, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M. of A. HUNTER, RAGA, BURDICK -- read once and referred
          to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

        AN ACT to amend the veterans' services law, in relation  to  authorizing
          the department of veterans' services to provide eligible veterans with
          financial  assistance  for  purchasing,  training  and  the  upkeep of
          service dogs and emotional support dogs

          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-c to read as follows:
     3    § 29-c. Service dog and emotional support dog grant  assistance.    1.
     4  For  the purposes of this section, the term "service dog" shall have the
     5  same meaning as provided for in subdivision seven of section  forty-sev-
     6  en-b of the civil rights law.
     7    2.  For the purposes of this section, the term "emotional support dog"
     8  shall mean a dog providing therapeutic support to an owner.
     9    3. The department shall provide  eligible  veterans  with:  (a)  grant
    10  assistance of up to seven thousand five hundred dollars for the purchase
    11  and  training  of  a  service dog from an organization providing service
    12  dogs for post-traumatic stress disorder and/or traumatic  brain  injury;
    13  or  (b) grant assistance of up to five thousand dollars for the purchase
    14  and training of a service dog from a professional service dog trainer or
    15  an owner-trainer. The department shall provide eligible veterans receiv-
    16  ing grant assistance pursuant to this subdivision with an amount of  not
    17  less  than fifty dollars a month for the continued upkeep of the service
    18  dog as long as the eligible veteran is in possession of the service dog.
    19    4. The department shall provide eligible veterans with  grant  assist-
    20  ance  of  up to five hundred dollars for the purchase and training of an
    21  emotional support dog, as well as an amount of not less than thirty-five
    22  dollars a month for the continued upkeep of the emotional support dog as

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08596-01-5
        A. 5080                             2

     1  long as the eligible veteran is in possession of the  emotional  support
     2  dog.
     3    5.  To  be eligible to receive grant assistance under this section, an
     4  individual must:
     5    (a) be a veteran, which, for the purposes of this section, shall  mean
     6  resident  of  this  state who served on active duty in the United States
     7  army, navy, marine corps, air force, coast guard or the reserves  compo-
     8  nent, or who served in active military service of the United States as a
     9  member of the army national guard, air national guard, New York guard or
    10  New York naval militia, who was released from such service other than by
    11  dishonorable discharge;
    12    (b)  receive  a diagnosis from a licensed physician or licensed mental
    13  health professional of post-traumatic stress disorder, a traumatic brain
    14  injury, or both, causing a disability as that term is defined in  subdi-
    15  vision  twenty-one  of  section  two hundred ninety-two of the executive
    16  law;
    17    (c) receive a letter from a  licensed  physician  or  licensed  mental
    18  health  provider  certifying  that the individual would benefit from the
    19  use of a service dog or emotional support dog; and
    20    (d) have an annual income of fifty thousand dollars or less.
    21    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    22  it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition,  amend-
    23  ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
    24  tation  of  this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
    25  completed on or before such effective date.