Bill Text: NY A08080 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Enacts "new deal for SUNY: the New York state higher education equality act" to provide free tuition to students who attend SUNY who are enrolled in academic coursework and are on track to graduate; establishes the state university tuition fund to reimburse the state university of New York for the cost of tuition for students who are eligible for free tuition.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 12-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-11 - print number 8080a [A08080 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A08080-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         8080--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                   September 27, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. FORREST, MITAYNES, ALVAREZ, BICHOTTE HERMELYN,
          GALLAGHER, SHRESTHA, TAYLOR, TAPIA, MAMDANI,  GONZALEZ-ROJAS,  ARDILA,
          SIMON,  DAVILA  --  read  once and referred to the Committee on Higher
          Education -- recommitted to  the  Committee  on  Higher  Education  in
          accordance  with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill
          amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said  commit-
          tee

        AN ACT to amend the education law and the state finance law, in relation
          to  providing free tuition to students who attend the state university
          of New York

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

     1    Section  1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as "new deal for
     2  SUNY: the New York state higher education equality act".
     3    § 2. Paragraph h of subdivision 2 of section 355 of the education  law
     4  is amended by adding a new subparagraph 1-a to read as follows:
     5    (1-a)  Notwithstanding  any other provision of law, rule or regulation
     6  to the contrary, the trustees shall implement a program  to  permit  any
     7  student  who  has  been  admitted to a state-operated institution of the
     8  state university of New York to attend without the  payment  of  tuition
     9  and  fees  if  such  student  fulfills  the requirements of such program
    10  pursuant to the provisions of this subparagraph.
    11    (i) The trustees shall provide an application process  and  administer
    12  the  program  which shall be available to any student eligible for resi-
    13  dent tuition rates, who is enrolled in credit-bearing  academic  course-
    14  work and is on track to graduate.
    15    (ii)  Any  student not successfully completing credit-bearing academic
    16  coursework in a semester shall still be eligible to  receive  all  other
    17  grants, awards, and scholarships for which they qualify but shall not be
    18  eligible for the tuition and student fee waiver described herein.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08930-06-4
        A. 8080--A                          2

     1    (iii)  Students  shall be eligible to receive a one semester exemption
     2  from the requirement to complete credit-bearing academic coursework  for
     3  such tuition waiver as promulgated by the trustees. Such exemption shall
     4  not  preclude any student from exercising their right to appeal pursuant
     5  to higher education services corporation policy.
     6    (iv) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to
     7  the  contrary  subject  to  amounts  made  available  by  appropriation,
     8  commencing in the academic year next succeeding the  effective  date  of
     9  this  subdivision, and every academic year thereafter, the state univer-
    10  sity  shall  be  entitled  to  annually  receive  one  hundred   percent
    11  reimbursement  for  the annual cost of tuition and student fees for each
    12  matriculated undergraduate student at a state university senior  college
    13  and community college who is enrolled in credit-bearing academic course-
    14  work  and  is on track to graduate from the fund established pursuant to
    15  section ninety-seven-aaaa of the state finance law.
    16    § 3. Section 667 of the education law  is  amended  by  adding  a  new
    17  subdivision 1-a to read as follows:
    18    1-a. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to
    19  the contrary, commencing in the academic year next succeeding the effec-
    20  tive  date  of this subdivision, and every academic year thereafter, all
    21  funding appropriated for tuition assistance program awards  pursuant  to
    22  this section shall be deposited into the fund specified in section nine-
    23  ty-seven-aaaa of the state finance law.
    24    §  4.  Section  669-h  of the education law is amended by adding a new
    25  subdivision 7 to read as follows:
    26    7. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or  regulation  to
    27  the contrary, commencing in the academic year next succeeding the effec-
    28  tive  date  of this subdivision, and every academic year thereafter, all
    29  funding appropriated for the  excelsior  scholarship  pursuant  to  this
    30  section  shall  be  deposited into the fund specified in section ninety-
    31  seven-aaaa of the state finance law.
    32    § 5. Subdivision 1 of section 6304 of the education law is amended  by
    33  adding a new paragraph e to read as follows:
    34    e.  Notwithstanding  any other provision of law, rule or regulation to
    35  the contrary, the trustees, sponsors,  or  other  governing  body  of  a
    36  community  college  shall  implement a program to permit any student who
    37  has been admitted to a state-operated institution of the state universi-
    38  ty to attend without the payment of tuition and  fees  if  such  student
    39  fulfills  the requirements of such program pursuant to the provisions of
    40  this paragraph.
    41    (i) The trustees shall provide an application process  and  administer
    42  the  program  which shall be available to any student eligible for resi-
    43  dent tuition rates, who is enrolled in credit-bearing  academic  course-
    44  work and is on track to graduate.
    45    (ii)  Any  student not successfully completing credit-bearing academic
    46  coursework in a semester shall still be eligible to  receive  all  other
    47  grants, awards, and scholarships for which they qualify but shall not be
    48  eligible for the tuition and student fee waiver described herein.
    49    (iii)  Students  shall be eligible to receive a one semester exemption
    50  from the requirement to complete credit-bearing academic coursework  for
    51  such tuition waiver as promulgated by the trustees. Such exemption shall
    52  not  preclude any student from exercising their right to appeal pursuant
    53  to higher education services corporation policy.
    54    § 6. Subdivision 1 of section 6304 of the education law is amended  by
    55  adding a new paragraph a-1 to read as follows:
        A. 8080--A                          3

     1    a-1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to
     2  the contrary, state financial aid shall be increased above the one-third
     3  amount  of  operating costs set forth in paragraph a of this subdivision
     4  by an amount which is equal to the cost of tuition awarded  to  students
     5  who  apply  and qualify for the program set forth in paragraph e of this
     6  subdivision and such aid shall be deposited into the fund  specified  in
     7  section ninety-seven-aaaa of the state finance law.
     8    §  7. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 97-aaaa
     9  to read as follows:
    10    § 97-aaaa. State university tuition fund. 1. There  is  hereby  estab-
    11  lished in the joint custody of the state comptroller and the commission-
    12  er  of  taxation  and finance a fund to be known as the state university
    13  tuition fund.
    14    2. The fund shall consist of moneys received by the state pursuant  to
    15  subparagraph  one-a  of  paragraph h of subdivision two of section three
    16  hundred fifty-five of the education law, moneys donated or given to  the
    17  state, and all other moneys appropriated, credited or transferred there-
    18  to from any other fund or source.
    19    3.  Moneys  of the fund shall be made available to the commissioner of
    20  education to be distributed to the state  university  of  New  York  and
    21  shall  be  deposited with the state university no later than thirty days
    22  after the start of the semester. The state university shall  receive  an
    23  amount  equal  to  the  full  cost of in-state undergraduate tuition and
    24  student fees for each qualifying, matriculated student who  successfully
    25  completes credit-bearing academic coursework and is on track to graduate
    26  from the state university.
    27    4. The full cost of tuition shall not include any additional funds the
    28  student  may  receive  from  any  other New York state or federal grant,
    29  award, or scholarship program.
    30    5. The deposit of these funds shall be utilized as first dollar awards
    31  to the students at the state university.
    32    § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.