Bill Text: NY S04511 | 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: Partisan Bill (Democrat 19-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-03-11 - referred to higher education [S04511 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S04511-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         4511--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    February 9, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sens. RAMOS, FELDER, FERNANDEZ, GOUNARDES, HOYLMAN-SIGAL,
          JACKSON, KAVANAGH, LIU, MAY, MYRIE, RIVERA, SALAZAR, SEPULVEDA, SERRA-
          NO, THOMAS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed  to  be
          committed   to   the   Committee  on  Higher  Education  --  committee
          discharged, bill amended, 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.    Subparagraph  (i)  of  paragraph  a of subdivision 2 of
     2  section 679-e of the education law,  as amended by section 1 of  part  R
     3  of chapter 57 of the laws of 2011, is amended to read as follows:
     4    (i) "Eligible attorney" means an attorney, who is a resident of and is
     5  admitted to practice law in New York state, who is employed full-time as
     6  either  a  district  attorney,  as  defined in subparagraph (ii) of this
     7  paragraph, or an indigent legal services attorney, as defined in subpar-
     8  agraph (iii) of this paragraph or an attorney working as assigned  coun-
     9  sel  pursuant  to  article  eighteen-B of the county law who provides an
    10  annual average of one hundred twenty hours per month to assigned counsel
    11  cases, who is admitted to practice law in this state for not  more  than
    12  eleven  years  or who was within the eligible period as defined in para-
    13  graph b of this subdivision during the time for  which  such  person  is
    14  seeking  a student loan expense grant. Notwithstanding the foregoing, an
    15  eligible attorney shall include those district attorney  applicants  who
    16  were  awarded  program  eligibility  and  who provided qualified service
    17  between April first, two thousand  eight  and  March  thirty-first,  two
    18  thousand  eleven;  such  an  eligible  attorney shall remain eligible to
    19  participate in the program provided they are within an  eligible  period

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD02878-04-3
        S. 4511--A                          2

     1  measured  from  six  years  from  the date which such attorney was first
     2  employed as a district attorney.
     3    §  2.  Paragraph  b of subdivision 2 of section 679-e of the education
     4  law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56  of  the  laws  of
     5  2009, is amended to read as follows:
     6    b.  "Eligible  period"  means  the  [six-year] eight-year period after
     7  completion of the [third] second year and before the commencement of the
     8  [tenth] eleventh  year  of  employment  as  an  eligible  attorney.  For
     9  purposes  of  this section, all periods of time during which an admitted
    10  attorney was employed as an eligible attorney and all  periods  of  time
    11  during  which  a  law school graduate awaiting admission to the New York
    12  state bar was employed by a prosecuting [or]  agency,  criminal  defense
    13  agency,  non-profit  indigent  civil  legal  services corporation, or as
    14  assigned counsel as permitted by section four hundred eighty-four of the
    15  judiciary law shall be combined.
    16    § 3. Paragraph d of subdivision 2 of section 679-e  of  the  education
    17  law,  as  amended  by  section 1 of part VV of chapter 56 of the laws of
    18  2009, is amended to read as follows:
    19    d. "Year of qualified service" means the twelve month period  measured
    20  from  the anniversary of the attorney's employment as an eligible attor-
    21  ney, or as a law school graduate awaiting  admission  to  the  New  York
    22  state  bar  employed  by  a  prosecuting  [or]  agency, criminal defense
    23  agency, non-profit indigent civil  legal  services  corporation,  or  as
    24  assigned counsel as permitted by section four hundred eighty-four of the
    25  judiciary law, adjusted for any interruption in employment.  Vacation or
    26  leave  time provided by the employer or leave taken for a condition that
    27  is a qualifying reason for leave under the Family and Medical Leave  Act
    28  of  1993, 29 U.S.C. 2612(a)(1) and (3) shall not be considered an inter-
    29  ruption in qualifying employment. Any period of  [temporary  leave  from
    30  service]  interruption  in  qualifying  employment  taken by an eligible
    31  attorney shall  not  be  considered  in  the  calculation  of  qualified
    32  service. However, the period of [temporary leave shall be considered an]
    33  interruption  in  qualifying  employment and the calculation of the time
    34  period of qualified service shall recommence when the eligible  attorney
    35  returns to [full time] service.
    36    §  4.  Paragraph  a of subdivision 3 of section 679-e of the education
    37  law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56  of  the  laws  of
    38  2009, is amended to read as follows:
    39    a.  An  eligible  attorney  may  apply  for  reimbursement  after  the
    40  completion of each year  of  qualified  service  provided  however  that
    41  reimbursement to each eligible attorney shall not exceed [three thousand
    42  four  hundred]  eight  thousand dollars, per qualifying year, subject to
    43  appropriations available therefor. The president may establish:  (i)  an
    44  application deadline and (ii) a method of selecting recipients if in any
    45  given  year  there  are insufficient funds to cover the needs of all the
    46  applicants.  Awards shall be within the amounts  appropriated  for  such
    47  purpose and based on availability of funds.
    48    §  5.  Paragraph  b of subdivision 3 of section 679-e of the education
    49  law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56  of  the  laws  of
    50  2009, is amended to read as follows:
    51    b. An eligible attorney may apply after the completion of the [fourth]
    52  second  year  of  qualified  service,  and annually thereafter after the
    53  completion of the [fifth] third through [ninth] eleventh year of  quali-
    54  fied  service,  and  may  seek a student loan expense grant for only the
    55  previous year of qualified service within the time periods prescribed by
    56  the president. An eligible attorney may  receive  student  loan  expense
        S. 4511--A                          3

     1  grants for no more than [six] eight years of qualified service within an
     2  eligible period.
     3    §  6.  This  act  shall take effect April 1, 2024. Nothing in this act
     4  shall be implemented in a manner that diminishes the  current  award  or
     5  status of eligible attorneys currently participating in the program.