| Date of Action |
Assembly Actions -
Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE |
|---|---|
| Jan 06, 2016 |
referred to higher education |
| Jun 02, 2015 |
reported and committed to finance |
| Jan 07, 2015 |
referred to higher education |
Senate Bill S650
2015-2016 Legislative Session
Sponsored By
(D, WF) Senate District
Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee
Actions
Votes
co-Sponsors
(D) Senate District
2015-S650 (ACTIVE) - Details
2015-S650 (ACTIVE) - Summary
Establishes the volunteer firefighters and emergency medical service volunteer tuition assistance grant program; provides that counties shall have the option to establish such program by the enactment of a local law; provides for state reimbursement to counties for fifty percent of tuition assistance costs.
2015-S650 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo
BILL NUMBER: S650
TITLE OF BILL : An act to amend the education law, in relation to
establishing a volunteer firefighters and emergency medical service
volunteer tuition assistance grant program
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL :
This legislation would help to address the continuing difficulty local
volunteer fire and emergency medical service (EMS) departments have
had recruiting and retaining volunteers. This difficulty is
particularly true for young people who are hard pressed to pursue
their careers and their education while volunteering for these
critically important services.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS :
This bill allows counties to establish a local tuition grants program
for active volunteer firefighters and EMS personnel at state operated
institutions. The grant can be for up to fifty percent of tuition
required at state operated institutions or community colleges. This
legislation also provides that, where a county has created a tuition
grants program, the state would reimburse the county at one-half the
actual tuition grant established by the county for each eligible
volunteer.
2015-S650 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf
S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
650
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
I N S E N A T E
(PREFILED)
January 7, 2015
___________
Introduced by Sen. KENNEDY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to establishing a volun-
teer firefighters and emergency medical service volunteer tuition
assistance grant program
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 609 to
read as follows:
S 609. VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS AND EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE VOLUNTEER
TUITION ASSISTANCE GRANT PROGRAM. 1. FOR PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, THE
FOLLOWING TERMS SHALL HAVE THE FOLLOWING MEANINGS:
A. "VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER" SHALL MEAN AN ACTIVE VOLUNTEER MEMBER OF A
FIRE COMPANY OF A COUNTY, A FIRE COMPANY OF A CITY, TOWN OR VILLAGE
LOCATED WITHIN SUCH COUNTY, OR A FIRE DISTRICT FIRE DEPARTMENT LOCATED
WITHIN SUCH COUNTY, WHETHER OR NOT ANY SUCH COMPANY IS INCORPORATED
UNDER ANY GENERAL OR SPECIAL LAW.
B. "VOLUNTEER EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE PERSONNEL" SHALL MEAN AN
ACTIVE VOLUNTEER MEMBER OF ANY EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE AS ESTABLISHED
WITHIN A COUNTY, TOWN, VILLAGE OR CITY OR LOCAL TAX DISTRICT, WHETHER OR
NOT ANY SUCH SERVICE IS INCORPORATED UNDER ANY GENERAL OR SPECIAL LAW.
C. "AT LEAST A PART-TIME BASIS" SHALL MEAN ENROLLMENT FOR AT LEAST SIX
HOURS PER SEMESTER OR FOUR HOURS PER QUARTER.
D. "TUITION" SHALL MEAN THE TOTAL SEMESTER, QUARTER OR CLASSROOM HOUR
COST OF INSTRUCTION TO THE STUDENT AT A STATE-OPERATED INSTITUTION OR
COMMUNITY COLLEGE, AS DEFINED PURSUANT TO SECTION THREE HUNDRED FIFTY OF
THIS CHAPTER, EXCLUDING MANDATORY FEES, BOOK CHARGES AND ROOM AND BOARD.
2. ANY COUNTY WITHIN THE STATE IS HEREBY AUTHORIZED, BY THE ENACTMENT
OF A LOCAL LAW, TO ESTABLISH AND IMPLEMENT A VOLUNTEER
FIREFIGHTERS/EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICE VOLUNTEER TUITION ASSISTANCE
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
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