NY State Senate Bill 2019-S341A

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Date of Action	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2020	referred to higher education
Feb 28, 2019	print number 341a
Feb 28, 2019	amend and recommit to higher education
Jan 09, 2019	referred to higher education

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

2019-S341 - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Higher Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Add §682, Ed L; amd §§208 & 612, Tax L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S6240
2021-2022: S5298
2023-2024: S5109
2025-2026: S1125

2019-S341 - Summary

Relates to establishing student loan repayment accounts; authorizes employers to establish student loan repayment accounts and provide matching funds up to $5000 a year; establishes tax deductions for participating employers.

2019-S341 - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S341

SPONSOR: AKSHAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the education law and the tax law, in
relation to establishing student loan repayment accounts

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF THE BILL:

This bill would allow employers to establish tax-deductible student loan
repayment accounts.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends the education law to authorize employers to
create student loan repayment accounts. Employees will be allowed to
deposit up to $2,500 of their pre-taxable income annually.  Employers
must contribute matching funds valued at 50%.-100% of the employee's
contribution, annually, per employee account.

Section 2 adds a new paragraph that establishes student loan repayment
accounts, which allow a deduction from entire net income in an amount

equal to the total amount of matching contributions made to employees'
student loan repayment accounts by a taxpayer during the taxable year.

Section 3 establishes adds a new paragraph that states the amount equal
to the total of matching contributions made by a taxpayer during the
taxable year to employees' student loan repayment accounts be estab-
lished pursuant to section six hundred eighty-two of the education law.

Section 4 lists the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New Yorkers of all ages are currently facing heavy financial burdens due
to high amounts of student loan debt. Many families are struggling with
this burdensome debt while trying to provide for their families,
attempting to establish careers, and buy homes within the state.

In 2015, 17.9% of college graduates in New York State had accumulated
approximately $32,000 in student loan debt (The Federal Reserve Bank of
New York). Studies have shown that people younger than 40 years old
continue to have approximately 65% of outstanding higher education debt.

According to a 2016 study by the Society of Human Resource Management,
only 4% of companies are currently offering student loan repayment
assistance. This bill aims to raise that percentage and to create a
better environment for both employees and employers.

Student loan repayment accounts would help businesses and employers in
New York to attract and retain highly qualified employees. By providing
opportunities for our citizens to be successful contributors to our
economy, we are paving the way for a better business climate as well as
a stronger workforce in the State of New York.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2018 - S6240: Reported and Committed to Finance
2017 - S6240: Referred to Higher Education

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Sixty days after becoming law.

2019-S341 - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    341
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 9, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  AKSHAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education
 
 AN ACT to amend the education law and the tax law, in relation to estab-
   lishing student loan repayment accounts

   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 682 to
 read as follows:
   §  682.  STUDENT  LOAN  REPAYMENT  ACCOUNTS.  1. AN EMPLOYER IS HEREBY
 AUTHORIZED TO ESTABLISH STUDENT  LOAN  REPAYMENT  ACCOUNTS  WHICH  SHALL
 PERMIT  HIS  OR  HER  EMPLOYEES  TO  DEPOSIT  A PORTION OF THEIR PRE-TAX
 INCOME, UP TO TWENTY-FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS ANNUALLY, INTO  SUCH  ACCOUNTS
 SOLELY  FOR UNDERGRADUATE OR GRADUATE STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS. EMPLOYERS
 ELECTING TO ESTABLISH SUCH ACCOUNTS SHALL CONTRIBUTE MATCHING  FUNDS  TO
 AN  EMPLOYEE'S  STUDENT  LOAN  REPAYMENT ACCOUNT AND SHALL RECEIVE A TAX
 DEDUCTION FOR SUCH CONTRIBUTIONS. SUCH CONTRIBUTION SHALL  BE  MINIMALLY
 FIFTY  PERCENT  OF  THE  EMPLOYEE'S  DEPOSIT  AND  A MAXIMUM ONE HUNDRED
 PERCENT OF THE EMPLOYEE'S DEPOSIT, UP  TO  TWENTY-FIVE  HUNDRED  DOLLARS
 ANNUALLY, PER EMPLOYEE ACCOUNT.
   2.  FOR  THE  PURPOSES  OF THIS SECTION, "STUDENT LOAN" SHALL MEAN THE
 CUMULATIVE TOTAL OF THE  ANNUAL  STUDENT  LOANS  COVERING  THE  COST  OF
 ATTENDANCE  AT  AN  UNDERGRADUATE OR GRADUATE COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY, AND
 ANY INTEREST THEREON.
   3. EMPLOYEE STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT ACCOUNTS SHALL BE  ESTABLISHED  FOR
 THE  DEPOSIT OF FUNDS TO BE USED BY THE EMPLOYEE SOLELY FOR REPAYMENT OF
 STUDENT LOANS. SUCH ACCOUNTS SHALL BE MANAGED BY  THE  HIGHER  EDUCATION
 SERVICES  CORPORATION.  ALL  PARTICIPATING EMPLOYERS AND EMPLOYEES SHALL
 PROVIDE THE CORPORATION WITH  ALL  NECESSARY  INFORMATION  IN  ORDER  TO
 IMPLEMENT THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD05575-01-9

 S. 341                              2
 
   4.  MONEYS IN A STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT ACCOUNT SHALL BE AVAILABLE ONLY
 FOR REPAYMENTS OF STUDENT LOANS AS DEFINED IN THIS  SECTION.  ANY  WITH-
 DRAWAL  OR  DISTRIBUTION  FROM  A  STUDENT  LOAN REPAYMENT ACCOUNT WHICH
 VIOLATED THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE SUBJECT TO A PENAL-
 TY OF TEN PERCENT ON ANY SUCH WITHDRAWAL OR DISTRIBUTION.
   5. THE COMMISSIONER AND THE COMMISSIONER OF TAXATION AND FINANCE SHALL
 JOINTLY  PROMULGATE  RULES  AND  REGULATIONS  NECESSARY TO IMPLEMENT THE
 PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION.
   § 2. Subdivision 9 of section 208 of the tax law is amended by  adding
 a new paragraph (u) to read as follows:
   (U)  A  TAXPAYER ESTABLISHING STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT ACCOUNTS PURSUANT
 TO SECTION SIX HUNDRED EIGHTY-TWO OF THE EDUCATION LAW SHALL BE  ALLOWED
 A  DEDUCTION  FROM  ENTIRE  NET  INCOME  IN AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE TOTAL
 AMOUNT OF MATCHING CONTRIBUTIONS MADE TO EMPLOYEES' STUDENT LOAN  REPAY-
 MENT ACCOUNTS BY A TAXPAYER DURING THE TAXABLE YEAR.
   § 3. Subsection (c) of section 612 of the tax law is amended by adding
 a new paragraph 17 to read as follows:
   (17)  THE  AMOUNT  EQUAL TO THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF MATCHING CONTRIBUTIONS
 MADE BY A TAXPAYER DURING THE TAXABLE YEAR TO  EMPLOYEES'  STUDENT  LOAN
 REPAYMENT  ACCOUNTS  ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SECTION SIX HUNDRED EIGHTY-
 TWO OF THE EDUCATION LAW.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
 have  become  a  law  and  shall apply to taxable years commencing on or
 after such effective date. Effective immediately the addition, amendment
 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
 of this act on  its  effective  date  are  authorized  to  be  made  and
 completed on or before such date.

2019-S341A (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Higher Education
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Add §682, Ed L; amd §§208 & 612, Tax L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S6240
2021-2022: S5298
2023-2024: S5109
2025-2026: S1125

2019-S341A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S341A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S341A

SPONSOR: AKSHAR
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to amend the education law and the tax law, in
relation to establishing student loan repayment accounts

 
PURPOSE: OR GENERAL IDEA OF THE BILL:

This bill would allow employers to establish tax-deductible student loan
repayment accounts.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends the education law to authorize employers to
create student loan repayment accounts. Employees will be al lowed to
deposit up to $5,000 of their pre-taxable income annually.  Employers
may contribute matching funds to an employee's student loan repayment
account up to a maximum 100% of the employee's contribution. The student
loan accounts shall be managed by the comptroller and the higher educa-
tion services corporation.

Section 2 adds a new paragraph that establishes student loan repayment
accounts, which allow a deduction from entire net income in an amount
equal to the total amount of matching contributions made to employees'
student loan repayment accounts by a taxpayer during t he taxable year.

Section 3 establishes adds a new paragraph that states the amount equal
to the total of matching contributions made by a taxpayer during the
taxable year to employees' student loan repayment accounts be estab-
lished pursuant to section six hundred eighty-two of the education law.

Section 4 states that the aggregate of tax expenditure and taxes forgone
shall not exceed $70,000,000.

Section 5 lists the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

New Yorkers of all ages are currently facing heavy financial burdens due
to high amounts of student loan debt. Many families are struggling with
this burdensome debt while trying to provide for their families,
attempting to establish careers, and buy homes within the state.

In 2015, 17.9% of college graduates in New York State had accumulated
approximately $32,000 in student loan debt (The Federal Reserve Bank of
New York). Studies have shown that people younger than 40 years old
continue to have approximately 65% of outstanding higher education debt.

According to a 2016 study by the Society of Human Resource Management,
only 4% of companies are currently offering student loan repayment
assistance. This bill aims to raise that percentage and to create a
better environment for both employees and employers.

Student loan repayment accounts would help businesses and employers in
New York to attract and retain highly qualified employees. By providing
opportunities for our citizens to be successful contributors to our
economy, we are paving the way for a better business climate as well as
a stronger workforce in the State of New York.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2018 - S6240: Reported and Committed to Finance
2017 - S6240: Referred to Higher Education

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

The program shall not exceed $70 million annually.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Sixty days after becoming law.

2019-S341A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  341--A
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 9, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  AKSHAR -- 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 and the tax law, in relation to estab-
   lishing student loan repayment accounts
 
   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 682 to
 read as follows:
   §  682.  STUDENT  LOAN  REPAYMENT  ACCOUNTS.  1. AN EMPLOYER IS HEREBY
 AUTHORIZED TO ESTABLISH STUDENT  LOAN  REPAYMENT  ACCOUNTS  WHICH  SHALL
 PERMIT  HIS  OR  HER  EMPLOYEES  TO  DEPOSIT  A PORTION OF THEIR PRE-TAX
 INCOME, UP TO FIVE THOUSAND DOLLARS ANNUALLY, INTO SUCH ACCOUNTS  SOLELY
 FOR  UNDERGRADUATE OR GRADUATE STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENTS. EMPLOYERS ELECT-
 ING TO ESTABLISH SUCH ACCOUNTS  MAY  CONTRIBUTE  MATCHING  FUNDS  TO  AN
 EMPLOYEE'S  STUDENT  LOAN  REPAYMENT  ACCOUNT  AND  SHALL  RECEIVE A TAX
 DEDUCTION FOR SUCH CONTRIBUTIONS. SUCH CONTRIBUTION MAY BE UP TO A MAXI-
 MUM OF ONE HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE EMPLOYEE'S DEPOSIT, UP TO  FIVE  THOU-
 SAND DOLLARS ANNUALLY, PER EMPLOYEE ACCOUNT.
   2.  FOR  THE  PURPOSES  OF THIS SECTION, "STUDENT LOAN" SHALL MEAN THE
 CUMULATIVE TOTAL OF THE  ANNUAL  STUDENT  LOANS  COVERING  THE  COST  OF
 ATTENDANCE  AT  AN  UNDERGRADUATE OR GRADUATE COLLEGE OR UNIVERSITY, AND
 ANY INTEREST THEREON.
   3. EMPLOYEE STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT ACCOUNTS SHALL BE  ESTABLISHED  FOR
 THE  DEPOSIT OF FUNDS TO BE USED BY THE EMPLOYEE SOLELY FOR REPAYMENT OF
 STUDENT LOANS. SUCH ACCOUNTS SHALL BE MANAGED BY THE COMPTROLLER AND THE
 HIGHER EDUCATION SERVICES CORPORATION. ALL PARTICIPATING  EMPLOYERS  AND
 EMPLOYEES  SHALL  PROVIDE  THE  COMPTROLLER AND THE CORPORATION WITH ALL
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.

                                                            LBD05575-02-9

 S. 341--A                           2
 
 NECESSARY INFORMATION IN ORDER  TO  IMPLEMENT  THE  PROVISIONS  OF  THIS
 SECTION.
   4.  MONEYS IN A STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT ACCOUNT SHALL BE AVAILABLE ONLY
 FOR REPAYMENTS OF STUDENT LOANS AS DEFINED IN THIS  SECTION.  ANY  WITH-
 DRAWAL  OR  DISTRIBUTION  FROM  A  STUDENT  LOAN REPAYMENT ACCOUNT WHICH
 VIOLATED THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE SUBJECT TO A PENAL-
 TY OF TEN PERCENT ON ANY SUCH WITHDRAWAL OR DISTRIBUTION.
   5. THE COMMISSIONER AND THE COMMISSIONER OF TAXATION AND FINANCE SHALL
 JOINTLY PROMULGATE RULES AND  REGULATIONS  NECESSARY  TO  IMPLEMENT  THE
 PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION.
   §  2. Subdivision 9 of section 208 of the tax law is amended by adding
 a new paragraph (u) to read as follows:
   (U) A TAXPAYER ESTABLISHING STUDENT LOAN REPAYMENT  ACCOUNTS  PURSUANT
 TO  SECTION SIX HUNDRED EIGHTY-TWO OF THE EDUCATION LAW SHALL BE ALLOWED
 A DEDUCTION FROM ENTIRE NET INCOME IN  AN  AMOUNT  EQUAL  TO  THE  TOTAL
 AMOUNT  OF MATCHING CONTRIBUTIONS MADE TO EMPLOYEES' STUDENT LOAN REPAY-
 MENT ACCOUNTS BY A TAXPAYER DURING THE TAXABLE YEAR.
   § 3. Subsection (c) of section 612 of the tax law is amended by adding
 a new paragraph 17 to read as follows:
   (17) THE AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE TOTAL AMOUNT  OF  MATCHING  CONTRIBUTIONS
 MADE  BY  A  TAXPAYER DURING THE TAXABLE YEAR TO EMPLOYEES' STUDENT LOAN
 REPAYMENT ACCOUNTS ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SECTION SIX  HUNDRED  EIGHTY-
 TWO OF THE EDUCATION LAW.
   § 4. Notwithstanding any provision of the tax law to the contrary, the
 aggregate  of tax expenditure and taxes forgone pursuant to sections two
 and three of this act shall not exceed $70,000,000. The commissioner  of
 taxation  and  finance  shall immediately suspend both deductions estab-
 lished pursuant to such sections upon reaching the  $70,000,000  thresh-
 old.
   §  5.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
 have become a law and shall apply to  taxable  years  commencing  on  or
 after such effective date. Effective immediately the addition, amendment
 and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
 of  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are  authorized  to be made and
 completed on or before such date.

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Senate Bill S341A

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee

Actions

Bill Amendments

2019-S341 - Details

2019-S341 - Summary

2019-S341 - Sponsor Memo

2019-S341 - Bill Text download pdf

2019-S341A (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S341A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S341A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S341A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

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Sponsored By

Fred Akshar

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Higher Education Committee

Actions

Bill Amendments

2019-S341 - Details

2019-S341 - Summary

2019-S341 - Sponsor Memo

2019-S341 - Bill Text download pdf

2019-S341A (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S341A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S341A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S341A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments