Senate Bill S161

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  161--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  RAMOS,  ADDABBO, BRISPORT, BROUK, CLEARE, COONEY,
   FAHY, FERNANDEZ, GONZALEZ,  GOUNARDES,  HARCKHAM,  JACKSON,  KAVANAGH,
   LIU, MAY, MYRIE, RIVERA, C. RYAN, SALAZAR, SEPULVEDA, SERRANO, WEBB --
   read  twice  and  ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to
   the Committee on Higher Education -- recommitted to the  Committee  on
   Higher Education in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- 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:
 
   Section 1.   Paragraph b of subdivision 2  of  section  679-e  of  the
 education  law,  as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56 of the
 laws of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   b. "Eligible period" means  the  [six-year]  EIGHT-YEAR  period  after
 completion of the [third] SECOND year and before the commencement of the
 [tenth]  ELEVENTH  year  of  employment  as  an  eligible  attorney. For
 purposes of this section, all periods of time during which  an  admitted
 attorney  was  employed  as an eligible attorney and all periods of time
 during which a law school graduate awaiting admission to  the  New  York
 state  bar  was  employed by a prosecuting [or] AGENCY, criminal defense
 agency, OR NON-PROFIT  INDIGENT  CIVIL  LEGAL  SERVICES  CORPORATION  as
 permitted by section four hundred eighty-four of the judiciary law shall
 be combined.
   §  2.  Paragraph  d of subdivision 2 of section 679-e of the education
 law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56  of  the  laws  of
 2009, is amended to read as follows:

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00120-02-6
              

 S. 161--A                           2
 
   d.  "Year of qualified service" means the twelve month period measured
 from the anniversary of the attorney's employment as an eligible  attor-
 ney,  or  as  a  law  school graduate awaiting admission to the New York
 state bar employed  by  a  prosecuting  [or]  AGENCY,  criminal  defense
 agency,  OR  NON-PROFIT  INDIGENT  CIVIL  LEGAL  SERVICES CORPORATION as
 permitted by section four hundred  eighty-four  of  the  judiciary  law,
 adjusted  for  any  interruption  in employment.  VACATION OR LEAVE TIME
 PROVIDED BY THE EMPLOYER OR LEAVE TAKEN FOR A CONDITION THAT IS A QUALI-
 FYING REASON FOR LEAVE UNDER THE FAMILY AND MEDICAL LEAVE ACT  OF  1993,
 29  U.S.C. 2612(A)(1) AND (3) SHALL NOT BE CONSIDERED AN INTERRUPTION IN
 QUALIFYING EMPLOYMENT. Any period  of  [temporary  leave  from  service]
 INTERRUPTION  IN  QUALIFYING  EMPLOYMENT  taken  by an eligible attorney
 shall not be considered in the calculation of qualified service.  Howev-
 er,  the period of [temporary leave shall be considered an] interruption
 in QUALIFYING employment and the calculation of the time period of qual-
 ified service shall recommence when the  eligible  attorney  returns  to
 [full time] service.
   §  3.  Paragraph  a of subdivision 3 of section 679-e of the education
 law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56  of  the  laws  of
 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   a.  An  eligible  attorney  may  apply  for  reimbursement  after  the
 completion of each year  of  qualified  service  provided  however  that
 reimbursement to each eligible attorney shall not exceed [three thousand
 four  hundred]  EIGHT  THOUSAND dollars, per qualifying year, subject to
 appropriations available therefor. The president may establish:  (i)  an
 application deadline and (ii) a method of selecting recipients if in any
 given  year  there  are insufficient funds to cover the needs of all the
 applicants.  Awards shall be within the amounts  appropriated  for  such
 purpose and based on availability of funds.
   §  4.  Paragraph  b of subdivision 3 of section 679-e of the education
 law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56  of  the  laws  of
 2009, is amended to read as follows:
   b. An eligible attorney may apply after the completion of the [fourth]
 SECOND  year  of  qualified  service,  and annually thereafter after the
 completion of the [fifth] THIRD through [ninth] ELEVENTH year of  quali-
 fied  service,  and  may  seek a student loan expense grant for only the
 previous year of qualified service within the time periods prescribed by
 the president. An eligible attorney may  receive  student  loan  expense
 grants for no more than [six] EIGHT years of qualified service within an
 eligible period.
   §  5.  This  act  shall take effect April 1, 2027. Nothing in this act
 shall be implemented in a manner that diminishes the  current  award  or
 status of eligible attorneys currently participating in the program.