Bill Text: NY A04240 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Creates the science, technology, engineering and mathematics college affordability program; provides that each student accepted into such program shall be charged an amount of no more than two thousand five hundred dollars per academic year.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Republican 5-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-14 - held for consideration in higher education [A04240 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A04240-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4240 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 1, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. RA, VANEL, GIGLIO, DiPIETRO, LAWRENCE, GARBARINO -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to creating the "science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) College Affordability Program" 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 the "science, 2 technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) college affordability 3 program". 4 § 2. Legislative intent. The legislature finds that higher education 5 is critical to the future of many New Yorkers and highly skilled work- 6 force in STEM fields is critical for supporting New York's economy. The 7 rising cost of college is placing a financial strain on students and 8 families. Addressing the financial strain and the need to invest in a 9 highly educated workforce are necessary steps in securing the future. 10 Therefore the STEM college affordability program, or STEM CAP, is estab- 11 lished to provide families with the ability to send their children to 12 college to earn a bachelor's degree leading to a career in science, 13 technology, education, mathematics, or agricultural sciences for 14 $10,000. The STEM college affordability program provides deserving 15 students and their families an affordable pathway to a college education 16 that will lead to a career in some of New York's strongest and fastest 17 growing industries. 18 § 3. The education law is amended by adding a new article 13-C to read 19 as follows: 20 ARTICLE 13-C 21 STEM COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY PROGRAM 22 Section 640. Definitions. 23 640-a. Duties of the commissioner. 24 640-b. Income. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02360-01-9A. 4240 2 1 640-c. Eligibility. 2 640-d. Duration. 3 640-e. Cost of program. 4 640-f. Financial aid. 5 640-g. Notification. 6 § 640. Definitions. As used in this article: 7 1. "Participating community college" means any community college 8 established and operated pursuant to the provisions of article one 9 hundred twenty-six of this chapter, and providing two-year post-secon- 10 dary programs in general and technical education subjects and receiving 11 financial assistance from the state. 12 2. "Participating four-year college" means any university or college 13 of the state university of New York as established by subdivision three 14 of section three hundred fifty-two of this chapter and the city univer- 15 sity of New York as established by article one hundred twenty-five of 16 this chapter that provide four-year bachelor degree programs. 17 3. "Approved program" shall mean an approved undergraduate program 18 leading to a career in science, technology, engineering, mathematics, or 19 agricultural sciences. 20 4. "Good academic standing" for the purposes of this article means 21 retaining a minimum grade point average of 2.5 or the equivalent. 22 § 640-a. Duties of the commissioner. The commissioner shall establish 23 an application and application process for the STEM college affordabili- 24 ty program. The commissioner shall select one thousand qualified appli- 25 cants per year for participation in the STEM college affordability 26 program, from among candidates who meet and exceed the minimum eligibil- 27 ity requirements, in order of merit on the basis of such combination of 28 test scores, academic records, and personal qualifications as the 29 commissioner deems appropriate. 30 § 640-b. Income. 1. Definition. "Income" shall be the total of the 31 combined net taxable income and income from pensions of New York state, 32 local governments, the federal government and any private employer of 33 the applicant, the applicant's spouse, and the applicant's parents or 34 legal guardian, including any pension and annuity income excluded for 35 purposes of taxation pursuant to paragraph three-a of subsection (c) of 36 section six hundred twelve of the tax law, as reported in New York state 37 income tax returns for the calendar year next preceding the beginning of 38 the school year for which the application is made. The term "parent" 39 shall include birth parents, stepparents, adoptive parents and the 40 spouse of an adoptive parent. Income, if not a whole dollar amount, 41 shall be assumed to be equal to the next lowest whole dollar amount. Any 42 change in the status of an applicant with regard to the persons respon- 43 sible for the applicant's support occurring after the beginning of any 44 semester shall not be considered to change the applicant's eligibility. 45 2. Separation of parents. If the parents of an applicant are living 46 apart, the income of the applicant shall be based upon the income of 47 that parent with whom the applicant is living; or who exercises custody 48 if the applicant is a minor, or would exercise custody if the applicant 49 were a minor, and any appropriate payments for the support of the appli- 50 cant from the other parent. 51 3. Exclusion of parental income in the determination of the amount of 52 an award. a. In determining the amount of an award for students, the 53 income of the parents shall be excluded if the student has been emanci- 54 pated from his or her parents. 55 b. A student shall be considered emancipated if:A. 4240 3 1 (i) The applicant is a student who was married on or before December 2 thirty-first of the calendar year prior to the beginning of the academic 3 year for which application is made or is an undergraduate student who 4 has reached the age of twenty-two on or before June thirtieth prior to 5 the academic year for which application is made and who, during the 6 calendar year next preceding the semester, quarter or term of attendance 7 for which application is made and at all times subsequent thereto up to 8 and including the entire period for which application is made: 9 (A) has not resided and will not reside with his or her parents for 10 more than six weeks; and 11 (B) has not and will not receive financial assistance or support value 12 in excess of seven hundred fifty dollars from his or her parents; and 13 (C) has not and will not be claimed as a dependent by either parent 14 for purposes of either federal or state income tax; or 15 (ii) The applicant has reached the age of thirty-five on or before 16 June thirtieth prior to the academic year for which application is made; 17 or 18 (iii) The applicant was enlisted in full-time active military service 19 in the armed forces of the United States and has been honorably 20 discharged from such service, provided, however, that the applicant has 21 not and will not be claimed as a dependent by either parent for purposes 22 of either federal or state income tax. 23 c. In making a determination of where a student resides for the 24 purposes of clause (A) of subparagraph (i) of paragraph b of this subdi- 25 vision, the president may consider such criteria as he or she deems 26 appropriate. Residence by the student in an apartment, building, or 27 other premises owned by a parent shall be considered residence with that 28 parent, for the purposes of this section, even if the student makes 29 payment therefor in the form or rent or other considerations. 30 d. In making a determination of whether a student has been claimed by 31 a parent as a dependent for purposes of ether federal or state income 32 tax, the president may require the student to submit a copy of that 33 portion of the parent's federal income tax return which includes the 34 parent's signature and the list of claimed dependents. 35 4. Relinquishing of parental control. In determining the amount of an 36 award, the president may, in cases of unusual and exceptional family 37 circumstances warranting such action, recognize an existing condition 38 wherein parental control has in effect been relinquished by the parents 39 or others responsible for the applicant, and notwithstanding the 40 provisions of subdivision three of this section, the applicant has in 41 effect been emancipated. The criteria used in determining these cases of 42 unusual and exceptional family circumstances shall be established by the 43 president with the approval of the board of trustees and the director of 44 the division of the budget. 45 5. Income tax return not filed or not including income outside New 46 York state. If a person required to report income to the corporation did 47 not file an appropriate New York state income tax return, or if the 48 return did not include income outside New York state, such person shall 49 report to the corporation what his or her income would have been had his 50 or her total income been subject to New York state income tax and had 51 such income tax return been filed. 52 6. Statement of income. An applicant, the applicant's spouse, and the 53 applicant's parents, if their income is included in "income" for 54 purposes of this article, shall file annually with the corporation, in a 55 manner prescribed by the president, a statement of their income, signed 56 and affirmed as true under penalties of perjury.A. 4240 4 1 7. Verification of financial report. The state tax commission shall, 2 upon request by the president, compare any statement filed with the 3 corporation pursuant to this article or any information derived there- 4 from with the state income tax returns filed by the persons making such 5 statement and shall report any discrepancies to the president. 6 8. Confidentiality of financial reports. All statements filed with the 7 corporation and all reports made by the state tax commission pursuant to 8 this section shall be deemed confidential. 9 § 640-c. Eligibility. The STEM college affordability program shall be 10 available to those persons: 11 1. Who are: (i) a citizen of the United States; or (ii) an alien 12 lawfully admitted for permanent residence in the United States; or (iii) 13 an individual of a class of refugees paroled by the attorney general of 14 the United States under his or her parole authority pertaining to the 15 admission of aliens to the United States; 16 2. Who have been either: (i) a legal resident of the state for at 17 least one year immediately preceding the beginning of the semester, 18 quarter or term of attendance for which application for the STEM college 19 affordability program is made; or (ii) a legal resident of the state and 20 have been a legal resident during his or her last two semesters of high 21 school either prior to graduation, or prior to admission to college. 22 Notwithstanding any other provision of this article to the contrary, the 23 New York state residency eligibility requirement for this program is 24 waived for a member, or the spouse or dependent of a member, of the 25 armed forces of the United States on full-time active-duty and stationed 26 in this state; 27 3. Who have applied to such program and been accepted; 28 4. Who have graduated from a secondary school located within New York 29 state or have received a high school equivalency diploma from New York 30 state; 31 5. Who enroll in an approved program as defined in section six hundred 32 forty of this article at a participating community college or partic- 33 ipating four-year college to complete a bachelor's degree in an approved 34 program; 35 6. Who remain in good academic standing; and 36 7. Whose income as defined in section six hundred forty-b of this 37 article does not exceed two hundred thousand dollars or one hundred 38 fifty thousand dollars in cases where parental income is excluded as 39 provided in section six hundred forty-b. 40 § 640-d. Duration. Students, who remain in good academic standing and 41 continue to meet the eligibility requirements of the STEM college 42 affordability program, will remain in said program for not more than 43 four academic years of full-time undergraduate study. 44 § 640-e. Cost of program. Each student accepted into this program will 45 be charged an amount of no more than two thousand five hundred dollars 46 per academic year. Included in this cost will be tuition, room and board 47 and a five hundred dollar per semester stipend for textbooks. The state 48 will provide the state university and the city university with the 49 remaining cost to educate these students. 50 § 640-f. Financial aid. Those students who are awarded an academic 51 scholarship from higher education services will see a reduction in their 52 cost of the program by an amount equal to their award. Any additional 53 financial aid, including from the tuition assistance program, the amount 54 of the award will go to the school and will diminish the state's share 55 of the student's cost of education.A. 4240 5 1 § 640-g. Notification. 1. The superintendent of schools or other chief 2 school officer of each public school district and the chief school offi- 3 cer of nonpublic secondary schools shall take steps to inform students 4 and parents about the STEM college affordability program. The higher 5 education services corporation, in cooperation with the commissioner, 6 shall assist such efforts by making available to school districts, 7 nonpublic secondary schools and students information relating to such 8 programs and aid. In addition, the commissioner, in cooperation with the 9 president and school officials shall also provide such other information 10 as is appropriate to encourage students to complete high school and to 11 assist students in preparing to attend college. 12 2. A report detailing the number of students in the program enrolled 13 in each program of study and the number of students participating at 14 each institution shall be generated by the participating community 15 college or four-year college and submitted to the division of the budget 16 with a copy provided to each house of the legislature and the governor. 17 § 4. Subparagraph 4 of paragraph h of subdivision 2 of section 355 of 18 the education law is amended by adding a new clause (vii) to read as 19 follows: 20 (vii) Commencing with the two thousand twenty--two thousand twenty-one 21 academic year and ending in the two thousand twenty-four--two thousand 22 twenty-five academic year the state university of New York board of 23 trustees shall be empowered to administer a program in which students 24 pay two thousand five hundred dollars per year for four years of educa- 25 tion as established pursuant to article thirteen-C of this title. 26 Participation in such program will be awarded solely on merit. The 27 remainder of the cost of this program will be paid for by the state. 28 § 5. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 7 of section 6206 of the education 29 law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (vi) to read as follows: 30 (vi) Commencing with the two thousand twenty--two thousand twenty-one 31 academic year and ending in the two thousand twenty-four--two thousand 32 twenty-five academic year the city university of New York board of trus- 33 tees shall be empowered to administer a program in which students pay 34 two thousand five hundred dollars per year for four years of education 35 as established pursuant to article thirteen-C of this title. Partic- 36 ipation in such program will be awarded solely on merit. The remainder 37 of the cost of this program will be paid for by the state. 38 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend- 39 ments to subparagraph 4 of paragraph h of subdivision 2 of section 355 40 of the education law made by section four of this act and paragraph (a) 41 of subdivision 7 of section 6206 of the education law made by section 42 five of this act shall be subject to the expiration and reversion of 43 such provisions and shall expire and be deemed repealed therewith.
