Bill Text: NY A08644 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Expands the eligibility period for indigent legal service attorneys to receive certain loan forgiveness and increases loan reimbursement for certain attorneys who work in legal services with indigent clients.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 14-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-06 - enacting clause stricken [A08644 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A08644-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          8644

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     October 2, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. CRESPO -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Higher Education

        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. Paragraph b of subdivision 2 of section 679-e of the educa-
     2  tion law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56 of  the  laws
     3  of 2009, is amended to read as follows:
     4    b.  "Eligible  period"  means  the  [six-year] seven-year period after
     5  completion of the [third] second year and before the commencement of the
     6  tenth year of employment as an eligible attorney. For purposes  of  this
     7  section,  all  periods  of  time  during  which an admitted attorney was
     8  employed as an eligible attorney and all periods of time during which  a
     9  law  school  graduate  awaiting  admission to the New York state bar was
    10  employed by a prosecuting [or] agency, criminal defense  agency,  and/or
    11  non-profit  indigent  civil  legal  services corporation as permitted by
    12  section four hundred eighty-four of the judiciary law shall be combined.
    13    § 2. Paragraph d of subdivision 2 of section 679-e  of  the  education
    14  law,  as  amended  by  section 1 of part VV of chapter 56 of the laws of
    15  2009, is amended to read as follows:
    16    d. "Year of qualified service" means the twelve month period  measured
    17  from  the anniversary of the attorney's employment as an eligible attor-
    18  ney, or as a law school graduate awaiting  admission  to  the  New  York
    19  state  bar  employed  by  a  prosecuting  [or]  agency, criminal defense
    20  agency, and/or non-profit indigent civil legal services  corporation  as
    21  permitted  by  section  four  hundred  eighty-four of the judiciary law,
    22  adjusted for any interruption in employment.  Any  period  of  temporary
    23  leave from service taken by an eligible attorney shall not be considered
    24  in  the  calculation of qualified service. However, the period of tempo-

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13472-02-9
        A. 8644                             2

     1  rary leave shall be considered an interruption  in  employment  and  the
     2  calculation  of  the  time  period of qualified service shall recommence
     3  when the eligible attorney returns to full time service.
     4    §  3.  Paragraph  a of subdivision 3 of section 679-e of the education
     5  law, as amended by section 1 of part VV of chapter 56  of  the  laws  of
     6  2009, is amended to read as follows:
     7    a.  An  eligible  attorney  may  apply  for  reimbursement  after  the
     8  completion of each year  of  qualified  service  provided  however  that
     9  reimbursement to each eligible attorney shall not exceed [three thousand
    10  four  hundred]  five thousand five hundred dollars, per qualifying year,
    11  subject to appropriations available therefor. The president  may  estab-
    12  lish: (i) an application deadline and (ii) a method of selecting recipi-
    13  ents  if  in  any  given  year there are insufficient funds to cover the
    14  needs of all the applicants.  Awards shall be within the amounts  appro-
    15  priated for such purpose and based on availability of funds.
    16    §  4.  Paragraph  b of subdivision 3 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    b. An eligible attorney may apply after the completion of the [fourth]
    20  second  year  of  qualified  service,  and annually thereafter after the
    21  completion of the [fifth] third through ninth year of qualified service,
    22  and may seek a student loan expense grant for only the previous year  of
    23  qualified  service  within the time periods prescribed by the president.
    24  An eligible attorney may receive student loan expense grants for no more
    25  than [six] seven years of qualified service within an eligible period.
    26    § 5. This act shall take effect April 1, 2020.  Nothing  in  this  act
    27  shall  be  implemented  in a manner that diminishes the current award or
    28  status of eligible attorneys currently participating in the program.