Bill Text: NY S02119 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Expands the veterans tuition awards program to allow the transfer of unused benefits to a spouse, survivor or child; defines terms.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-04-15 - REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE [S02119 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S02119-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2119

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 18, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Securi-
          ty and Military Affairs

        AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to expanding the veterans
          tuition awards program to allow the transfer of unused benefits  to  a
          spouse, survivor or child

          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  "Veteran
     2  Family Educational Attainment Act".
     3    § 2. Subdivision  1  of  section 669-a of the education law is amended
     4  by adding five new paragraphs g, h, i, j, and k to read as follows:
     5    g.    "Immediate family" means a spouse, child or survivor of a quali-
     6  fied veteran.
     7    h. "Qualified veteran" means  a  veteran  who  would  be  eligible  to
     8  receive  tuition awards if he or she satisfied the enrollment and appli-
     9  cation requirements  set  forth in paragraph a  of  subdivision  two  of
    10  this section.
    11    i.  "Spouse"  or "domestic partner" means: (i) a person who is a resi-
    12  dent of this state, and (ii) a person who has a legal relationship  with
    13  a  qualified veteran permitted under the laws of this state and the city
    14  of New York  for  couples  who  have  a  close  and  committed  personal
    15  relationship  or  a  person  who  has  a legal marriage with a qualified
    16  veteran permitted under the laws of the state and city of New York,  and
    17  (iii)  whose  qualified  veteran  has  not elected to utilize his or her
    18  benefit.
    19    j. "Survivor" means: (i) a person who is a  resident  of  this  state,
    20  (ii)  married  to  a  qualified veteran who died as a result of military
    21  service, (iii) married the qualified veteran  within  fifteen  years  of
    22  discharge  from his or her military service in which the cause of death,
    23  disease or injury started or was  aggravated,  or  was  married  to  the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01348-01-3
        S. 2119                             2

     1  veteran for at least one year, or had a child with the qualified veteran
     2  and  lived  together  with  the veteran continuously until the veteran's
     3  death or, if separated, was not at fault for the  separation,  and  (iv)
     4  whose qualified veteran has not elected to utilize his or her benefit.
     5    k. "Child" means: (i) a person who is a resident of this state, (ii) a
     6  biological,  adopted,  foster  offspring, stepson or stepdaughter, legal
     7  ward, offspring of a domestic partner, or the person to whom the  quali-
     8  fied  veteran stands in loco parentis, and (iii) whose qualified veteran
     9  has not elected to utilize his or her benefit.
    10    § 3.  Section 669-a of the education law is amended by  adding  a  new
    11  subdivision 5 to read as follows:
    12    5.  a.  A  qualified  veteran who would be eligible to receive tuition
    13  awards if he or she satisfied the enrollment  and  application  require-
    14  ments  set  forth in paragraph a of subdivision two of this section, may
    15  elect to transfer all or a portion of the  tuition  award  such  veteran
    16  would have received to any one or more of such veteran's immediate fami-
    17  ly members.
    18    b.  A  veteran who elects to transfer his or her award shall designate
    19  the eligible immediate family member or members to whom  such  award  is
    20  being transferred and the number of months such transfer shall be effec-
    21  tive  for  each such dependent. Such designation shall be made on a form
    22  prescribed by the commissioner, shall be  appended  to  the  application
    23  specified in subdivision two of this section, and the commissioner shall
    24  make  the form and relevant information of this section available on the
    25  corporation's website.
    26    c. No eligible immediate family member to whom  a  transfer  has  been
    27  made  pursuant  to  this  subdivision  shall  receive a tuition award in
    28  excess of the award  available  to  an  individual  veteran  under  this
    29  section.
    30    §  4.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
    31  have become a law.    Effective  immediately,  the  addition,  amendment
    32  and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
    33  of  this  act  on  its  effective  date  are  authorized  to be made and
    34  completed on or before such effective date.