New York Senate Bill S03244 Latest Draft

   
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3244 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 24, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Education AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to creating the small business employees loan forgiveness incentive program The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The education law is amended by adding a new section 679-k 2 to read as follows: 3 § 679-k. New York state small business employees loan forgiveness 4 incentive program. 1. Purpose. The president shall grant student loan 5 forgiveness awards for the purpose of increasing the number of individ- 6 uals who choose to work for a small business in New York state. 7 2. Eligibility. (a) To be eligible to receive an award pursuant to 8 this section, an applicant must be a resident of New York state who has 9 graduated from an institution of higher education and has an outstanding 10 student loan debt. 11 (b) Such awards shall be made annually to eligible applicants who, 12 prior to accepting such awards, engaged in twelve months of service as 13 an employee of a small business registered to do business in the state 14 of New York and, have an annual salary of fifty thousand dollars or 15 less. Such awards shall not exceed an amount of twelve thousand five 16 hundred dollars and shall be made to such applicants, pursuant to the 17 following schedule: 18 (i) ten percent to be awarded upon the completion of the first year; 19 (ii) ten percent to be awarded upon the completion of the second year; 20 (iii) ten percent to be awarded upon the completion of the third year; 21 (iv) ten percent to be awarded upon the completion of the fourth year; 22 (v) ten percent to be awarded upon the completion of the fifth year; 23 (vi) ten percent to be awarded upon the completion of the sixth year; 24 (vii) ten percent to be awarded upon the completion of the seventh 25 year; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD03162-01-5 
 S. 3244 2 1 (viii) ten percent to be awarded upon the completion of the eighth 2 year; 3 (ix) ten percent to be awarded upon the completion of the ninth year; 4 and 5 (x) ten percent to be awarded upon the completion of the tenth year. 6 (c) Recipients of such awards shall be eligible to apply for other 7 awards established under this chapter. 8 3. Duration. Such awards shall be made annually, for no more than ten 9 years, to applicants who remain eligible under this section and who are 10 certified as such by the corporation. 11 4. Amount. The corporation shall grant such awards within the amounts 12 appropriated for such purpose and based on the availability of funds in 13 an amount not to exceed the total cost of the completion of such degree 14 programs. Cost of completion of such degrees shall include: tuition at 15 an institution of higher education approved or registered by the regents 16 and other required or reasonable student fees. 17 5. Definition. For the purposes of this section, "small business" 18 shall have the same meaning as such term is defined in section one 19 hundred thirty-one of the economic development law. 20 6. Rules and regulations. Awards shall be made on a competitive basis 21 as promulgated by the corporation for such purposes to applicants who 22 meet the eligibility criteria. Such rules and regulations shall include 23 provisions for the consideration of applicants who are economically 24 disadvantaged. 25 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding 26 the date upon which it shall have become a law.