Directs the department of veterans' services to conduct pre-release briefings for incarcerated veterans regarding available federal and state benefits available to veterans and their families and how to apply for such benefits.
This bill (A 10267) renames New York’s "workforce investment board" to the "workforce development board" and updates its membership structure. The revised board will have 49 members, including representatives from business (with specific industry sector representation), labor, youth services, community colleges, veterans, and mature workers. The board’s core duty remains assisting the state in implementing federal workforce programs like the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), including developing state plans and performance measures. The changes are administrative, focusing on board composition and naming, not new funding or programs.
Directs the metropolitan transportation authority, in consultation with the Long Island Rail Road, the New York city transit authority, and the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company, to establish a no fare program for transportation on the Long Island Rail Road, the New York city transit authority, and the Metro-North Commuter Railroad Company for certain active duty, reserves, retired armed forces members, firefighters, and police officers.
Directs the department of veterans' services to conduct pre-release briefings for incarcerated veterans regarding available federal and state benefits available to veterans and their families and how to apply for such benefits.
This bill creates a new instant lottery scratch-off game called the "veterans' benefit game," with all proceeds funding scholarships for veterans through New York's Veterans Tuition Awards Program. The lottery tickets must clearly state that profits support veterans, and the generated funds will be placed into a dedicated "Veterans' Education and Scholarship Fund" managed by the state education department and comptroller. The fund will provide scholarship money directly to the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation to administer the veteran tuition program. This establishes a permanent funding source for veteran education benefits through state lottery revenue.
Clarifies the definition of severe and permanent disability for eligibility for military enhanced recognition, incentive and tribute ("MERIT") scholarships.
This bill requires New York State to make burial records for former patients interred at state mental health hospital cemeteries freely available to the public. It mandates that records include name, birth/death dates, burial location, military service details, and family relationships, with no fees charged for access. The law also requires maintaining public cemetery maps, posting informational signs at cemeteries, and permanently preserving all burial records - including those for historical institutions like Utica State Hospital and Willard Asylum. These records are explicitly separated from clinical patient files under the law.
This bill authorizes a special "North Country Honor Flight" license plate for vehicles in the state, requiring an additional $25 annual fee on top of regular registration. The fee structure directs the first $6,000 collected each year to the state's distinctive plate development fund, with any excess funds deposited into the "North Country Honor Flight fund." This fund, managed by the state's finance and comptroller offices, will be used exclusively to support the North Country Honor Flight organization, which arranges free trips for veterans to visit war memorials. The bill creates a sustainable funding mechanism for the veterans' program through license plate sales, without requiring upfront state appropriations.
This Senate Resolution (J 1666) formally recognizes the 369th Veterans Association, Richmond District, for its work preserving the history of the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hellfighters. The resolution highlights the regiment's distinguished service in World War I as a segregated African American unit that fought under the French Army, earned high honors, and suffered significant casualties while never losing ground. The legislature adopted the resolution to commend the Association's community outreach - such as supporting youth programs and assisting veterans - and will send a copy to the Association as a formal gesture of appreciation.
Establishes the veterans' services organization capital support program to provide funding for payment of the capital costs of construction, improvement, repairs, rehabilitation, or reconstruction of certain facilities.
