BILL NUMBER: S6155A
SPONSOR: BAILEY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the education law, in relation to allowing for a modest
increase in annual income to not disqualify someone from the excelsior
scholarship
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA:
To ensure that a minor increase in adjusted gross income does not
disqualify an otherwise deserving student of much needed financial aid.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
The bill amends the relevant section in the education law to allow for a
modest increase in adjusted gross income when determining eligibility
during subsequent semesters. The bill allows for a scholarship recipi-
ent's adjusted gross income to increase by 3 percent after the first
semester of such scholarship, and it allows for that recipient's
adjusted gross income to increase further at the discretion of the High-
er Education Services Corporation.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
To qualify for the Excelsior Scholarship Program, which affords students
the opportunity to attend CUNY and SUNY colleges for free, the household
income of the applicant cannot exceed $125,000. This cap on income does
not take into account modest wage increases that may cover certain
living expenses, but certainly not the growing costs associated with
going to college.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATION FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

Statutes affected:
S6155: 669-h education law, 669-h(1) education law
S6155A: 669-h education law, 669-h(1) education law