BILL NUMBER: S9210
SPONSOR: BRISPORT
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the state finance law, in relation to prohibiting
requiring certain municipalities to contribute local shares of eligible
expenditures in order to receive funding associated with raising the age
of juvenile jurisdiction above fifteen years of age
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of this bill amends Section 54-m of the state finance law to
ensure that all jurisdictions can access funding in connection with the
Raise the Age law.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
When New York State passed the landmark "Raise the Age" legislation,
drawing sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds out of the criminal justice
system, it was broadly understood that this change should be coupled
with funding for services for young people. The intention was to prevent
crime before it even occurs. However, because of the way that law was
written, the funding has not been made available to some of the
highest-need areas. This new bill will remove the restrictions on Raise
the Age funding, so that all jurisdictions can access services for young
people.
Since fully taking effect in 2019, each year the state budget has
included hundreds of millions of dollars of funding to implement the
Raise the Age law. Under the initiative, counties outside of New York
City create plans to provide early intervention, crime prevention, and
alternative-to-detention services, which they submit to the state's
Office of Children and Family Services for approval and reimbursement.
Raise the Age services can include an array of programs that draw in
community-based agencies offering things like mentors, counseling, and
after-school activities. This array of options is intended to support
teenagers who would otherwise have been funneled into far more punitive
adult courts, jails and prisons.
Unlike other jurisdictions, however, New York City has not received
Raise the Age funding. This is because the law was written in a way that
renders New York City ineligible, and instead puts the onus on the city
to seek a "financial hardship waiver" from the budget director. In the
years since the passage of the Raise the Age law, New York City has not
been able to access this funding. Legislators and commentators have, for
years, acknowledged the need for New York State to make this funding
more broadly available. That is precisely what this legislation will do.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
TBD
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S9210: 54-m state finance law