Relates to certificate of residence policies for community colleges, the official text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   10541
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              March 10, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. POWERS -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Higher Education
 
 AN  ACT  to amend the education law, in relation to certificate of resi-
   dence policies for community colleges
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivisions 3 and 4 of section 6305 of the education law,
 subdivision 3 as amended by chapter 542 of the laws of 2022 and subdivi-
 sion 4 as amended by section 2 of part V of chapter 57 of  the  laws  of
 2013, are amended and a new subdivision 4-a is added to read as follows:
   3. The chief fiscal officer of each county, as defined in section 2.00
 of the local finance law, shall, upon application and submission to such
 chief  fiscal  officer  of  satisfactory evidence in-person or electron-
 ically, issue to any person desiring to enroll in a community college as
 a non-resident student, a certificate of  residence  form  showing  that
 said  person  is a resident of said county. No such chief fiscal officer
 shall require a person desiring to enroll in a community  college  as  a
 non-resident  student  to disclose or furnish his or her social security
 number. If the chief fiscal officer of a county refuses to issue such  a
 certificate  on  the  ground  that the person applying therefor is not a
 resident of such county, OR THAT SUCH PERSON IS NOT SUBJECT TO RULES  OR
 REGULATIONS  PROMULGATED  UNDER  SUBDIVISION FOUR-A OF THIS SECTION, the
 person applying may appeal, in writing, electronically or  by  mail,  to
 the  chancellor  of  the  state  university. The chancellor of the state
 university, or such officers or employees thereof as shall be designated
 by the chancellor in a manner authorized by the state  university  trus-
 tees,  shall make a determination after a hearing, upon ten days' notice
 to such chief fiscal officer of the county, and such determination shall
 be final and binding on the county. Such person shall, upon registration
 for each college year, file with the college such a certificate of resi-
 dence form issued not earlier than two months prior  thereto,  and  such
 certificate  of  residence  form shall be valid for a period of one year
 from the date of  issuance.  The  state  university  trustees  shall  be
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15184-01-6
 A. 10541                            2
 
 authorized  to  promulgate  regulations  to effectuate the provisions of
 this subdivision.
   4.  If,  pursuant  to  subdivision  two  of  this section, a community
 college elects to charge to and collect  an  allocable  portion  of  the
 operating  costs  and  a further sum on account of capital costs of such
 college from each county which has issued a certificate form or  certif-
 icates of residence forms pursuant to subdivision three of this section,
 on the basis of which non-resident students are attending such community
 college,  the  president  of such community college shall, within forty-
 five days after the commencement of each college term or program, OR  AS
 OTHERWISE  PROVIDED  BY  RULES  OR  REGULATIONS  PROMULGATED PURSUANT TO
 SUBDIVISION FOUR-A OF THIS SECTION, submit to the chief  fiscal  officer
 of each county a list of non-resident students attending such college on
 the  basis  of such certificates of residence form and a voucher for the
 amount payable by each county for these students. Such list and  voucher
 shall  be  determined  on the basis of non-resident students enrolled in
 the program as of the end (or  last  day)  of  the  third  week  of  the
 commencement  for  a  program scheduled for one semester, the end of the
 second for a program scheduled for an academic quarter and  the  end  of
 the  first week for any program scheduled to be completed in thirty days
 or less. The chancellor of the state university,  or  such  officers  or
 employees thereof as shall be designated by the chancellor in the manner
 authorized  by  the  state  university  trustees, shall notify the chief
 fiscal officers of each county of  the  approved  annual  operating  and
 capital  charge-back  rate for each community college. The amount billed
 to the chief fiscal officer of each county  by  the  president  of  such
 community college as a charge for the allocable portion of the operating
 costs  and a further sum on account of capital costs of such college for
 non-resident students shall be paid to the chief fiscal officer of  such
 college  by  the billed county no later than sixty days after the county
 receives said billing.
   4-A. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY PROVISION OF LAW, RULE, OR REGULATION TO  THE
 CONTRARY,  THE  STATE UNIVERSITY TRUSTEES ARE AUTHORIZED AND DIRECTED TO
 PROMULGATE RULES OR REGULATIONS SETTING FORTH: (A) A  SCHEDULE  OF  LATE
 FEES  AND  EXCEPTIONS  THEREOF FOR A STUDENT SUBMITTING A CERTIFICATE OF
 RESIDENCE FORM AFTER THE DEADLINE OTHERWISE  PRESCRIBED  BY  SUBDIVISION
 FOUR OF THIS SECTION FOR SUCH SUBMISSION, BUT WITHIN THE RELEVANT SEMES-
 TER  OR  TERM; AND (B) A RECONCILIATION PROCESS FOR VALID FORMS RECEIVED
 AFTER THE LIST OF NON-RESIDENT STUDENTS WAS SENT TO A COUNTY PURSUANT TO
 SUBDIVISION FOUR OF THIS SECTION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.