NY State Senate Bill 2025-S1056

Senate Bill S1056

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to the provision of criminal history background checks free of charge to mentoring programs operated by not-for-profit corporations

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Children And Families Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

Please enter your contact information

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

A valid email address is required.

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 08, 2025	referred to children and families

co-Sponsors

2025-S1056 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Children And Families
Law Section:: Social Services Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §390-e, Soc Serv L; amd §837, Exec L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2019-2020: S6023
2021-2022: S1488
2023-2024: S1605

2025-S1056 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to the provision of criminal history background checks free of charge to mentoring programs operated by not-for-profit corporations.

2025-S1056 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S1056

SPONSOR: SERRANO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law and the executive law, in
relation to the provision of criminal history background checks free of
charge to mentoring programs operated by not-for-profit corporations

 
PURPOSE:

To direct the Division of Criminal Justice Services to provide criminal
background checks to not-forprofit mentoring programs free of charge.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends Subdivision 4 of section 390-e of the
social services law to provide that there shall be no processing fee for
criminal background checks requested by not-for-profit mentoring
programs.

Section 2 amends subdivision 8-a of section 837 of the executive law to

provide that the Division of Criminal Justice Services shall not request
or accept any fee for conducting criminal background checks for not-for-
profit mentoring programs.

Section 3 amends subdivision 1 of section 390-e of the social services
law to include mentoring programs such as corporations which have been
incorporated pursuant to subparagraph five of paragraph (a) of section
102 of the not-for-profit corporation law or section 102 of the business
corporation law, educational institutions or school districts, and youth
sports programs.

Section 4 provides the effective date.

 
EXISTING LAW:

Not-for-profit-mentoring programs are currently assessed a fee for crim-
inal background checks.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Youth mentoring programs provide a needed service in our communities.
They match troubled or at-risk youth with positive adult role models in
long-term mentoring friendships for the purpose of guiding them through
difficult life decisions and circumstances. However, not-for-profit
mentoring programs have very limited resources, and the cost of criminal
background checks can be prohibitive. This bill would allow not-for-pro-
fit mentoring programs to avoid the fee associated with a background
check, thus allowing the organization to dedicate its scarce resources
to provide service to the community.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2024: S1605 - Passed Senate. Delivered to Assembly- referred to children
and families

2023: S.1605 - Passed Senate. Delivered to Assembly. Died in Assembly.

2021-22: S.1488 - Passed Senate

2020: S.6023 - Reported to Finance

2019: S.6023 - Passed Senate

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Minimal.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the 60 days after it shall become law.

2025-S1056 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1056
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  SERRANO,  KRUEGER,  RAMOS, WEBB -- read twice and
   ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
   Children and Families
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  the  social  services  law and the executive law, in
   relation to the provision of criminal history background  checks  free
   of  charge  to  mentoring  programs  operated by not-for-profit corpo-
   rations
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivision 4 of section 390-e of the social services law,
 as added by chapter 459 of the laws of  2006,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   4. Every mentoring program that chooses to apply for a criminal histo-
 ry background check with the division of criminal justice services shall
 obtain  a  set  of fingerprints from each individual for whom a criminal
 background check is to be completed and such  other  information  as  is
 required  by  the  office and the division of criminal justice services.
 For each prospective employee or mentor for whom the  mentoring  program
 completes  a  criminal  background  check,  the  mentoring program shall
 provide the applicant with blank fingerprint cards and a description  of
 how  the  completed fingerprint card will be used upon submission to the
 mentoring program. The mentoring program shall  promptly  transmit  such
 fingerprint  card and the processing fee to the office; PROVIDED, HOWEV-
 ER, IF THE MENTORING PROGRAM IS  OPERATED  BY  A  NOT-FOR-PROFIT  CORPO-
 RATION,  NO  PROCESSING  FEE  SHALL BE IMPOSED FOR A CRIMINAL BACKGROUND
 CHECK. The office shall promptly submit the  fingerprint  card  and  the
 processing  fee,  IF  imposed pursuant to subdivision eight-a of section
 eight hundred thirty-seven of the executive  law,  to  the  division  of
 criminal justice services for its full search and retain processing.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00452-01-5

 S. 1056                             2
 
   §  2.  Subdivision 8-a of section 837 of the executive law, as amended
 by chapter 561 of the laws of 2006, is amended to read as follows:
   8-a.  Charge a fee when, pursuant to statute or the regulations of the
 division, it conducts a search  of  its  criminal  history  records  and
 returns  a  report thereon in connection with an application for employ-
 ment or for a license or permit. The division shall adopt and may,  from
 time  to  time,  amend a schedule of such fees which shall be in amounts
 determined by the division to be  reasonably  related  to  the  cost  of
 conducting such searches and returning reports thereon but, in no event,
 shall  any  such  fee  exceed  twenty-five  dollars  and  an  additional
 surcharge of fifty dollars. The  comptroller  is  hereby  authorized  to
 deposit  such  fees  into  the general fund, provided, however, that the
 monies received by the division of criminal justice services for payment
 of the additional surcharge shall be deposited in equal amounts  to  the
 general  fund  and  to  the  fingerprint  identification  and technology
 account. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the division shall  not  request
 or  accept  any  fee  for searching its records and supplying a criminal
 history report pursuant to section two hundred fifty-one-b of the gener-
 al business law relating to participating in flight instruction  at  any
 aeronautical  facility, flight school or institution of higher learning,
 OR PURSUANT TO SECTION THREE HUNDRED NINETY-E OF THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW
 WHEN THE DIVISION IS SUPPLYING A CRIMINAL HISTORY REPORT TO A  MENTORING
 PROGRAM OPERATED BY A NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION.
   §  3.  Paragraph  (c)  of subdivision 1 of section 390-e of the social
 services law, as added by chapter 459 of the laws of 2006, is amended to
 read as follows:
   (c) "Mentoring program" shall mean a formalized program, operated by:
   (I) a corporation which has been incorporated pursuant to subparagraph
 five of paragraph (a) of section one hundred two of  the  not-for-profit
 corporation  law  or  pursuant  to subparagraph four of paragraph (a) of
 section one hundred two of the business corporation  law[,  or  operated
 by];
   (II) an educational institution or school district, that matches youth
 with  adult  volunteers  with  the  purpose of providing such youth with
 positive role models to enhance their development; OR
   (III) A YOUTH SPORTS PROGRAM.
   § 4. This act shall take effect on the sixtieth  day  after  it  shall
 have become a law.

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

Create an account. An account allows you to sign petitions with a single click, officially support or oppose key legislation, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Senate Bill S1056

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Jose M. Serrano