NY State Senate Bill 2025-S5988

Senate Bill S5988

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Enables public libraries to access employment preparation education (EPE) funds to provide adult literacy education

download bill text pdf

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance 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

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Actions

View Actions

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Apr 08, 2025	reported and committed to finance
Mar 04, 2025	referred to libraries

Votes

- Apr 8, 2025 - Libraries Committee Vote
  S5988
  
  7
  
  Aye
  
  0
  
  Nay
  
  0
  
  Aye with Reservations
  
  0
  
  Absent
  
  0
  
  Excused
  
  0
  
  Abstained
  - - Libraries Committee Vote: Apr 8, 2025
      
      aye (7)
      
      Brisport
      
      Bynoe
      
      Hoylman-Sigal
      
      Murray
      
      Ryan
      
      Serrano
      
      Tedisco

2025-S5988 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A3738
Current Committee:: Senate Finance
Law Section:: Education Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §3602, Ed L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2015-2016: A7795
2017-2018: A5811
2019-2020: A1667
2021-2022: A55
2023-2024: S6136, A7955

2025-S5988 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enables public libraries to access employment preparation education (EPE) funds to provide adult literacy education; sets aside one million dollars to be awarded through a competitive grant process; provides that half of such appropriation shall be set aside for libraries serving a population of one million or more.

2025-S5988 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S5988

SPONSOR: BYNOE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the education law, in relation to enabling public
libraries to access employment preparation education (EPE) funds to
provide adult literacy instruction

 
PURPOSE:

The purpose of this bill is to allow public libraries to apply for and
receive Employment Preparation Education (EPE) funds for pre-GED and
other adult literacy services that are authorized under this program.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of this bill would set aside an amount of one million dollars
to be awarded through a competitive grant process to public libraries to
provide EPE services.

Section 2 shall provide that the effective date shall April 1, 2027.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Current funding for Employment Preparation Education (EPE) programs is
only available to school districts and BOCES. These programs provide
educational services to persons twenty-one years of age or older who
have dropped out of high school and did not receive a degree or GED,
including employment skills, English as a Second Language courses, pre-
GED classes, computer and Internet training, job readiness workshops,
and financial literacy classes. Libraries provide many of the same
educational services and should be able to take advantage of the funding
dedicated to these services. This bill would allow public libraries to
apply for and receive Employment Preparation Education (EPE) funds for
pre-GED and other adult literacy services that are authorized under this
program.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023-2024: S6136A (Chu) - Referred to Finance.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

$1 million.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect April 1, 2027.

2025-S5988 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5988
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 4, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BYNOE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Libraries
 
 AN ACT to amend the  education  law,  in  relation  to  enabling  public
   libraries  to  access  employment preparation education (EPE) funds to
   provide adult literacy instruction

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Subdivision  11  of  section 3602 of the education law is
 amended by adding a new paragraph a-2 to read as follows:
   A-2. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH A  OF  THIS  SUBDIVI-
 SION,  THE COMMISSIONER SHALL SET ASIDE AN AMOUNT OF ONE MILLION DOLLARS
 TO BE AWARDED THROUGH A COMPETITIVE GRANT PROCESS TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES TO
 PROVIDE ANY OF THE SERVICES AUTHORIZED IN THIS SUBDIVISION. HOWEVER,  NO
 LESS  THAN  HALF  THE ANNUAL APPROPRIATION SHALL BE SET ASIDE FOR PUBLIC
 LIBRARIES SERVING A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE. THE  COMMISSIONER
 SHALL HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH RULES AND REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT
 THE PROVISIONS OF THIS PARAGRAPH.
   § 2. This act shall take effect April 1, 2027.
 
 
 
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD06582-01-5

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