NY State Senate Bill 2025-S7020

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Budget And Revenue 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
Mar 28, 2025	referred to budget and revenue

2025-S7020 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A6910
Current Committee:: Senate Budget And Revenue
Law Section:: Tax Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §601, Tax L

2025-S7020 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Exempts a portion of poll workers' income earned on an election day from state income tax; requires the board of elections, in conjunction with the department of taxation and finance, to conduct a public awareness campaign to inform poll workers of such tax exemption; requires the department of taxation and finance to issue guidelines on how poll worker income should be reported on tax returns.

2025-S7020 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7020

SPONSOR: GONZALEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the tax law, in relation to exempting a portion of poll
workers' income earned on an election day from state income tax

 
PURPOSE:

To provide a state income tax exemption for a portion of the income
earned by poll workers on election days, incentivizing civic engagement
and recognizing the essential role poll workers play in the electoral
process.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section I amends Section 601 of the Tax Law by:

* Creating a new subsection (i) to exempt the first $1,000 of election
day income earned by a poll worker from state income tax.

* Providing a full exemption for election day income earned by poll
workers whose total annual income is below 300% of the federal poverty
level.

* Extending these exemptions to income earned from mandatory poll worker
training days.

* Indexing the $1,000 exemption threshold for inflation beginning in the
2026 tax year.

* Clarifying that this exemption does not affect federal income tax
obligations.

Section 2 directs the Board of Elections and the Department of Taxation
and Finance to conduct a public awareness campaign and issue clear
guidelines on how poll worker income should be reported on tax returns.

Section 3 establishes that this act shall take effect immediately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Poll workers serve a vital function in ensuring fair and accessible
elections. However, recruiting and retaining poll workers has become
increasingly difficult due to long hours, low compensation, and limited
financial incentives.

This bill seeks to alleviate some of the financial burden on poll work-
ers by exempting a portion of their earnings from state income tax. By
providing a tax exemption for up to $1,000 of election day income, this
legislation recognizes the critical role poll workers play while encour-
aging greater participation in the electoral process.

Additionally, the bill provides a full exemption for lower-income indi-
viduals, ensuring that those with the greatest financial need receive
the most benefit. The inclusion of mandatory training days in the
exemption ensures that poll workers are not taxed on the time they spend
preparing to administer elections effectively.
A public awareness campaign will ensure that poll workers understand
their eligibility for the exemption, and clear tax reporting guidelines
will minimize administrative burdens for both taxpayers and the Depart-
ment of Taxation and Finance.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New Bill.


 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Minimal impact on state revenue, offset by the potential for increased
poll worker recruitment and retention, leading to improved election
administration.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S7020 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7020
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              March 28, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. GONZALEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Budget and Revenue
 
 AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to exempting a portion of  poll
   workers' income earned on an election day from state income tax
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subsection (i) of section 601 of the tax law is  relettered
 subsection (j) and a new subsection (i) is added to read as follows:
   (I)  POLL  WORKERS  WORKING  ON  ELECTION DAY. (1) NOTWITHSTANDING THE
 PROVISIONS OF SUBSECTIONS (A), (B), (C) AND (D) OF THIS SECTION AND  ANY
 OTHER  PROVISION  OF  THIS  ARTICLE,  FOR  TAXABLE YEARS BEGINNING AFTER
 DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE:
   (A) THE FIRST ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS OF  INCOME  EARNED  BY  A  RESIDENT
 INDIVIDUAL  WHILE  WORKING  AS A POLL WORKER ON AN ELECTION DAY SHALL BE
 EXEMPT FROM TAX UNDER THIS ARTICLE, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER SUCH INCOME IS
 SUBJECT TO FEDERAL INCOME TAXATION. INCOME  EARNED  IN  EXCESS  OF  SUCH
 AMOUNT  SHALL BE SUBJECT TO STATE INCOME TAX AT SUCH INDIVIDUAL'S NORMAL
 TAX RATE.
   (B) FOR RESIDENT INDIVIDUALS WHOSE TOTAL ANNUAL INCOME IS BELOW  THREE
 HUNDRED  PERCENT  OF  THE FEDERAL POVERTY LEVEL, ALL INCOME EARNED WHILE
 WORKING AS A POLL WORKER ON AN ELECTION DAY SHALL BE FULLY  EXEMPT  FROM
 TAX UNDER THIS ARTICLE.
   (2)  THE EXEMPTIONS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH ONE OF THIS SUBSECTION SHALL
 ALSO APPLY TO INCOME EARNED BY A RESIDENT INDIVIDUAL WHILE PARTICIPATING
 IN MANDATORY TRAINING DAYS REQUIRED FOR POLL WORKERS.
   (3) BEGINNING  IN  THE  TAXABLE  YEAR  TWO  THOUSAND  TWENTY-SIX,  THE
 EXEMPTION  AMOUNT SPECIFIED IN SUBPARAGRAPH (A) OF PARAGRAPH ONE OF THIS
 SUBSECTION SHALL BE ADJUSTED ANNUALLY FOR INFLATION,  AS  DETERMINED  BY
 THE  CONSUMER PRICE INDEX PUBLISHED BY THE UNITED STATES BUREAU OF LABOR
 STATISTICS.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08200-02-5
 S. 7020                             2

 
   (4) NOTHING IN THIS SUBSECTION SHALL BE INTERPRETED TO DIMINISH  TAXES
 ON INCOME OTHERWISE OWED UNDER FEDERAL LAW.
   §  2.  The  board  of elections, in conjunction with the department of
 taxation and finance, shall  conduct  a  public  awareness  campaign  to
 inform  poll  workers  of  the  tax  exemption provided by this act. The
 department of taxation and finance shall issue clear guidelines  on  how
 poll  worker  income  should  be  reported on tax returns, including any
 necessary documentation.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

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 S7020

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Budget And Revenue Committee

2025-S7020 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S7020 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S7020 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S7020 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S7020

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Kristen Gonzalez

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Budget And Revenue Committee

2025-S7020 (ACTIVE) - Details

2025-S7020 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2025-S7020 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2025-S7020 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments