Sec. 2201.14. New York State Young Farmers Loan Forgiveness Incentive Program

(a) Definitions. The following definitions apply to this section:

(1) Approved New York state college or university shall mean a college or university located within New York State that is accredited by an agency recognized by the United States Secretary of Education, or by a successor Federal agency.

(2) Award shall mean a New York State Young Farmers Loan Forgiveness Incentive Program award pursuant to section 679-f of the New York State Education Law.

(3) Corporation shall mean the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation.

(4) Degree shall mean an undergraduate degree.

(5) Economically disadvantaged and economic need shall mean applicants who demonstrate the greatest need by dividing their household income by their outstanding student loan debt; the lowest resulting quotient evidences the greatest need.

(6) Employer shall mean a legal entity that employs one or more people for wages or salary, including a sole owner without employees.

(7) Full time shall mean employment devoted to the operation of a farm in New York State in accordance with the employer’s policy, practice, and standard for defining full time employment.

(8) Household income shall mean the Federal Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) for individuals or married couples filing jointly, or the aggregate AGI of married couples filing separately, reduced by a cost of living allowance, which shall be equal to the applicant’s eligible New York State standard deductions plus their eligible New York State dependent exemptions for personal income tax purposes.

(9) Operate and operation shall mean employment in a managerial position, including the management of a component(s) of farm operation.

(10) Outstanding student loan debt shall mean the total cumulative student loan balance required to be paid by the applicant at the time of selection for an award under this program. Such outstanding student loan debt shall include the outstanding principal and any accrued interest covering the cost of attendance to obtain an undergraduate degree from an approved New York State college or university.

(11) Program shall mean the New York State Young Farmers Loan Forgiveness Incentive Program.

(b) Eligibility. An applicant must:

(1) satisfy the requirements provided in section 679-f of the Education Law;

(2) not be in default on a student loan made under any statutory New York State or Federal education loan program or repayment of any award made pursuant to article 14 of the Education Law; and

(3) be in compliance with the terms of any service condition imposed by an award made pursuant to article 14 of the Education Law.

(c) Administration.

(1) An applicant for an award shall:

(i) apply for program eligibility on forms and in a manner prescribed by the corporation. The corporation may require applicants to provide additional documentation evidencing eligibility; and

(ii) postmark or electronically transmit an application for program eligibility to the corporation on or before the date prescribed by the corporation.

(2) A recipient of an award shall:

(i) execute a service contract prescribed by the corporation;

(ii) apply for payment annually on forms prescribed by the corporation;

(iii) confirm annually his or her operation of a farm in New York State on a full time basis by submitting a certification from his or her employer attesting to the recipient’s job title, job duties, full-time employment status (including a copy of the employer’s policy, practice, and standard for defining full time employment), and any other information necessary for the corporation to determine eligibility. Said submission shall be on forms and in a manner prescribed by the corporation; and

(iv) not receive more than ten thousand dollars per year for not more than five years in duration and not to exceed the total amount of such recipient’s outstanding student loan debt.

(3) The outstanding student loan debt shall:

(i) include New York State student loans, Federal government student loans, and private student loans for the purpose of financing undergraduate studies made by commercial entities subject to governmental examination.

(ii) exclude Federal parent PLUS loans; loans cancelled under any program; private loans given by family or personal acquaintances; student loan debt paid by credit card; loans paid in full, or in part, on or before the first successful application for program eligibility under this program; loans for which documentation is not available; loans without a promissory note; or any other loan debt that cannot be verified by the corporation.

(iii) be reduced by any reductions to student loan debt that an applicant has received or shall receive.

(4) The corporation may impose an administrative offset whereby a payment under this program is withheld, in whole or in part, to satisfy a debt owed to the corporation by the recipient.

(d) Award selection.

(1) For the first year of this program’s operation, awards shall be granted to applicants who are economically disadvantaged with a priority given to those applicants completing the second, third, fourth or fifth year of full time farm operation.

(2) For the second year of this program’s operation and thereafter, awards shall be made in the following order of priority:

(i) applicants who received an award in a prior year and are re-applying to receive an award under this program;

(ii) applicants who are economically disadvantaged, but did not receive an award during the first year of this program’s operation, with a priority given to those applicants completing the second, third, fourth or fifth year of full time farm operation.

(3) All awards are contingent upon annual appropriations.

(e) Abandonment or revocation. Upon prior notice to a recipient, an award may be revoked by the corporation if the corporation determines that the recipient has abandoned their award. Abandonment of an award can be evidenced by:

(1) a failure to apply for payment or reimbursement;

(2) a lack of any contact or communication with the corporation;

(3) a failure to respond to a request for information; or

(4) any other information known to the corporation reasonably evidencing an indication of abandonment by a program participant.