ESC-04-07-00005-P New York State Flight 587 Memorial Scholarship  

  • 1/24/07 N.Y. St. Reg. ESC-04-07-00005-P
    NEW YORK STATE REGISTER
    VOLUME XXIX, ISSUE 4
    January 24, 2007
    RULE MAKING ACTIVITIES
    HIGHER EDUCATION SERVICES CORPORATION
    PROPOSED RULE MAKING
    NO HEARING(S) SCHEDULED
     
    I.D No. ESC-04-07-00005-P
    New York State Flight 587 Memorial Scholarship
    PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following proposed rule:
    Proposed action:
    Addition of section 2201.7 to Title 8 NYCRR.
    Statutory authority:
    Education Law, sections 653, 655 and 668-f
    Subject:
    New York State Flight 587 Memorial Scholarship.
    Purpose:
    To implement the scholarship.
    Text of proposed rule:
    New section 2201.7 is added to Title 8 of the New York Code, Rules and Regulations to read as follows:
    Section 2201.7 American Airlines Flight 587 Memorial Scholarship
    (a) Authority: The provisions contained within this regulation are made pursuant to authority granted to the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation in sections 653, 655 and 668-f of the Education Law.
    (b) Definitions: As used in sections 604 and 668-f of the Education Law:
    (1) The term American Airlines Flight 587 Memorial Scholarship (hereinafter “scholarship”) may also be known as the New York State Flight 587 Memorial Scholarship.
    (2) the term “children” shall be that found in section 601 of the Education Law.
    (3) the term “spouse” shall mean the legal spouse.
    (4) the term “financial dependent” shall mean a person who is dependent for his or her support upon an individual who has died as a direct result of the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Rockaway, Queens on November 12, 2001, upon a showing of unilateral dependence or mutual interdependence upon such individual which may be evidenced by a nexus of factors, including, but not limited to, common ownership of property, common house-holding, shared budgeting, and the length of the relationship between the financial dependent and such individual.
    (5) the term “persons who died as a direct result of the crash” shall include the 260 persons aboard the aircraft as well as the 6 persons on the ground at the crash site when the crash occurred who died as a result thereof.
    (c) Eligibility:
    (1) Eligible recipients under section 668-f (1) of the Education Law may be residents or non-residents of New York State and shall attend institutions of higher education within New York State.
    (2) New York State residents attending out of state institutions of higher education may be eligible to receive scholarships in accordance with sections 604 and 668-f of the Education Law if on August second, two thousand five, they were matriculated and in attendance at an institution meeting the eligibility requirements of Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, and were New York State residents at the time.
    (d) Burden of Proof
    (1) It shall be the responsibility of the applicant or his or her agent to provide documentation establishing eligibility for the scholarship.
    (2) Documentation may include death and birth certificates, marriage and driver's licenses, joint bank statements or other financial statements, federal or state tax filings, social security cards, court documents, utility bills, or such other documentation as may be required by the corporation.
    (3) Determinations will be based on a totality of the documentation provided.
    (4) Failure to provide requested documentation or other information may lead to ineligibility.
    (5) Determination of an applicant's ineligibility will be final on the date the notice of ineligibility is received by the applicant; however, an ineligible applicant may be reconsidered if additional information is provided that so warrants.
    Text of proposed rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
    Cheryl B. Fisher, Associate Attorney, Higher Education Services Corporation, 99 Washington Ave., Rm. 1350, Albany, NY 12255, (518) 473-1581, e-mail: CFisher@HESC.com
    Data, views or arguments may be submitted to:
    Same as above
    Public comment will be received until:
    45 days after publication of this notice.
    Regulatory Impact Statement
    Statutory authority:
    New York State Higher Education Services Corporation's (HESC) statutory authority to promulgate regulations and administer the New York State Flight 587 Memorial Scholarship Program is codified in sections 653, 655 and 668-f of the Education Law.
    The scholarship was introduced in the legislature as a multi-sponsored bill, numbered S1259/A4007, in early 2005. On 6/21/05, it was substituted by Governor's Program Bill #51 — a virtually identical bill numbered A7150 — and signed into law on 8/2/05.
    Legislative objectives:
    The legislature established the New York State Flight 587 Memorial Scholarship to provide college educations to the children and spouses of those who died as a result of the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Rockaway, Queens, New York, on November 12, 2001.
    The recipients will obtain scholarship amounts in the same manner as the World Trade Center Memorial Scholarships which is the cost of attendance at the State University of New York, City University of New York, or a commensurate amount at a private college or university. Awards are granted for not more than four years of undergraduate study or for five years if the program normally requires it.
    The statute requires HESC to administer the program.
    Needs and benefits:
    On November 12, 2001, American Airlines Flight 587, out of JFK airport and bound for the Dominican Republic, crashed in Far Rockaway, Queens, killing 260 passengers and crew as well as six people on the ground. Surviving spouses now shoulder the heavy burden of supporting children who have lost the support of a parent to obtain a college degree and begin a self-supporting life. This program fills a humanitarian need to provide an education to the children and spouses of those who died as a result of the crash of Flight 587 who might not otherwise have that opportunity.
    Inasmuch as the program is tied to the World Trade Center Memorial Scholarship both statutorily and by the fact it occurred a month and a day after the 9/11 disaster, attempts were made to standardize this program with that one. Thus, the proposal adopts the definitions of “children” and “spouse” from that program, and it reconciles the definition of “financial dependent” used in the World Trade Center Scholarship by eliminating the inapplicable terms and restating the useful ones. By the same token, the proposal borrows a provision from the Trade Center program relating to Title IV eligibility and New York residents that attended school out of state.
    The proposal addresses the administrative concerns of time management and efficiency by alerting the applicants to the types of documentation they need to obtain an award.
    Costs:
    a. It is anticipated that there will be no costs to the agency for the implementation of, or continuing compliance with this rule, except for programmatic administration costs.
    b. The cost of the program to the State shall not exceed $2,400,000.00. It is anticipated that there will be no costs to Local Governments for the implementation of, or continuing compliance with, this rule.
    c. The source of the cost data in (b) above is derived from the sponsor's bill justification memo estimating an initial cost of $400,000, and continuing costs for approximately 150 children and spouses of $100,000.000 annually over the next 20 years.
    Local government mandates:
    No program, service, duty or responsibility will be imposed by this rule upon any county, city, town, village, school district, fire district or other special district.
    Paperwork:
    This proposal will require potential recipients of the New York State Flight 587 Memorial Scholarship to submit an annual application and supporting documentation to establish their eligibility for this program. No additional paperwork will be required.
    Duplication:
    No relevant rules or other relevant requirements duplicating, overlapping, or conflicting with this rule were identified.
    Alternatives:
    Inasmuch as this program is statutorily tied to the World Trade Center Memorial Scholarship, using the provisions of that program should provide administrative efficiencies and timely processing of applications. Thus, as shown above, two definitions were adopted from that program and a third was altered to fit this program.
    More eligibility requirements were considered but they are not needed because the program is not competitive.
    Enumerating the types of documents that an applicant will need to obtain an award should speed processing. Many other types of documents were considered but the list was boiled-down to prevent confusion.
    The proposal attempts to address an as yet unrealized controversy concerning the name of the American Airlines Flight 587 Memorial Scholarship. The scholarship is not a corporate scholarship. It is not funded by American Airlines, but rather, it is funded solely by State appropriations. Moreover, there is no evidence that American Airlines desires its name to be used in this capacity. Therefore, the proposal makes the term New York State Flight 587 Memorial Scholarship synonymous with the American Airlines Flight 587 Scholarship and envisions that this scholarship will be referred to in normal everyday use by this term.
    Federal standards:
    This proposal does not exceed any minimum standards of the Federal Government, and efforts were made to align it with similar federal subject areas as evidenced by the citation to Title IV of the Higher Education Act in the subdivision concerning out of state students.
    Compliance schedule:
    The agency will be able to comply with the regulation immediately upon its adoption.
    Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
    This statement is being submitted pursuant to subdivision (3) of section 202-b of the State Administrative Procedure Act and in support of New York State Higher Education Services Corporation's Notice of Proposed Rule Making, seeking to add a new section 2201.7 to Title 8 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York.
    It is apparent from the nature and purpose of this rule that it will not impose an adverse economic impact on small businesses or local governments. This agency finds that this rule will not impose any compliance requirements or adverse economic impact on small businesses or local governments because it implements a statutory student scholarship program intended to provide a college education for spouses and children of those who died as a result of the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Rockaway, Queens, New York, on November 12, 2001.
    Rural Area Flexibility Analysis
    This statement is being submitted pursuant to subdivision (4) of section 202-bb of the State Administrative Procedure Act and in support of New York State Higher Education Services Corporation's Notice of Proposed Rule Making, seeking to add a new section 2201.7 to Title 8 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York.
    It is apparent from the nature and purpose of this rule that it will not impose an adverse impact on rural areas. This agency finds that this rule will not impose any reporting, record keeping or other compliance requirements on public or private entities in rural areas.
    The rule implements a statutory student scholarship program intended to provide a college education to children and spouses of those who died as a result of the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Rockaway, Queens, New York on November 12, 2001. Inasmuch as the recipients may attend school anywhere within New York State, successful implementation of this proposal could have a positive effect on all areas within the State, including any rural areas that the recipients choose to attend school in and/or subsequently work in.
    Job Impact Statement
    This statement is being submitted pursuant to subdivision (2) of section 201-a of the State Administrative Procedure Act and in support of New York State Higher Education Services Corporation's Notice of Proposed Rule Making seeking to add a new section 2201.7 to Title 8 of the Official Compilation of Codes, Rules and Regulations of the State of New York.
    It is apparent from the nature and purpose of this rule that it will not have any negative impact on jobs or employment opportunities. The proposal implements a statutory student scholarship program enacted for children and spouses of those who died as a result of the crash of American Airlines Flight 587 in Rockaway, Queens, New York, on November 12, 2001. The successful implementation of this program could have a positive job effect by helping those effected by the crash obtain a college education in New York State and enter the job market therein.

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