What's happening
This bill directs the New York Board of Regents to study and propose alternative college funding methods, including a tuition-free pilot program and tuition freeze options at public four-year institutions.
Why it matters
Addresses student debt crisis. By exploring tuition-free pilot programs and tuition freezes, the bill directly aims to reduce the financial burden and long-term debt faced by graduates of public four-year colleges in New York, which is currently over $25,000 on average.
Shifts to income-based repayment. The “Pay Forward, Pay Back” pilot would replace upfront tuition payments with a model where students pay a percentage of their future income, potentially making college more accessible for lower-income students and aligning repayment with actual post-graduation earnings.
Calls for sustainable funding and risk analysis. The bill requires identifying immediate and long-term funding sources for new programs, and mandates studies of similar tuition-free and tuition-freeze initiatives elsewhere, ensuring that any new system is financially viable for both students and institutions.
Promotes policy innovation in higher education. By instructing the Board of Regents to research and propose alternative funding methods—including binding income-share agreements and multi-year tuition freezes—New York could become a leader in rethinking how public higher education is financed, with possible implications for other states.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Study College Funding Alternatives
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
16 Co-sponsors
History
- Enacting clause stricken
- Referred to higher education
- Referred to higher education
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Study New College Funding Options
In Senate Committee · Higher Education · Sponsor Gustavo Rivera
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2059
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 17, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. SEPULVEDA, ABINANTI, CAHILL, COLTON, RAIA, MONTESANO, CRESPO, RODRIGUEZ, BLAKE, LAVINE, CROUCH -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. GOTTFRIED, MAGEE, PERRY, RIVERA, SIMON, STECK, THIELE -- read once and referred to the Committee on Higher Education
AN ACT to require the conducting of a study by the board of regents of feasible alternative methods of funding a college education at public four-year institutions of higher learning in New York state
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The legislature recognizes that post-secondary education has expanded opportunities for New Yorkers to qualify for high-quality jobs and entry into the middle class, providing clear benefits to this state's economy.
Regrettably, public investment in higher education in this state has decreased over the past decade, resulting in substantial increases in annual tuition, fees and room and board imposed by public four-year and two-year institutions of higher education in the state. These increases have out-paced increases in the average family income in the state, forcing students to incur larger amounts of debt in order to afford to attend college. The average student loan debt of students graduating from public four-year institutions of higher education in New York now exceeds $25,000.
Such high levels of student debt are damaging not only to the individual student's ability to succeed financially but also will have grave consequences for the future economy of this state.
The legislature finds that it must halt the decrease in the state's support for public education and, over time, must increase its contribution to the funding of higher education. It also finds that the state must immediately seek another approach to financing the students' share of the cost of public higher education in this state that will not
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01101-01-7
A. 2059 2
result in students graduating from New York's public colleges and universities burdened with debt.
§ 2. The board of regents shall consider the creation of a proposed pilot program called "Pay Forward, Pay Back".
(a) The pilot program would:
(i) Replace the current system of charging students tuition and fees for enrollment at public institutions of higher education; and
(ii) Identify one or more public institutions of higher education to participate in the pilot program.
(b) If the board of regents determines that a pilot program is warranted, the commission shall submit a proposed pilot program to the 2018 regular session of the legislature for approval.
(c) The proposed pilot program shall:
(i) Allow students who are residents of this state, as defined by the institution, and who qualify for admission to the institution to enroll in the institution without paying tuition or fees;
(ii) Provide that, in lieu of paying tuition or fees, students must sign binding contracts to pay to the state of New York or the institution a certain percentage of the student's annual adjusted gross income upon graduation from the institution for a specified number of years;
(iii) Specify the number of years and the percentage of annual adjusted gross income for contracts at each participating institution and base the specifications on research to date; and
(iv) Establish an immediate funding source for the first 15 to 20 years of the pilot program and include the establishment of a revolving fund to deposit payments made under the pilot program.
(d) The pilot program may vary by institution depending on:
(i) The total cost of education at the institution.
(ii) The portion of the cost that is paid by the state.
(iii) The number of years specified in the contract.
(iv) The percentage of annual adjusted gross income specified in the contract.
§ 3. (a) The board of regents shall conduct a study on whether public universities in the state can successfully implement a tuition freeze that will guarantee that incoming undergraduate students have the same tuition rate for four years. The study must include an analysis of:
(i) The 'Western Tuition Promise' offered by Western Oregon University;
(ii) The 'Finish in Four' program proposed in Florida; and
(iii) Ways of mitigating the financial strain that the adoption of a tuition freeze would place on a university's finances.
(b) The board of regents shall submit a report on the study described in subdivision (a) of this section to the committees relating to higher education during the 2018 regular session of the legislature.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.