What's happening
This bill creates an urban STEM mentor volunteer program for youth in high-poverty urban areas, offering tax credits to participating employers and employees.
Why it matters
Targets STEM opportunity gaps for disadvantaged youth. By focusing on students in grades 7-12 in high-poverty, large urban districts, the program aims to address longstanding disparities in access to STEM education and mentorship for underrepresented communities, potentially influencing career trajectories and workforce diversity.
Direct incentives for businesses and employees to engage with schools. The bill provides meaningful tax credits to both STEM employers and their employees, encouraging active, sustained partnerships between industry and schools. This could foster stronger connections between real-world STEM careers and classroom learning.
Structured commitment ensures depth of engagement. The required 180 hours per year of mentorship, including regular classroom involvement, ensures that the program goes beyond superficial or one-time volunteering, potentially leading to more substantial benefits for participating students.
Pilot approach with built-in sunset. The 3-year duration (ending January 1, 2021) allows for the collection of data and assessment of impact before deciding on broader implementation, making it a measured experiment in public-private collaboration for educational equity.
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Who cares
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Create Urban STEM Mentoring
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History
- Referred to ways and means
- Referred to ways and means
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
696
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 9, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. MAGNARELLI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to creating an urban science, technology, engineering and math (U-STEM) mentor volunteer program for youth; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "urban science, technology, engineering and math (U-STEM) mentor volunteer program for youth act".
§ 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby finds that there is a need to develop, promote and facilitate a mentor volunteer program specifically designed to foster greater student participation for pupils living in high concentrations of poverty in large urban areas who are in grades seven to twelve in the study of science, technology, engineering and mathematics herein referred to as STEM programs. The legislature further finds that the STEM programmatic areas are under-served and under-represented by pupils living in poverty in the large urban school districts of the state due in part to the financial circumstances of the school districts as well as the competing programmatic requirements for high school graduation.
Furthermore, the legislature finds that STEM businesses in the large urban areas are in need of greater numbers of qualified students to pursue careers in the STEM fields and that there is a state interest in fostering a programmatic connection between these businesses and their school districts to mentor, develop and train students interested in STEM careers.
Therefore be it resolved that the legislature creates the urban science, technology, engineering and mathematics (U-STEM) mentor volunteer program for pupils in the large city school districts of the state.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00499-01-7
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§ 3. Section 210-B of the tax law is amended by adding a new subdivision 49 to read as follows:
49. Urban science, technology, engineering and math (U-STEM) mentor volunteer program for youth act credit. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to the contrary, businesses identified as STEM employers shall be allowed a credit against the tax imposed by this article equal to five percent of the combined annual salaries of individuals participating in the U-STEM mentor volunteer program up to a maximum of four hundred thousand dollars annually for each qualifying business.
(b) Individuals of eligible employers who elect to participate in the U-STEM mentor volunteer program shall participate through a partnership between the employer and a school district of a city with a population of at least one hundred twenty-five thousand but less than one million inhabitants according to the latest federal census and commit to at least one hundred eighty hours annually of mentor volunteer activities.
(c) Qualifying employers shall maintain written documentation of their employee's participation in the U-STEM mentor volunteer program including the number of hours of mentor volunteering per month, which must include mentor volunteering in a science, technology, engineering or mathematics class five days per week for a minimum of one school year. Such information shall be made available to the department upon request.
(d) School districts participating in the U-STEM mentor volunteer program shall do so on a voluntary basis and comply with all applicable laws and regulations pertaining to mentor volunteer programs and activities.
(e) The credit allowed under this subdivision for any taxable year may not reduce the tax due for such year to less than the amount prescribed in paragraph (d) of subdivision one of this section. However, if the amount of credit allowed under this subdivision for any taxable year reduces the tax to such amount, any amount of credit thus not deductible in such taxable year will be treated as an overpayment of tax to be credited or refunded in accordance with the provisions of section one thousand eighty-six of this chapter. Provided, however, the provisions of subsection (c) of section one thousand eighty-eight of this chapter notwithstanding, no interest will be paid thereon.
§ 4. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new subsection (ccc) to read as follows:
(ccc) Urban science, technology, engineering and math (U-STEM) mentor volunteer program for youth act credit. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law rule or regulation to the contrary, participating employees of businesses identified as STEM employers with tax exempt status under section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code shall be allowed a credit equal to five hundred dollars annually for each employee.
(2) Individuals of eligible employers who elect to participate in the U-STEM mentor volunteer program shall participate through a partnership between the employer and a school district of a city with a population of at least one hundred twenty-five thousand but less than one million inhabitants according to the latest federal census and commit to at least one hundred eighty hours annually of mentor volunteer activities.
(3) Qualifying employers shall maintain written documentation of their employee's participation in the U-STEM mentor volunteer program including the number of hours of mentor volunteering per month, which must include mentor volunteering in a science, technology, engineering or
A. 696 3
mathematics class five days per week for a minimum of one school year. Such information shall be made available to the department upon request.
(4) School districts participating in the U-STEM mentor volunteer program shall do so on a voluntary basis and comply with all applicable laws and regulations pertaining to mentor volunteer programs and activities.
(5) If the amount of the credit allowed under this subsection for any taxable year shall exceed the taxpayer's tax for such year, the excess shall be treated as an overpayment of tax to be credited or refunded in accordance with the provisions of section six hundred eighty-six of this article, provided, however, that no interest shall be paid thereon.
§ 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 2018 and shall expire and be deemed repealed January 1, 2021.
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