Senate BillIntroduced
S 5946: Enacts the "Technical Sergeant Joseph G. Lemm tuition benefit act" to allow members of the New York state organized militia to receive tuition benefits for certain post-secondary degree programs.
What S 5946 does, verified April 25, 2026
The bill aims to amend the education law to provide tuition benefits to members of the New York State Organized Militia. The key points of the bill are as follows: The bill introduces the "Technical Sergeant Joseph G. Lemm Tuition Benefit Act", which provides tuition incentives for active members of the militia. Currently, active members with a bachelor's degree or higher are ineligible for the recruitment incentive program. However, this bill proposes to make active members with a bachelor's degree or higher eligible for the program. The bill also states that the tuition benefit provided by the program may be suspended if the recipient fails to maintain good military standing, academic progress, or sufficient academic standing. The bill takes effect immediately, but the amendments made by the bill will be repealed along with the original section.
Bill journey
1IntroducedCurrent
2In CommitteePending
3First Chamber FloorPending
4Second ChamberPending
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: REFERRED TO VETERANS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY AFFAIRS (2026-01-07)Alert me
Quick answers about S 5946
- What is the current status of S 5946?
- As of April 25, 2026, S 5946 is recorded as "Introduced": it has been introduced and is waiting for its first committee hearing or floor vote. The last recorded action, on January 7, 2026, was "REFERRED TO VETERANS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY AFFAIRS".
- Did S 5946 pass?
- Not yet. S 5946 has been introduced and has not passed either house.
- Who wrote S 5946, and where is it now?
- S 5946 was authored by Sen. Luis Sepúlveda. Its committee of record is Senate Veterans, Homeland Security & Military Affairs.
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions3 total · showing 3
| Jan. 07, 2026 | REFERRED TO VETERANS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY AFFAIRS |
| May. 28, 2025 | REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE |
| Mar. 04, 2025 | REFERRED TO VETERANS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY AFFAIRS |
Latest bill textIntroduced version, March 4, 2025 · 355 words
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5946 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 4, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Veterans, Homeland Securi- ty and Military Affairs AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to tuition benefit incen- tives for members of the New York state organized militia The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "Technical Sergeant Joseph G. Lemm tuition benefit act". 3 § 2. Subdivisions 5 and 7 of section 669-b of the education law, as 4 added by chapter 268 of the laws of 1996, are amended to read as 5 follows: 6 5. Any active member who currently possesses a [baccalaureate] 7 master's degree or higher is ineligible for participation in the 8 recruitment incentive program provided by this section. 9 7. Upon the recipient's attainment of a [baccalaureate] post-secondary 10 degree or diploma or cessation of status as an active member, whichever 11 occurs first, the benefit provided by this section shall be discontin- 12 ued. The tuition benefit provided by this section may be suspended at 13 the direction of the division of military and naval affairs for a recip- 14 ient's failure to maintain good military standing as an active member, 15 for the failure to maintain good academic progress and program pursuit, 16 or for the failure to maintain sufficient academic standing to retain 17 eligibility for any other financial assistance the recipient may be 18 receiving. 19 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 20 the amendments to subdivisions 5 and 7 of section 669-b of the education 21 law made by section two of this act shall not affect the repeal of such 22 section and shall be deemed repealed therewith. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10475-01-5
Text of S 5946 as introduced, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions