S5988 • 2025

Enables public libraries to access employment preparation education (EPE) funds to provide adult literacy education

Budget Education

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: Siela Bynoe
Last action: 2026-04-28
Official status: In Senate Committee
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Enables public libraries to access employment preparation education (EPE) funds to provide adult literacy education

Enables public libraries to access employment preparation education (EPE) funds to provide adult literacy education Enables public libraries to access employment preparation education (EPE) funds to provide adult literacy education; sets aside one million dollars to be awarded through a competitive grant process; provides that half of such appropriation shall be set aside for libraries serving a population of one million or more.

What This Bill Does

Enables public libraries to access employment preparation education (EPE) funds to provide adult literacy education Enables public libraries to access employment preparation education (EPE) funds to provide adult literacy education; sets aside one million dollars to be awarded through a competitive grant process; provides that half of such appropriation shall be set aside for libraries serving a population of one million or more.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2026-04-28 Senate
REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE
2026-01-07 Senate
REFERRED TO LIBRARIES
2025-04-08 Senate
REPORTED AND COMMITTED TO FINANCE
2025-03-04 Senate
REFERRED TO LIBRARIES

Official Summary Text

Enables public libraries to access employment preparation education (EPE) funds to provide adult literacy education
Enables public libraries to access employment preparation education (EPE) funds to provide adult literacy education; sets aside one million dollars to be awarded through a competitive grant process; provides that half of such appropriation shall be set aside for libraries serving a population of one million or more.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5988

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                                    I N  S E N A T E

                                      March 4, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  BYNOE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Libraries

        AN ACT to amend the  education  law,  in  relation  to  enabling  public
          libraries  to  access  employment preparation education (EPE) funds to
          provide adult literacy instruction

          THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
        BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

     1    Section  1.  Subdivision  11  of  section 3602 of the education law is
     2  amended by adding a new paragraph a-2 to read as follows:
     3    A-2. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH A  OF  THIS  SUBDIVI-
     4  SION,  THE COMMISSIONER SHALL SET ASIDE AN AMOUNT OF ONE MILLION DOLLARS
     5  TO BE AWARDED THROUGH A COMPETITIVE GRANT PROCESS TO PUBLIC LIBRARIES TO
     6  PROVIDE ANY OF THE SERVICES AUTHORIZED IN THIS SUBDIVISION. HOWEVER,  NO
     7  LESS  THAN  HALF  THE ANNUAL APPROPRIATION SHALL BE SET ASIDE FOR PUBLIC
     8  LIBRARIES SERVING A POPULATION OF ONE MILLION OR MORE. THE  COMMISSIONER
     9  SHALL HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH RULES AND REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT
    10  THE PROVISIONS OF THIS PARAGRAPH.
    11    § 2. This act shall take effect April 1, 2027.





         EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD06582-01-5