STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5952

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     March 23, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. REICHLIN-MELNICK -- read twice and ordered printed,
          and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Budget and Reven-
          ue

        AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to providing taxpayer gifts for
          gun violence research; and to amend the state finance law, in relation
          to establishing the gun violence research fund

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  The  tax  law is amended by adding a new section 630-i to
     2  read as follows:
     3    § 630-i. Gift for the gun violence research fund.  Effective  for  any
     4  tax  year commencing on or after January first, two thousand twenty-one,
     5  a taxpayer in any taxable year  may  elect  to  contribute  to  the  gun
     6  violence research fund established pursuant to section eighty-six of the
     7  state finance law. Such contribution shall be in any whole dollar amount
     8  and shall not reduce the amount of state tax owed by such taxpayer.  The
     9  commissioner  shall  include  space on the personal income tax return to
    10  enable a taxpayer to make such contribution. Notwithstanding  any  other
    11  provision  of law, all revenues collected pursuant to this section shall
    12  be credited to the gun violence research fund and used  only  for  those
    13  purposes enumerated in section eighty-six of the state finance law.
    14    §  2.  The  state finance law is amended by adding a new section 86 to
    15  read as follows:
    16    § 86. Gun violence research fund. 1.  There is hereby  established  in
    17  the joint custody of the state comptroller and the commissioner of taxa-
    18  tion  and  finance  a  special  fund  to  be  known as the "gun violence
    19  research fund".
    20    2. Such fund shall consist of all revenues received by the  department
    21  of  taxation  and  finance,  pursuant  to  the provisions of section six
    22  hundred thirty-i of the tax law and all other monies appropriated, cred-
    23  ited, or transferred thereto from any other fund or source  pursuant  to

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01111-01-1

        S. 5952                             2

     1  law.    Nothing  contained herein shall prevent the state from receiving
     2  grants, gifts or bequests for the purposes of the  fund  as  defined  in
     3  this section  and depositing them into the fund according to law.
     4    3.  (a)  Monies  of  the  fund  shall be expended to the department of
     5  health and the state university of New York for gun  violence  research.
     6  The  department  of  health  and  the state university of New York shall
     7  provide grants for the purpose of advancing and financing  gun  violence
     8  research.
     9    (b)  Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of section one hundred
    10  sixty-three of this chapter, the commissioner of health and the chancel-
    11  lor of the state university of New York are authorized to enter  into  a
    12  contract  or contracts under paragraph (a) of this subdivision without a
    13  competitive bid or request  for  proposal  process,  provided,  however,
    14  that:
    15    (i)  The  department  of  health  and the state university of New York
    16  shall post on their websites, for a period of no less than thirty days:
    17    (1) a description of the proposed services to be provided pursuant  to
    18  the contract or contracts;
    19    (2) the criteria for selection of a contractor or contractors;
    20    (3)  the period of time during which a prospective contractor may seek
    21  selection, which shall be no less than thirty days after  such  informa-
    22  tion is first posted on the websites; and
    23    (4)  the  manner  by  which  a  prospective  contractor  may seek such
    24  selection, which may include submission by electronic means.
    25    (ii) All reasonable and responsive submissions that are received  from
    26  prospective  contractors  in  a  timely fashion shall be reviewed by the
    27  commissioner of health and the chancellor of the state university of New
    28  York; and
    29    (iii) The commissioner of health  and  the  chancellor  of  the  state
    30  university of New York shall select such contractor or contractors that,
    31  in  their  discretion,  are  best  suited  to serve the purposes of this
    32  section.
    33    4. (a) On or before the first day of February  each  year,  the  comp-
    34  troller  shall  certify  to  the  governor,  temporary  president of the
    35  senate, speaker of the assembly, chair of the senate  finance  committee
    36  and  chair of the assembly ways and means committee, the amount of money
    37  deposited by each source in the New York  state  gun  violence  research
    38  fund during the preceding calendar year as the result of revenue derived
    39  pursuant  to  section  six  hundred thirty-i of the tax law and from all
    40  other sources.
    41    (b) On or before the first day of February each year, the commissioner
    42  of health in coordination with the chancellor of the state university of
    43  New York shall provide a written report to the  temporary  president  of
    44  the senate, speaker of the assembly, chair of the senate finance commit-
    45  tee, chair of the assembly ways and means committee, chair of the senate
    46  committee  on  health, chair of the assembly health committee, the state
    47  comptroller and the public. Such report shall include how monies of  the
    48  fund were utilized during the preceding calendar year and shall include:
    49    (i)  the amount of money disbursed from the fund and the award process
    50  used for such disbursements;
    51    (ii) recipients of awards from the fund;
    52    (iii) the amount awarded to each;
    53    (iv) the purposes for which such awards were granted; and
    54    (v) a summary financial plan for such monies which shall include esti-
    55  mates of all receipts and all disbursements for the current and succeed-

        S. 5952                             3

     1  ing fiscal years, along with the actual results from  the  prior  fiscal
     2  year.
     3    5.  Monies  shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of
     4  the comptroller on vouchers approved by the comptroller.
     5    6. Contractors awarded grants from funds disbursed from  this  section
     6  for  the purpose of gun violence research shall, when their research has
     7  concluded, provide a written report of their findings to  the  temporary
     8  president  of  the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chair of the
     9  senate finance committee, the chair  of  the  assembly  ways  and  means
    10  committee, the chair of the senate committee on health, the chair of the
    11  assembly health committee, the state comptroller and the public.
    12    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all tax
    13  years commencing on and after January 1, 2021.