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.