The Governor announced the launch of the $150 million expansion of the Tuition Assistance Program, which will now provide TAP to approximately 75,000 additional students who are pursuing their degree part-time. Full-time TAP awards can be up to $5,665 annually for a full-time student; part-time TAP will be available on a pro-rated basis to eligible students taking six to 11 credits per semester with no full-time prerequisite.

Students enrolling in the Fall 2022 semester may apply for part-time TAP by filling out the federal FAFSA application. Once submitted, New York State residents attending NYS campuses can link directly to the TAP application. For students who have already enrolled and submitted their FAFSA for the 2022-2023 academic year, TAP awards will automatically be adjusted based on the number of enrolled credits.

Eligibility for part-time TAP is consistent with full-time TAP awards, which includes residency and income requirements. TAP awards do not need to be repaid by any recipient.

Governor Hochul said:

Governor Announces Launch of Life Sciences Business Competition as Part of the Long Island Investment Fund

The Governor officially launched the life sciences business competition, a component of the $350 million Long Island Investment Fund, included as part of the Fiscal Year 2022-23 Enacted Budget. A request for proposal will be the first step for the Long Island Investment Fund’s $50 million life science business competition, which aims to attract and grow companies in the life sciences, health technology, and medical device sectors. Empire State Development convened a meeting of experts in the life sciences industry to gather initial input for the RFP competition process.

Modeled after successful western New York programs like Luminate NY in Rochester and 42North in Buffalo, the competition will implement a business accelerator to work collaboratively with Long Island universities and research institutions to support life science start-up businesses with potential for permanent high wage job creation and promising technology commercialization.

Governor Hochul said:

Governor Announces Grand Opening of $30 Million Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center

The Governor highlighted the completion and grand opening of the $30 million, 167,000 square foot Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical Education Center in the Town of Colonie, Albany County. The CTE Center contains new state-of-the-art labs and learning spaces and on-site day care. Capital Region BOCES will offer 25 workforce training programs in eight high-demand career clusters, including health sciences, building trades and manufacturing, supporting the creation of a skilled regional workforce.

The CTE Center has combined lab and classroom spaces to support technical training for careers in: early childhood education, culinary arts, construction trades, HVAC/R, welding and metal fabrication, manufacturing and machining technology, electrical trades, diesel technology, automotive trades technology, auto body collision repair and refinishing, video game design, digital media design, cosmetology, criminal justice, retail services, and global fashion design. The new center also includes administrative and support spaces for career counseling, work-based learning and job/apprenticeship placements. An entire floor focuses on careers in healthcare, offering five healthcare labs – two for Licensed Practical Nursing and three for Certified Nursing Assistants – plus a sterile processing lab and a general science lab.

Capital Region BOCES Senior Executive Officer Joseph P. Dragone, Pd.D. said:

Governor Hochul said:

Andrew Cuomo Wins Book Deal Lawsuit

Former Governor Andrew Cuomo won a lawsuit in which he challenged JCOPE’s attempt to seize profits from his $5.1 million book deal called American Crisis: Leadership Lessons From The Covid-19 Pandemic. The book deal was initially approved by JCOPE and only later rescinded, after several attempts, once the commission alleged and determined that the Governor used state resources to prepare the book.

The Judge’s decision said, in part, “JCOPE issued the approval for the outside activity, then unilaterally determined wrongdoing, then withdrew the approval, and finally imposed the disgorgement penalty—all without the opportunity for a due process hearing explicitly provided for under the procedures set forth in Executive Law.” The judge did not rule out the ability for the new Commission on Ethics in Lobbying and Government, once fully established, to review the information collected by JCOPE and to hold the required hearing; a hearing which never occurred prior to the disbanding of JCOPE in July.

The decision can be found here.