Merit Institute Merit

The New York Worker-Merit Credentialing Act (NY-ACSA)

New York state companion to ACSA. Extends N.Y. Educ. Law Title VIII licensure recognition, SUNY / CUNY / community colleges, and New York Tax Law workforce credits, with labor-protective provisions.

THE NEW YORK WORKER-MERIT CREDENTIALING ACT (NY-ACSA)

Vehicle: State passage. New York State Legislature, regular session. Primary referral to Assembly / Senate Higher Education / Labor / Ways and Means / Finance.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE

This Act may be cited as the “New York Worker-Merit Credentialing Act (NY-ACSA).”

SECTION 2. LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND INTENT

The Legislature finds that New York’s occupational licensure operates under N.Y. Educ. Law Title VIII and related licensing statutes; that SUNY operates under N.Y. Educ. Law Art. 8 and CUNY under N.Y. Educ. Law Art. 125; that the New York State Department of Labor operates under N.Y. Lab. Law; that N.Y. Tax Law Art. 9 and Art. 22 authorize tax credits; and that N.Y. Lab. Law protections apply to all training and employment relationships. This Act extends these frameworks.

TITLE I — DEFINITIONS & COORDINATION WITH NEW YORK LAW

Sec. 101. Definitions

  1. (a) “New York Recognized Merit Credential” or “NYRMC” means a competency-based credential designated by the Chancellor of SUNY in coordination with the Commissioner of Labor under Sec. 201.
  2. (b) “Federal FRAC” means a Federally Recognized Alternative Credential under Section 202 of the federal ACSA.
  3. (c) “Covered State licensing authority” means an agency issuing an occupational license under N.Y. Educ. Law Title VIII or related licensing statutes.

Sec. 102. Coordination with Existing New York Law

  1. (a) Consistent with:
  • N.Y. Educ. Law Title VIII (professions).
  • N.Y. Educ. Law Art. 8; Art. 125 (SUNY; CUNY).
  • N.Y. Lab. Law (Department of Labor; labor protections).
  • N.Y. Tax Law Art. 9, 22 (taxation).

TITLE II — NEW YORK RECOGNIZED MERIT CREDENTIALS

Sec. 201. Designation Authority

  1. (a) The Chancellor of SUNY, in coordination with the Commissioner of Labor, shall maintain a New York Recognized Merit Credentials registry (“NYRMC Registry”) in machine-readable form, updated at least annually, crosswalked to Federal FRAC.

Sec. 202. Degree-Optional State Employment

  1. (a) The Department of Civil Service, acting under N.Y. Const. Art. V and N.Y. Civ. Serv. Law, shall apply classifications so that an NYRMC-holder satisfies any position qualification stated in terms of a college degree, unless expressly required by New York statute.

TITLE III — WORKFORCE-TRAINING TAX CREDIT (Worker-Protective Rewire)

Sec. 301. Skills-Based Hiring Tax Credit

  1. (a) A new credit is added to N.Y. Tax Law Art. 9 (corporate) and Art. 22 (individual) equal to a percentage of qualified first-year wages paid to a New York-resident employee whose qualifying pathway is an NYRMC or Federal FRAC.
  2. (b) Credit availability is conditioned on the employer’s compliance with N.Y. Lab. Law Art. 6 (wage payment) and Art. 20-C (retaliation protections).
  3. (c) Coordinated with federal IRC Sec. 45AA; aggregate cap.
  4. (d) N.Y. Department of Taxation and Finance administers.

TITLE IV — OCCUPATIONAL LICENSURE PORTABILITY

Sec. 401. Licensure by Demonstrated Competency

  1. (a) Demonstrated-competency pathway accepting NYRMC, Federal FRAC, or examination-plus-supervised-experience, subject to public health and safety requirements.

Sec. 402. Interstate Recognition for Federal-Fund Recipients

  1. (a) Recognition by federally-funded authorities, consistent with Section 401 of the federal ACSA.

TITLE V — IMPLEMENTATION & GENERAL PROVISIONS

Sec. 501. Severability

If any provision is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect the remainder.

Sec. 502. Effective Date

This Act shall take effect the first day of the taxable year following enactment.

Canonical federal version: ACSA. Other New York bills: NY-MEWRA, NY-GT&P, NY-AI-Workforce.