---
type: "Bill"
title: "Expands eligibility under the veterans tuition awards program"
description: "Expands eligibility under the veterans tuition awards program to all New York resident veterans, regardless of combat service."
jurisdiction: "us/states/ny"
legislature: "New York Legislature"
session: "2023-2024"
identifier: "S 8596"
citation: "New York S 8596 (2023-2024)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Jessica Scarcella-Spanton"]
version_count: 2
action_count: 15
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2024-02-20"
last_action: "2024-11-11"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/2ffcdba1-8262-49ed-b936-3319bd0b22f8"
source_url: "http://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/S8596"
source_hash: "2ddf78d79c0dffe2061bf39d1c629a914c832e6b9d15556bc52bbc505984ada9"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-ny"]
---

# New York S 8596 (2023-2024) — Expands eligibility under the veterans tuition awards program

Expands eligibility under the veterans tuition awards program to all New York resident veterans, regardless of combat service.

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **S8596** (committee substitute) — [source](http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?sh=printbill&bn=S8596&term=2023&Text=Y)
2. **S8596A** (committee substitute) — [source](http://legislation.nysenate.gov/pdf/bills/2023/S8596A)

## Votes

- Rules Vote - Version: A — **19–0** (pass) · upper
- Floor Vote - Version: A — **61–0** (pass) · upper
- Assembly Vote — **140–0** (pass) · lower

## Sponsors

- Jessica Scarcella-Spanton — primary (person)
- Pete Harckham — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2024-02-20** REFERRED TO VETERANS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY AFFAIRS `referral-committee`
- **2024-03-12** AMEND AND RECOMMIT TO VETERANS, HOMELAND SECURITY AND MILITARY AFFAIRS `amendment-passage, referral-committee`
- **2024-03-12** PRINT NUMBER 8596A `amendment-passage`
- **2024-05-28** COMMITTEE DISCHARGED AND COMMITTED TO RULES `referral-committee`
- **2024-05-28** ORDERED TO THIRD READING CAL.1506
- **2024-06-06** PASSED SENATE `passage`
- **2024-06-06** DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
- **2024-06-06** REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION `referral-committee`
- **2024-06-07** SUBSTITUTED FOR A9205A
- **2024-06-07** ORDERED TO THIRD READING RULES CAL.625
- **2024-06-07** PASSED ASSEMBLY `passage`
- **2024-06-07** RETURNED TO SENATE
- **2024-11-11** DELIVERED TO GOVERNOR `executive-receipt`
- **2024-11-11** SIGNED CHAP.453 `executive-signature`
- **2024-11-11** APPROVAL MEMO.12

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/2ffcdba1-8262-49ed-b936-3319bd0b22f8`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official New York legislature records).