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NY S03154
Bill
Status
1/23/2025
Primary Sponsor
Jeremy Cooney
Click for details
AI Summary
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Establishes Dolly Parton's Statewide Imagination Library of New York under the Office of Children and Family Services to provide free age-appropriate books monthly to registered children from birth through age five
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Creates the Imagination Library of New York Fund to finance the program through state appropriations, grants, and private donations
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Requires qualified local entities to provide a dollar-for-dollar match for state grants, though the Office of Children and Family Services may waive this requirement to prevent undue financial hardship
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Mandates coordination with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to manage daily operations, solicit donations, develop community engagement, and run public awareness campaigns
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Requires annual reports to the Governor and Legislature starting January 1, 2030, detailing fund expenditures, number of local programs, match waivers granted, and enrollment and book distribution statistics
Legislative Description
Directs the office of children and family services to establish Dolly Parton's statewide imagination library program for encouraging children from birth to five years of age, inclusive, to develop a love of reading and learning; directs the office of children and family services to promote the statewide development of local Dolly Parton's Imagination Library programs; advance and strengthen local Dolly Parton's Imagination Library programs with the goal of increasing enrollment; recruit volunteers to assist in the development, promotion, and coordination of local Dolly Parton's Imagination Library programs; solicit donations, gifts, and other funding to financially support local Dolly Parton's Imagination Library programs; develop community engagement; develop, promote, and coordinate a public awareness campaign to make donors aware of the opportunity to donate to the affiliate programs and make the public aware of the opportunity to register eligible children to receive books through the program; administer the local match requirement and coordinate the collection and remittance of local program costs for books and mailing; and develop statewide marketing and communication plans; establishes the imagination library of New York fund.
Last Action
REFERRED TO LIBRARIES
1/7/2026