Senate higher-education committee confirms two trustees, reports nine bills to the floor

ALBANY — The New York State Senate Committee on Higher Education confirmed two gubernatorial nominees and reported nine bills on May 20 during its final scheduled committee meeting of the year.

The committee confirmed a nominee for trustee of the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation and a nominee for trustee of the City University of New York board of trustees. It then considered nine bills that the committee reported either to the Senate floor or to the Finance Committee, including measures on licensure display requirements for massage therapists, authorizing nursing students to administer certain vaccines, allowing modest income adjustments for Excelsior Scholarship eligibility, and authorizing SUNY land use at Stony Brook for housing.

Why it matters: The bills affect licensure rules, clinical training and scope for allied health workers, scholarship eligibility, and university land use — issues that directly touch students, health-care trainees and higher-education employers across the state. Reporting a bill out of committee advances it to the full Senate for further consideration.

The committee met remotely and opened at 10:32 a.m.; it adjourned at about 10:59 a.m. Committee members present included Senators Fahey, Jackson, May, Gruffalo (ranking member), Murray and Oberacker, and committee staff identified as Jan Dorman (committee director) and Beth Lamountain (committee clerk).

Nominations

The committee considered two nominations and confirmed both. The first nominee, identified in the record as Francis Tonkinette, appeared remotely to be considered for trustee of the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC). The nominee summarized a background in vocational training and technical education and said, “I…