§ 326-B — Fund established; participation; other provisions

§ 326-b. Fund established; participation; other provisions. 1. There\nis hereby established in the joint custody of the commissioner and the\ncomptroller the equipment loan fund for the disabled.\n 2. Participation in the loan of the monies of the fund shall be\navailable to all disabled persons on the basis of need, pursuant to\nregulations of the commissioner.\n 3. The loan fund shall provide the disabled with the financial\nopportunity to purchase or replace essential equipment used by them for\ndaily living or vocational functioning following rehabilitation,\nincluding, but not limited to, prosthesis, ramps, wheelchairs,\nwheelchair van lifts, telecommunication devices for the deaf and hard of\nhearing, devices which allow persons who are blind or visually impaired\nto discern printed materials and adaptive equipment to permit a disabled\nperson to operate a motor vehicle but not to purchase or replace a motor\nvehicle itself.\n 4. Loans shall be made available directly to the disabled person, the\nparent, legal guardian, or individual with whom such disabled person\nresides.\n 5. Where any equipment purchase is approved by the department, a loan\nshall be made in an amount not to exceed four thousand dollars per\napplicant.\n 6. The commissioner shall establish regulations governing payment of\ninterest, repayment periods, certification and approval of purchase, and\nsuch other orders, rules and regulations as may be necessary for\ninterpretations, implementation or administration of this article.\n 7. During the first three years of operation of the fund, the\ndepartment shall submit to the governor and legislature annually a\nsummary report setting forth such information as the department deems\nrelevant to monitor and evaluate the progress of the fund.\n 8. The fund shall consist of all monies appropriated for the purpose\nof such fund, all monies transferred to such fund pursuant to law, all\nmonies required by the provisions of this section or any other law to be\npaid into or credited to this fund, and all monies, including interest,\npaid by borrowers to the fund in repayment of loans made from the fund.\n 9. Monies of the fund following appropriations made by the legislature\nand allocation by the director of the budget to the fund, shall be\navailable solely for the purpose of enabling eligible applicants to\nborrow money at less than the prevailing rates of interest for\ncomparable loans.\n 10. When used in this article, the term "disabled" shall mean a person\nhaving a disability as so defined in section two hundred ninety-two of\nthe executive law.\n