New York state Sen. Jim Tedisco (R,C-Saratoga Springs) on Friday announced that Gov. Kathy Hochul has signed into law bipartisan legislation he authored to enable honorably discharged veterans to participate in the Legislature’s annual paid legislative internship program that could help lead them to future employment.

Called the Veterans Internship Program, Tedisco’s V.I.P. law sets aside 10% of the current legislative internship program positions in the state Senate and Assembly for veterans to see the inner workings of the representative democracy they put their lives on the line to defend. 

Veterans who participate in the Veterans Internship Program would receive a stipend equivalent to those received by graduate students — $50,000 in the Senate and $17,000 in the Assembly. The Senate and Assembly Internship offices would work with Veteran Service Agencies at the county level to recruit eligible candidates at no additional cost to taxpayers.  

“What a fantastic Veterans Day message for our real American heroes: New York’s veterans,” Tedisco said. “I want to thank Governor Hochul for signing the Veterans Internship Program bill into law to give our unemployed and underemployed veterans a bird’s eye view of the government they sacrificed their blood, sweat and tears, and in some cases, nearly their own lives to protect. The Veterans Internship Program will provide significant work experience for our veterans to put on their resumes for future long-term employment and it sends the message that our state government truly values the service of our veterans in deeds as well as words,”

The bipartisan V.I.P. legislation was sponsored in the Assembly by Assemblywoman Marianne Buttenschon (D-Utica/Rome).

Hochul signed six other bills into law Friday related to supporting veterans.