Requires the office of temporary and disability assistance to make publicly available on its website information regarding waivers, rental supplement plans and shelter supplement plans.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10230
SPONSOR: Rules (Davila) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring the
office of temporary and disability assistance to make publicly available
on its website information regarding waivers, rental supplement plans
and shelter supplement plans
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The bill requires OTDA to make publicly available on its website infor-
mation regarding waivers, rental supplement plans and shelter supple-
ment.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one removes "and that the recipient's total income shall not be
more than two hundred percent of the federal poverty level" from subpar-
agraph 8 of paragraph a of subdivision 8 of Social Services Law Section
131-a.
Section two of the bill provides for an immediate effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
New Yorkers in need are entitled to receive critically-needed SNAP and
Cash Assistance benefits as set forth in federal law{1} and New York
law{2} as well as the regulations of the New York State Office of Tempo-
rary and Disability Assistance (OTDA){3}, the state agency responsible
for administering SNAP and Cash Assistance, and the regulations of the
federal agencies that administer these benefit programs{4}. In some
instances, various statutory and regulatory rules are waived by these
federal agencies to enable New York to adopt needed flexibilities on the
ground. And in some instances, various statutory and regulatory rules
may be waived by OTDA to enable local social service districts to adopt
needed flexibilities on the ground. Because waivers are not published
in statute or regulation, it can be difficult to discern what program
rules are in effect at any given time. OTDA should be required to post
on its website and maintain a database of waivers -- this will ensure
that the operational rules for benefit programs are transparent.
Similarly, OTDA should be required to post on its website all shelter
supplement plans and rental supplement program plans submitted to the
department by local social service districts and OTDA's approvals or
denials of the plans submitted. Pursuant to state regulations and agency
directives, local districts may submit shelter supplement plans and
rental supplement program plans to OTDA for approval to provide for
additional monthly shelter supplements to public assistance applicants
and recipients{5} and/or to provide rental assistance to individuals who
are experiencing homelessness or are facing imminent loss of housing.{6}
Despite the importance of these supplement plans, it can be difficult to
glean what plans have been submitted and whether the plans have been
approved or denied. OTDA should be required to post this information on
its website.
Programmatic waivers of statutory and/or regulatory requirements may be
granted for various reasons such as to ease administration, and/or maxi-
mize access to the programs. For example, waivers were granted related
to the SNAP program by the United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) during the COVID crisis to ensure that New Yorkers had continued
access to SNAP benefits throughout the public health emergency.{7} These
waivers enabled OTDA to permit local districts to respond to the crisis
by extending recertification periods that would have cut off benefits
during the crisis, and also permitted districts to accept online appli-
cations and conduct telephone interviews when in-person appointments
were not safe during the public health emergency.{8} Although OTDA does
include some waiver in formation in published policy directives on its
website, it does not post complete copies of waivers or provide snap-
shots of waivers that are currently in effect or have been submitted.{9}
As a result, it is difficult to get an accurate picture of the actual
operational rules of SNAP and Cash Assistance programs because it is not
readily apparent what waiver requests have been submitted, what waivers
are in effect at any given time, what provisions of law or regulation
may be affected by a program waiver. OTDA also does not publish shelter
supplements plans or rental supplement program plans submitted by local
social service districts or OTDA's response to these proposed plans.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Minimal to state
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
{1} See 7 U.S.C. § 2011 et seq. (SNAP); 42 U.S.C. §§ 601-687 (TANF).
{2} See NY Social Serv Law
{3} See 18 NYCRR
{4} See 7 C.F.R. § 271-292 (SNAP, administered by the United State
Department of Agriculture (USDA)) and 45 C.F.R. § 200-289 (TANF, admin-
istered by the United States Department of Health and Human Services).
{5} 18 NYCRR § 352.3
{6} See OTDA 21-LCM-24, Dec 13, 2021.
{7} See NY COVID-19 waivers posted on USDA website at
https://www.fas.usda.gov/disaster/pandemic/covid-19/new-york
{8} Id.
{9} See e.g., OTDA General Information Message (GIS) Messages: extending
certification periods: 20 TA/DC038, etc. interview adjustments: GIS
20/DCO22, GIS 20 TA/DCO26, etc., telephonic signatures: 20 TA/DC049, 21
TA/DC085.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10230
IN ASSEMBLY
May 15, 2024
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Davila) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Social Services
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring the
office of temporary and disability assistance to make publicly avail-
able on its website information regarding waivers, rental supplement
plans and shelter supplement plans
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The social services law is amended by adding a new section
2 152-e to read as follows:
3 § 152-e. Public availability of information regarding waiver requests
4 and shelter and rental supplements. 1. For purposes of this section, the
5 following terms shall have the following meanings:
6 (a) "Office" shall mean the office of temporary and disability assist-
7 ance.
8 (b) "Waiver" means permission to deviate from a state or federal
9 program rule or statutory provision.
10 (c) "Shelter supplement plan" means a plan submitted by a social
11 services district for approval by the department to provide additional
12 monthly shelter supplements to public assistance applicants and recipi-
13 ents as provided in 18 NYCRR 352.3.
14 (d) "Rental supplement program plan" means any plan submitted by a
15 social services district for approval by the office to provide rental
16 assistance to individuals who are experiencing homelessness or are
17 facing imminent loss of housing.
18 2. The office shall make publicly available information regarding
19 waivers and rental supplement plans and shelter supplement plans by
20 providing, at a minimum, the following information:
21 (a) Within sixty days of the effective date of this section, the
22 office shall post on its website a compendium of existing waivers of
23 state or federal program rules or statutory provisions, including but
24 not limited to a description of the state or federal program rule or
25 statutory provision waived, the date first granted, the date the waiver
26 will expire if any, and the social services districts to which the waiv-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14960-01-4
A. 10230 2
1 er applies. The office shall review existing waivers at least once every
2 five years to analyze the continued need for existing waivers and shall
3 publish the results of the review and make it available to the public
4 for comment.
5 (b) Within ten days after a federal agency has provided notice of an
6 available federal waiver, the office shall post on its website the rele-
7 vant information about such available federal waiver including a summary
8 of such available waiver and a citation or link to the appropriate
9 federal authority for such available federal waiver. Any waiver request
10 submitted by the office to any federal agency shall be made publicly
11 available on the website of the office no later than ten days after the
12 request is submitted. Any approval or denial of such requests shall be
13 made available on the website of the office no later than ten days after
14 receipt.
15 (c) The office shall provide notice of waivers of state or federal
16 program rules or statutory provisions which may be requested by social
17 services districts. Within ten days after the office has provided notice
18 that a waiver may be requested by a social services district, the office
19 shall post on its website the relevant information about such available
20 waiver including a summary of such available waiver and a citation or
21 link to the appropriate authority for such available waiver. Any waiver
22 request submitted by a social services district to the office shall be
23 made publicly available on the website of the office no later than ten
24 days after the request is submitted to the office. Any approval or
25 denial of such requests shall be made available on the website of the
26 office no later than ten days after receipt.
27 (d) Any shelter supplement plan and any rental supplement program plan
28 submitted to the office by a social services district shall be made
29 publicly available on the website of the office no later than ten days
30 after such plan is submitted. Any approval or denial of such requests in
31 addition to any guidance issued related to such requests shall be made
32 publicly available on the website of the office no later than ten days
33 after issuance.
34 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
