NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5501
SPONSOR: Rosenthal L TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to determination of
public assistance eligibility and amounts
PURPOSE:
This legislation would amend various aspects of the temporary assistance
program to ensure low-wage workers and others with inadequate income
levels may still receive benefits.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 8
of section 131-a of the social services law.
Section two amends paragraph (a) of subdivision 8 of section 131-a of
the social services law.
Section three amends subdivision 1 of section 131-c of the social
services law. Section four amends subdivision 1 of section 131-n of the
social services law. Section five establishes the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Many low-wage workers and low-income households in New York State rely
on temporary assistance benefits to cover their monthly costs of hous-
ing, utilities, food and other necessities. This benefit amount varies
depending on household size, county of residence and other factors,
including the amount of money a person may have in personal savings
accounts, retirement accounts and the value of other assets. However,
for many, restrictions in the program make it difficult to escape pover-
ty and achieve self-sufficiency.
Under current law, the first $90 earned each month is not counted toward
the income limit to help ensure that new earnings do not cause a
reduction in temporary assistance benefits. However, families with chil-
dren receive this same income disregard plus an additional disregard of
42% of earned income, allowing them to earn more money without losing
their benefits. This additional disregard would benefit many households,
not just those with children. This legislation would expand this addi-
tional disregard to single adults.
Further, families receiving temporary assistance now become ineligible
when their monthly total income exceeds 185% of the standard of need.
The standard of need is set for each county by the Office of Temporary
and Disability Assistance (OTDA), but still falls short of the federal
poverty level. Because the standard of need is set so low, families with
income just exceeding 185% of the standard of need are still low-income
families in desperate need of assistance. In fact, in most New York
State counties, 185% of the standard of need does not even reach 70% of
the federal poverty level. To more accurately reflect the income needs
of a family, this legislation will increase the level at which a family
becomes ineligible to receive temporary assistance to 200% of the feder-
al poverty level. This legislation will also ensure that household
income intended to support a child in the household, such as child
support payments or Social Security ,survivor benefits, is not counted
as income available to the entire family.
Because of strict resource limits, many individuals and families receiv-
ing public assistance are wary of accumulating any money in savings,
retirement accounts or elsewhere because it could result in them losing
their benefits. New York should be encouraging people to save and plan
for retirement, instead of penalizing them for doing so. Low-income New
Yorkers should not be forced to spend down all their savings, nor should
they be restricted from saving money to qualify for temporary assist-
ance. This legislation removes the current resource limits, ensuring
that low-income households can save money for emergencies like loss of
employment, health crises and other issues that may arise without fear
of losing the benefits they rely on to get by each month.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22: A.9112 - Referred to Social Services
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5501
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 15, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Social Services
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to determination of
public assistance eligibility and amounts
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subparagraph (ii) of paragraph (a) of subdivision 8 of
2 section 131-a of the social services law, as amended by section 3 of
3 part U of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
4 (ii) fifty percent of the earned income for such month of any appli-
5 cant, recipient, or relative applying for and receiving aid pursuant to
6 such program; provided, however, that such percentage amount shall be
7 adjusted in June of each year to reflect changes in the most recently
8 issued poverty guidelines of the United States Bureau of the Census,
9 such that a household of three without special needs, living in a heated
10 apartment in New York city and without unearned income would become
11 ineligible for assistance with gross earnings equal to the poverty level
12 in such guidelines;
13 § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 8 of section 131-a of the social
14 services law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (xi) to read as
15 follows:
16 (xi) any unearned income of a child when the parent or non-parent
17 caregiver chooses to exclude such child from the public assistance
18 household pursuant to subdivision one of section one hundred
19 thirty-one-c of this article.
20 § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 131-c of the social services law, as
21 added by chapter 42 of the laws of 1985, is amended to read as follows:
22 1. For the purposes of determining eligibility for and the amount of
23 assistance payable, the social services district shall, when a minor is
24 named as an applicant for public assistance, require that his or her
25 parents [and minor brothers and sisters] also apply for assistance and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04235-01-3
A. 5501 2
1 be included in the household for purposes of determining eligibility and
2 grant amounts, if such individuals reside in the same dwelling unit as
3 the minor applying for assistance. Any income of or available for such
4 parents[, brothers and sisters] which is not disregarded under subdivi-
5 sion eight of section one hundred thirty-one-a of this article, shall be
6 considered available to such household. [The provisions of this subdivi-
7 sion shall not apply to individuals] A parent or non-parent caregiver
8 may choose to exclude any other child or children residing in the same
9 dwelling unit from the public assistance household. Individuals who are
10 recipients of federal supplemental security income benefits or receive
11 additional state payments pursuant to this chapter, [or to individuals
12 whose relationship to the minor is that of stepbrother or stepsister, or
13 to any other individuals whose needs are excluded pursuant to department
14 regulations consistent with federal law and regulations] shall not be
15 included in the public assistance household.
16 § 4. Subdivision 1 of section 131-n of the social services law, as
17 amended by section 5 of part U of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, is
18 amended to read as follows:
19 1. [The following resources] Any assets held by the household shall be
20 exempt and disregarded in calculating the amount of benefits of any
21 household under any public assistance program[: (a) cash and liquid or
22 nonliquid resources up to two thousand five hundred dollars for appli-
23 cants, three thousand seven hundred fifty dollars for applicants in
24 households in which any member is sixty years of age or older or is
25 disabled or ten thousand dollars for recipients, (b) an amount up to
26 four thousand six hundred fifty dollars in a separate bank account
27 established by an individual while currently in receipt of assistance
28 for the sole purpose of enabling the individual to purchase a first or
29 replacement vehicle for the recipient to seek, obtain or maintain
30 employment, so long as the funds are not used for any other purpose, (c)
31 an amount up to one thousand four hundred dollars in a separate bank
32 account established by an individual while currently in receipt of
33 assistance for the purpose of paying tuition at a two-year or four-year
34 accredited post-secondary educational institution, so long as the funds
35 are not used for any other purpose, (d) the home which is the usual
36 residence of the household, (e) one automobile, up to ten thousand
37 dollars fair market value, through March thirty-first, two thousand
38 seventeen; one automobile, up to eleven thousand dollars fair market
39 value, from April first, two thousand seventeen through March thirty-
40 first, two thousand eighteen; and one automobile, up to twelve thousand
41 dollars fair market value, beginning April first, two thousand eighteen
42 and thereafter, or such other higher dollar value as the local social
43 services district may elect to adopt, (f) one burial plot per household
44 member as defined in department regulations, (g) bona fide funeral
45 agreements up to a total of one thousand five hundred dollars in equity
46 value per household member, (h) funds in an individual development
47 account established in accordance with subdivision five of section three
48 hundred fifty-eight of this chapter and section four hundred three of
49 the social security act, (i) for a period of six months, real property
50 which the household is making a good faith effort to sell, in accordance
51 with department regulations and tangible personal property necessary for
52 business or for employment purposes in accordance with department regu-
53 lations, and (j) funds in a qualified tuition program that satisfies the
54 requirement of section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
55 amended, and (k) funds in a New York achieving a better life experience
A. 5501 3
1 savings account established in accordance with article eighty-four of
2 the mental hygiene law].
3 If federal law or regulations require the exemption or disregard of
4 additional income and resources in determining need for family assist-
5 ance, or medical assistance not exempted or disregarded pursuant to any
6 other provision of this chapter, the department may, by regulations
7 subject to the approval of the director of the budget, require social
8 services officials to exempt or disregard such income and resources.
9 Refunds resulting from earned income tax credits shall be disregarded in
10 public assistance programs.
11 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
12 the amendments to section 131-n of the social services law made by
13 section four of this act shall not affect the expiration of such section
14 and shall expire therewith.
