Bill Text: NY A02048 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Increases personal needs allowance amounts for individuals who are deemed eligible; requires that payments be subject to an annual adjustment reflecting the latest consumer price index, all items-U.S. city average.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-14 - referred to social services [A02048 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-A02048-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2048

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    January 14, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. SOLAGES, SIMON, SHRESTHA, BENDETT -- read once
          and referred to the Committee on Social Services

        AN ACT to amend the social  services  law,  in  relation  to  increasing
          personal needs allowance amounts

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Subparagraph 10  of  paragraph  (a)  of  subdivision  2  of
     2  section  366 of the social services law, as amended by section 3 of part
     3  AAA of chapter 56 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
     4    (10) (i) A person who is receiving or is eligible to  receive  federal
     5  supplemental  security  income payments and/or additional state payments
     6  is entitled to a personal needs allowance as follows:
     7    (A) for the personal expenses of a resident of  a  residential  health
     8  care  facility,  as  defined  by section twenty-eight hundred one of the
     9  public health law, the amount of [fifty-five] two  hundred  dollars  per
    10  month, provided further that such amount be subject to an annual adjust-
    11  ment  reflecting  the  latest  consumer price index, all items-U.S. city
    12  average, published by the United  States  bureau  of  labor  statistics,
    13  commencing January first, two thousand twenty-six and recalculated every
    14  January first thereafter;
    15    (B)  for  the  personal expenses of a resident of an intermediate care
    16  facility operated or licensed by the office  for  people  with  develop-
    17  mental disabilities or a patient of a hospital operated by the office of
    18  mental  health,  as  defined  by  subdivision ten of section 1.03 of the
    19  mental hygiene law, the amount of [thirty-five] eighty-nine dollars  per
    20  month.
    21    (ii)  A person who neither receives nor is eligible to receive federal
    22  supplemental security income payments and/or additional  state  payments
    23  is entitled to a personal needs allowance as follows:
    24    (A)  for  the  personal expenses of a resident of a residential health
    25  care facility, as defined by section twenty-eight  hundred  one  of  the

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03850-02-5
        A. 2048                             2

     1  public  health law, the amount of [fifty] two hundred dollars per month,
     2  provided further that such amount be subject  to  an  annual  adjustment
     3  reflecting the latest consumer price index, all items-U.S. city average,
     4  published  by  the  United States bureau of labor statistics, commencing
     5  January first, two thousand twenty-six and  recalculated  every  January
     6  first thereafter;
     7    (B)  for  the  personal expenses of a resident of an intermediate care
     8  facility operated or licensed by the office  for  people  with  develop-
     9  mental disabilities or a patient of a hospital operated by the office of
    10  mental  health,  as  defined  by  subdivision ten of section 1.03 of the
    11  mental hygiene law, the amount of [thirty-five] eighty-nine dollars  per
    12  month.
    13    (iii)  [Notwithstanding the provisions of clauses (i) and (ii) of this
    14  subparagraph, the] The personal needs allowance for a person  who  is  a
    15  veteran  having neither a spouse nor a child, or a surviving spouse of a
    16  veteran having no child, who receives a reduced pension from the federal
    17  veterans administration, and who is a resident of a nursing facility, as
    18  defined in section 1919 of the federal social  security  act,  shall  be
    19  equal  to  such  reduced  monthly  pension  [but shall not exceed ninety
    20  dollars per month] plus the amounts stated in the provisions of  clauses
    21  (i) and (ii) of this subparagraph.
    22    §  2.  Subdivision  2-a  of section 209 of the social services law, as
    23  amended by chapter 672 of the laws  of  2019,  is  amended  to  read  as
    24  follows:
    25    2-a.  Notwithstanding  any inconsistent provision of subparagraph (ii)
    26  of paragraph (d) of subdivision one of this section, an  individual  who
    27  is  receiving  or  is  eligible to receive federal supplemental security
    28  income payments and/or additional state payments and who is  a  resident
    29  of a residential health care facility as defined by section twenty-eight
    30  hundred  one  of  the public health law, shall, in accordance with regu-
    31  lations of the department, be entitled to a state payment  for  personal
    32  needs  in the amount of fifteen dollars a month, provided, however, that
    33  on or after January  first,  nineteen  hundred  eighty-eight  the  state
    34  payment  for  personal  needs for such persons shall be in the amount of
    35  twenty-five dollars a month[.], provided however, that on  or  after  in
    36  the amount of one hundred seventy dollars a month; provided further that
    37  such  amount  be  subject  to an annual adjustment reflecting the latest
    38  consumer price index (all items-U.S. city  average),  published  by  the
    39  United  States bureau of labor statistics, commencing January first, two
    40  thousand twenty-six and recalculated  every  January  first  thereafter.
    41  Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of subparagraph (ii) of para-
    42  graph (d) of subdivision one of this section, on or after January first,
    43  nineteen hundred eighty-eight, a resident of an intermediate care facil-
    44  ity operated or issued an operating certificate by the office for people
    45  with  developmental  disabilities or a patient of a hospital operated by
    46  the office of mental health as defined in  subdivision  ten  of  section
    47  1.03  of  the  mental  hygiene  law  who  is receiving or is eligible to
    48  receive supplemental security income payments  and/or  additional  state
    49  payments  shall receive a state payment for personal needs in the amount
    50  of [five] fifty-nine dollars a month. The department  is  authorized  to
    51  promulgate  necessary regulations to provide for the time and manner for
    52  payment of such personal allowance to such individuals.
    53    § 3. This act shall take effect January 1, 2026 and shall apply to all
    54  benefits and allowances issued on and after such date.