Bill Text: NY A04956 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes an emergency heating energy assistance program benefit to provide emergency assistance to certain households where such household is threatened with shut-off or an energy emergency due to nonpayment.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2023-12-22 - tabled [A04956 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04956-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4956

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 27, 2023
                                       ___________

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

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to establishing  an
          emergency heating energy assistance program benefit

          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  98 to read as follows:
     3    §  98.  Emergency heating energy assistance program benefit. 1.  Defi-
     4  nitions. For the purposes of this section,  the  following  terms  shall
     5  have the following meanings:
     6    (a) "Commissioner" shall mean the commissioner of the office of tempo-
     7  rary and disability assistance.
     8    (b)  "HEAP"  shall mean the low-income home energy assistance program,
     9  as described in section ninety-seven of this title and required by title
    10  26 of the federal omnibus budget reconciliation act of 1981.
    11    2. The commissioner shall establish a  state  program  to  provide  an
    12  emergency  home energy assistance program benefit to households eligible
    13  for a low-income home energy assistance program where such household  is
    14  threatened with shut-off or an energy emergency due to nonpayment.
    15    3.  To  be eligible for a benefit pursuant to this section, the appli-
    16  cant shall document that he or she:
    17    (a) receives a regular HEAP benefit which is insufficient or  unavail-
    18  able to ameliorate the emergency; and
    19    (b) (i) is currently without heating fuel; or
    20    (ii) has a heating fuel supply that will last less than seven calendar
    21  days; or
    22    (iii) has had heat-related utility service disconnected; or
    23    (iv)  has  heat-related utility service currently eligible for discon-
    24  nection; or
    25    (v) is experiencing an energy emergency due to:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01615-01-3
        A. 4956                             2

     1    (1) having heat-related utility service arrears more than  sixty  days
     2  in arrears; or
     3    (2)  having outstanding heat-related utility service arrears in excess
     4  of three hundred dollars.
     5    4. For purposes of the annual HEAP state  plan,  and  subject  to  the
     6  availability  of federal funds, a social services district may authorize
     7  one or more household payments per program year in an amount which coin-
     8  cides with the emergency  benefits  matrix  developed  annually  by  the
     9  department of public service for the current program year.
    10    §  2.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
    11  have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or
    12  repeal of any rule or regulation necessary  for  the  implementation  of
    13  this  act  on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed
    14  on or before such effective date.