Bill Text: NY S00817 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Clarifies the meaning of the phrase "greatest social need" for purposes of the administration of programs under the federal Older Americans Act of 1965, defining it to mean the need caused by non-economic factors which shall include, but not be limited to: physical or mental disability; Alzheimer's disease or other forms of dementia; language barriers including limited English proficiency and low literacy; and cultural, social, or geographic isolation.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-03-03 - SIGNED CHAP.74 [S00817 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S00817-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                           817

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 6, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

        AN ACT to amend the elder law, in relation to clarifying the meaning  of
          the  phrase  "greatest social need" for purposes of the administration
          of programs under the federal Older Americans Act of 1965

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

     1    Section  1.  Subdivision 1 of section 203 of the elder law, as amended
     2  by a chapter of the laws of 2022 amending  the  elder  law  relating  to
     3  clarifying the meaning of the phrase "greatest social need" for purposes
     4  of  the administration of programs under the federal Older Americans Act
     5  of 1965, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 78-A and  A.  7855,
     6  is amended to read as follows:
     7    1.  The  office  shall  submit  to  the federal department of health[,
     8  education and welfare] and human services a state plan for  purposes  of
     9  the federal Older Americans Act of 1965 and subsequent amendments there-
    10  to.  The  office  shall  be  the single state agency for supervising the
    11  administration of such plan and shall be primarily responsible for coor-
    12  dination of state programs for the aging for purposes  of  such  federal
    13  act.  The office shall act for the state in any negotiations relative to
    14  the submission and approval of such plan and may make such arrangements,
    15  not inconsistent with law, as may be required by or pursuant to  federal
    16  law  to  obtain and retain such approval and to secure for the state the
    17  benefits of the provisions of such federal act.   For  the  purposes  of
    18  administering  [the  federal  Older Americans Act of 1965 and subsequent
    19  amendments thereto, the term] such state plan approved  by  the  federal
    20  department of health and human services, when targeting program services
    21  and  supports  based  on "greatest social need", the office shall [mean]
    22  consider the need caused by non-economic factors [that restrict an indi-
    23  vidual's ability to perform normal daily tasks or that threaten  his  or
    24  her  capacity to live independently. These factors] which shall include,

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03951-01-3
        S. 817                              2

     1  but [are] not  be  limited  to[,]:  physical  or  mental  disability[,];
     2  Alzheimer's  disease  or  other  forms of dementia; language barriers[,]
     3  including limited English proficiency and  low  literacy;  and  cultural
     4  [or],  social,  or  geographic  isolation caused by, among other things,
     5  racial  and  ethnic  status,  sexual  orientation,  gender  identity  or
     6  expression, rural residence, homebound status, caregiver status, risk of
     7  institutionalization,  or  HIV  status when such isolation restricts the
     8  ability of an individual to perform normal daily tasks or threatens  the
     9  ability of the individual to live independently.
    10    §  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect on the same date and in the same
    11  manner as a chapter of the laws of 2022 amending the elder law  relating
    12  to  clarifying  the  meaning  of  the  phrase "greatest social need" for
    13  purposes of the administration of programs under the federal Older Amer-
    14  icans Act of 1965, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 78-A  and
    15  A. 7855, takes effect.