Bill Text: NY S04578 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Establishes the mothers and infants lasting change ("MILC") allowance to provide income to eligible participants for the last three months of pregnancy and the first 18 months of the child's life; excludes income received from the MILC allowance for purposes of supplemental nutrition assistance program eligibility.
Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-1)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES [S04578 Detail]
Download: New_York-2023-S04578-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4578--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 10, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sens. RAMOS, BROUK, ASHBY, BAILEY, CHU, CLEARE, COMRIE, COONEY, FERNANDEZ, GONZALEZ, JACKSON, KENNEDY, RIVERA, SALAZAR -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and Families -- reported favorably from said committee and committed to the Committee on Finance -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to establishing the mothers and infants lasting change allowance The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "mothers 2 and infants lasting change ("MILC") allowance". 3 § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby finds and 4 declares that child poverty in New York city and cities across New York 5 state is shamefully high and will likely worsen if current economic 6 trends continue. Half of the top six cities in the United States with 7 the highest child poverty rates are in New York state, disproportionate- 8 ly affecting communities and children of color. In New York city, nearly 9 1 in 4 children live in poverty. In Rochester and Buffalo, that number 10 is even higher: 1 in 2 children live in poverty. 11 The legislature hereby finds and declares that New Yorkers are unable 12 to cover their basic necessities and support their families, particular- 13 ly in the face of rising interest rates and inflation. Most notably, the 14 cost of childcare, which already consumes a massive portion of family 15 income, rose 41% during the pandemic, and the total cost of raising a 16 child through high school has risen to more than $300,000, which is a 17 $26,000 increase from five years ago and is likely to present a heavier 18 burden for low-income parents and families for whom expenses such as 19 food, housing, and gas comprise an even larger portion of their income. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD04583-04-3S. 4578--A 2 1 The legislature hereby finds and declares there is overwhelming 2 evidence that the prenatal-to-three and early childhood development 3 period are critical for a child's future prospects and affects their 4 physical, mental, emotional and social outcomes over a lifetime. A 5 program targeting infants in this formative phase would help break the 6 intergenerational cycle of poverty rather than attempting to mitigate it 7 later on, creating a positive impact on children's lives and saving 8 government funds down the road. 9 The legislature hereby finds and declares it is proven that unre- 10 stricted cash is a direct and effective solution to alleviating poverty 11 and meeting needs for families. This was shown on a national level with 12 the overwhelming success of the expanded Child Tax Credit, which lifted 13 millions of children out of poverty with its monthly payments and led to 14 a 41% spike in child poverty the first month it expired. The unre- 15 stricted cash intervention further proved how an investment in the 16 earliest days of life can have multiplying effects: studies have found 17 that a permanent expansion of the expanded Child Tax Credit would have 18 generated 10 times as much revenue as it cost. New York state has 19 recently made a commitment through the Child Poverty Reduction Act in 20 December 2021 to reduce child poverty by 50% over the course of ten 21 years, with the support of the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council, 22 and there is an opportunity for unrestricted cash to support this goal 23 and help the state reach its target. 24 Therefore, the legislature hereby finds and declares that New York 25 state has an opportunity and obligation to invest in its most vulnerable 26 residents by leading the fight against childhood poverty, and toward an 27 equitable economy for all, through a guaranteed income program for 28 infants. 29 § 3. Article 6 of the social services law is amended by adding a new 30 title 4-C to read as follows: 31 TITLE 4-C 32 MOTHERS AND INFANTS LASTING CHANGE ("MILC") ALLOWANCE 33 Section 409-o. Mothers and infants lasting change allowance. 34 § 409-o. Mothers and infants lasting change allowance. 1. Within one 35 year of the effective date of this section, the department shall estab- 36 lish a mothers and infants lasting change allowance pilot program to 37 support low-income families for three months of pregnancy and eighteen 38 months of a child's life. Such pilot program shall be in effect for 39 twenty-one months. 40 2. (a) The department, in coordination with local social services 41 districts, shall develop criteria that local social services districts 42 shall use to select a total of fifteen thousand eligible families for 43 participation in the program. 44 (b) Eligible individuals chosen for participation in the program shall 45 receive a subsidy of one thousand dollars per month for the last three 46 months of pregnancy and the first nine months of a child's life and five 47 hundred dollars per month for the last nine months of participation in 48 the program. 49 (c) The department shall allocate the necessary funds to local social 50 services districts for selected eligible selected participants. 51 (d) Monthly distributions shall be made by local social services 52 districts on the first of each month for the duration of the program to 53 the eligible selected participants. 54 3. Eligible participants shall:S. 4578--A 3 1 (a) have an income which is below two hundred percent of the federal 2 poverty line. Such income shall be proven by providing one of the 3 following: 4 (i) a filed tax return from the previous year; 5 (ii) a letter from an employer documenting the dates of work of the 6 applicant and the yearly pay from the employer; 7 (iii) a W-2 or 1099 form from the previous tax year; or 8 (iv) a wage notice provided pursuant to section one hundred ninety- 9 five of the labor law that documents employment for a period of time 10 within six months prior to the date the applicant certifies that he or 11 she became eligible; 12 (b) participate in monthly surveys provided by the department; and 13 (c) meet any other criteria deemed necessary by the department. 14 4. Of the fifteen thousand eligible participants: 15 (a) Ten thousand participants shall reside in a city with a population 16 of one hundred forty thousand or more; and 17 (b) Five thousand participants shall reside in a rural area as defined 18 in section twenty-nine hundred fifty-one of the public health law. 19 5. The department, in coordination with local social services 20 districts, shall assist eligible participants with access to resources, 21 subsidy management, and anything else deemed necessary by the depart- 22 ment. 23 6. The department and local social services districts shall conduct a 24 monthly survey to determine the impact of the program. The department 25 shall prepare an interim report regarding the first twelve months of the 26 program which shall be completed by the eighteenth month of the program 27 and a final report shall be made no later than twelve months after the 28 completion of the twenty-one month program. 29 § 4. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 8 of section 131-a of the social 30 services law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (xiv) to read as 31 follows: 32 (xiv) any financial assistance received by individuals from the moth- 33 ers and infants lasting change ("MILC") allowance. Such exemption and 34 disregard shall be applicable for the length of time the individual 35 receives the allowance. The commissioner shall seek federal waiver 36 authority to disregard the income from the mothers and infants lasting 37 change ("MILC") allowance for the purpose of the supplemental nutrition 38 assistance program. 39 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
