Bill Text: NY S09827 | 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 2-0)

Status: (Engrossed) 2024-06-06 - referred to social services [S09827 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S09827-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          9827

                    IN SENATE

                                      June 3, 2024
                                       ___________

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

        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:
    26    (1) having heat-related utility service arrears more than  sixty  days
    27  in arrears; or

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01615-01-3
        S. 9827                             2

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