BILL NUMBER:S7336

TITLE OF BILL:

An act
to amend chapter 534 of the laws of 2000,
amending the social
services law relating to clarifying the definition of work activities to
include certain work-study and internship positions, in relation to
making such provisions permanent

PURPOSE OF THE BILL:

This bill would make permanent those provisions of law which allow
certain public assistance recipients to participate in work-study and
internship positions and have those hours of participation count
toward the recipient's work activity requirements.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill would eliminate the sunset date of Chapter 534
of the Laws of 2000 which has been extended for two years in 2002,
2004, 2006 and 2008.

Section 2 of the proposal would provide for an immediate effective date.

              

EXISTING LAW:

Chapter 534 of the Laws of 2000 amended Social Services Law (SSL)
335-b (2) and 336-c (4) and added a new subdivision 8 to SSL § 336.
These amendments clarified that participation in certain work-study
and internships positions shall be counted toward a recipient's work
activity requirements, and local social services districts must make
reasonable efforts to ensure that such assignments do not conflict
with the student's academic schedule.

Chapter 534 of the Laws of 2000 was extended for two years in 2002,
2004, 2006, and 2008. The 2008 extension, in Chapter 121 of the Laws
of 2008, is currently set to expire on June 30, 2010.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

In 2008, an identical departmental bill, #186, was introduced as
A.10659/S.7428. However, the bill was not reported from the Assembly
Social Services Committee nor from the Senate Social Services,
Children and Families Committee.

STATEMENT IN SUPPORT:

Public assistance recipients have an obligation to meet certain work
participation requirements. Work-study and internship positions have
provided many individuals with the experience and the opportunity to

transition from assistance to employment through a combination of
employment activities and education. Such activities should, in many
instances, be countable toward the student's work participation
requirements, and local social services districts should not
unreasonably assign work requirements that conflict with the
student's academic schedule, if an approved work experience assignment
is available.

Chapter 534 of the Laws of 2000 was originally enacted to determine
whether allowing certain recipients who were non-graduate college
students to count hours of participation in certain approved
work-study assignments, internships, externships or other work
placements toward the satisfaction of their work activity
requirements would further such individuals' educational progress
and, ultimately, help them transition to paid employment. Chapter 534
of the Laws of 2000 was originally set to sunset on June 30, 2002, to
allow the State an opportunity to assess if this new approach to
students' work activity requirements would be beneficial. Over the
past ten years, the sunset date has been extended every two years.
The law has served its intended purpose without any negative
consequences to districts' ability to meet work participation rates
or recipients' ability to improve employment opportunities and
transition to full-time employment.

BUDGET IMPLICATIONS:

This bill would have no fiscal impact.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

This bill would take effect immediately.