S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
5552
2009-2010 Regular Sessions
I N A S S E M B L Y
February 13, 2009
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Introduced by M. of A. V. LOPEZ, BRENNAN, CLARK, LENTOL -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Social Services
AN ACT directing the office of temporary and disability assistance to
study the fair hearing process utilized by local social services
districts and to amend the social services law, in relation to the
duties of the office of temporary and disability assistance with
respect to such fair hearing process
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Legislative findings, purposes and intent. It is the find-
ing of the legislature that public assistance recipients are too
frequently removed from the rolls due to administrative reasons that do
not reflect a change in the financial eligibility for benefits. It is
therefore the intent and purpose of this act to study certain aspects of
the present social services program with respect to the conduct of fair
hearings to better protect the rights of public assistance clients and
to ensure that the basic necessities of life to which they are entitled
are provided.
S 2. The office of temporary and disability assistance shall analyze
the local social services districts' fair hearing process and identify
factors contributing to fair hearing withdrawals made by local
districts.
S 3. The office of temporary and disability assistance shall develop
performance standards to ensure adequate, timely, and uninterrupted
receipt of benefits by financially eligible applicants for and recipi-
ents of public assistance and care.
S 4. The office of temporary and disability assistance shall report
its findings to the governor and the legislature, on or before October
1, 2011. Such report shall include but not be limited to the following:
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD08843-01-9
A. 5552 2
a. the number and percentage of fair hearing withdrawals initiated by
the local social services districts, and the reasons for such with-
drawal, including a breakdown by local social services district;
b. factors within and beyond the local social services districts'
administrative control which may contribute to a fair hearing with-
drawal; and
c. recommendations with respect to adjustments in state reimbursement
to be made to local social services districts for failing to achieve the
performance standards developed pursuant to section three of this act.
S 5. Subdivision 14 of section 22 of the social services law, as
amended by chapter 524 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as
follows:
14. To provide an analysis of the outcome of the fair hearings process
within the office of temporary and disability assistance to identify
inadequacies and potential improvements in the functioning of the fair
hearings system, such office shall prepare for inclusion in the annual
report required by subdivision (d) of section seventeen of this article
to be filed with the governor and the legislature [prior to] ON OR
BEFORE the fifteenth [day] of December of each year, a report containing
with respect to income maintenance programs, including the family
assistance program, the safety net assistance program, the medical
assistance program and any other program, the number of affirmations
[and], reversals AND WITHDRAWALS by local districts and by program
including a breakdown by local districts of the number of fair hearings
requested by program and the number of fair hearings held by program,
formal requests by local districts and recipients for reconsideration or
rehearing of appeals, and a summary of court actions on hearing deci-
sions.
S 6. This act shall take effect immediately.