S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  9630

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                             March 23, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced by M. of A. HIKIND -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Governmental Operations

AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to directing the division
  of  homeland  security  and  emergency  services  to develop a plan to
  ensure that refugee resettlement agencies  monitor  certain  refugees;
  and  directing  the  office  for new Americans to conduct a background
  check on refugees; to amend the social services law,  in  relation  to
  requiring aliens admitted to the United States as refugees to register
  with  the  office of temporary and disability assistance; and to amend
  the not-for-profit corporation law, in relation to  requiring  refugee
  resettlement  agencies  to  submit  quarterly reports to the bureau of
  refugee and immigrant assistance and requiring such agencies to  moni-
  tor refugees for a certain period of time

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Paragraph (u) of subdivision 2 of section 709 of the execu-
tive law is relettered paragraph (v) and a new paragraph (u) is added to
read as follows:
  (U) DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A PLAN TO ENSURE THAT ALL REFUGEE  RESETTLE-
MENT  AGENCIES COMPLY WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF SECTION ONE THOUSAND FOUR
HUNDRED THIRTEEN OF THE NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION LAW.
  S 2. Paragraphs (m) and (n) of subdivision 5 of section  94-b  of  the
executive  law, as added by chapter 206 of the laws of 2014, are amended
and a new paragraph (o) is added to read as follows:
  (m) Encourage and assist  local  governments  in  the  development  of
activities to enhance civic engagement among immigrants and in immigrant
communities; [and]
  (n) Beginning in two thousand fifteen, by June fifteenth of each year,
produce  a  report to the governor, the speaker of the assembly, and the
temporary president of the  senate  describing  the  activities  of  the
office, including but not limited to, summarizing calls received through
the  hotline and website, information on ESOL training services provided
by the office, the number of immigrants assisted through the opportunity

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD13199-07-6
              

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centers, or an estimation thereof, the status of any workforce  develop-
ment programs, and any other relevant information[.]; AND
  (O)  SCREEN  AND PERFORM A BACKGROUND SCREENING OF EVERY IMMIGRANT WHO
REGISTERS PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION NINE OF SECTION TWENTY OF  THE  SOCIAL
SERVICES  LAW,  TO ENSURE THAT THE IMMIGRANT DOES NOT PRESENT A SECURITY
RISK TO THE STATE OR THE UNITED STATES. THE  OFFICE  SHALL  PROVIDE  THE
RESULTS OF EACH SUCH SCREENING TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LAW, THE DIVISION OF
STATE  POLICE,  AND  THE  DIVISION  OF  HOMELAND  SECURITY AND EMERGENCY
SERVICES.
  S 3.   Paragraph (i) of subdivision 3 of  section  20  of  the  social
services  law,  as  added by chapter 304 of the laws of 1990, is amended
and a new paragraph (j) is added to read as follows:
  (i) to assure conformance with federal law, by  entering  into  agree-
ments  with  the federal social security administration and public agen-
cies in other  states  responsible  for  administering  the  food  stamp
program  or  programs under title I, II, IV-A, IV-D, X, XIV, XVI, or XIX
of the social security act under which the department will provide  such
agencies,  when  required  by  federal  law  and  only  to the extent so
required, with data which may be of use  in  establishing  or  verifying
eligibility  for  or  benefit amounts in such programs or ability to pay
support for a person receiving  support  collection  services  including
data  obtained  from  the  wage  reporting  system operated by the state
department of taxation and  finance  pursuant  to  section  one  hundred
seventy-one-a of the tax law[.]; AND
  (J)  TO COLLECT AND MAINTAIN REPORTS SUBMITTED BY REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT
AGENCIES  PURSUANT  TO  SECTION  FOURTEEN  HUNDRED   THIRTEEN   OF   THE
NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION LAW.
  S  4. Section 20 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
subdivision 9 to read as follows:
  9. (A) THE BUREAU OF REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT ASSISTANCE OF THE OFFICE OF
TEMPORARY AND DISABILITY ASSISTANCE SHALL  PROVIDE  TO  EACH  ALIEN  WHO
RESIDES IN THE STATE, AND WHO WAS ADMITTED TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMER-
ICA  AS  A  REFUGEE  PURSUANT TO SECTION TWO HUNDRED SEVEN OF THE UNITED
STATES IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT (8 U.S.C.  S  1157)  OR  WHO  WAS
GRANTED  ASYLUM  PURSUANT  TO  SECTION  TWO HUNDRED EIGHT OF SUCH ACT (8
U.S.C. S 1158), THAT HE OR SHE IS REQUIRED, WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF ENTER-
ING THE STATE, TO:
  (I) REGISTER AS A REFUGEE WITH THE OFFICE OF TEMPORARY AND  DISABILITY
ASSISTANCE; AND
  (II) BE INTERVIEWED BY AND PROVIDE HIS OR HER FINGERPRINTS TO AN OFFI-
CER  OR EMPLOYEE OF SUCH OFFICE DESIGNATED BY THE COMMISSIONER OF TEMPO-
RARY AND DISABILITY ASSISTANCE.
  (B) THE COMMISSIONER OF  TEMPORARY  AND  DISABILITY  ASSISTANCE  SHALL
MAINTAIN  ALL REFUGEE REGISTRATION DATA AND INFORMATION IN AN ELECTRONIC
DATABASE. NOT LESS THAN ON A MONTHLY BASIS, THE OFFICE OF TEMPORARY  AND
DISABILITY ASSISTANCE SHALL FORWARD A COPY OF THE REGISTRATION RECORD OF
EACH REFUGEE WHO REGISTERED DURING THE PRECEDING MONTH, TO THE OFFICE OF
CHILDREN  AND  FAMILY SERVICES, THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, THE OFFICE FOR
NEW AMERICANS, THE DEPARTMENT OF LAW, THE DIVISION OF STATE POLICE,  AND
THE DIVISION OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND EMERGENCY SERVICES.
  (C)  ANNUALLY, ON OR BEFORE FEBRUARY FIRST, THE COMMISSIONER OF TEMPO-
RARY AND DISABILITY ASSISTANCE SHALL SUBMIT A REPORT ON THE REGISTRATION
PROGRAM ESTABLISHED BY THIS SUBDIVISION TO THE GOVERNOR,  THE  TEMPORARY
PRESIDENT  OF  THE  SENATE AND THE SPEAKER OF THE ASSEMBLY.  SUCH REPORT
SHALL INCLUDE THE NUMBER OF REFUGEES WHO REGISTERED DURING THE  PREVIOUS
CALENDAR YEAR AND THEIR COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN.

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  (D)  FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SUBDIVISION, THE TERM "ALIEN" SHALL HAVE
THE SAME MEANING AS IS ASCRIBED TO SUCH TERM BY SECTION ONE HUNDRED  ONE
OF THE UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT (8 U.S.C. 1101).
  S  5.  The  not-for-profit  corporation law is amended by adding a new
section 1413 to read as follows:
S 1413. REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT AGENCIES.
  (A) DEFINITION. "REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT AGENCY" MEANS A VOLUNTARY  AGEN-
CY, AS DEFINED PURSUANT TO SECTION 1411 OF THE UNITED STATES IMMIGRATION
AND  NATIONALITY  ACT  (8  U.S.C. S 1521), ORGANIZATION, OR AFFILIATE OF
SUCH AGENCY OR ORGANIZATION THAT RECEIVES FEDERAL  FUNDING  FOR  REFUGEE
RECEPTION  AND  PLACEMENT  RESETTLEMENT SERVICES OR OTHER FEDERAL GRANTS
INTENDED FOR THE SUPPORT OF REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT ACTIVITIES.
  (B) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.  EACH  REFUGEE  RESETTLEMENT  AGENCY  SHALL
REPORT,  ON  A  QUARTERLY  BASIS, TO THE BUREAU OF REFUGEE AND IMMIGRANT
ASSISTANCE OF THE OFFICE OF TEMPORARY AND DISABILITY ASSISTANCE:
  (1) THE TOTAL NUMBER OF REFUGEES RESETTLED BY THE AGENCY AND THE TOTAL
OF SUCH REFUGEES IN EACH OF THE FOLLOWING AGE GROUPS:
  (A) UNDER EIGHTEEN YEARS OF AGE,
  (B) BETWEEN EIGHTEEN AND SIXTY-FOUR YEARS OF AGE, AND
  (C) SIXTY-FIVE YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER;
  (2) THE PUBLIC ASSISTANCE BENEFITS THE REFUGEES HAVE  APPLIED  FOR  OR
HAVE BEEN GRANTED; AND
  (3) THE COUNTRIES OF ORIGIN OF THE REFUGEES.
  (C)  MONITORING  REQUIREMENT.  EACH  REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT AGENCY SHALL
MONITOR REFUGEES WHO HAVE REGISTERED WITH THE OFFICE  OF  TEMPORARY  AND
DISABILITY  ASSISTANCE PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION NINE OF SECTION TWENTY OF
THE SOCIAL SERVICES LAW FOR A PERIOD OF ONE YEAR OR UNTIL SUCH TIME AS A
REFUGEE IS GRANTED PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS BY THE UNITED STATES  CITI-
ZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION SERVICES, WHICHEVER SHALL OCCUR FIRST.
  S 6. This act shall take effect immediately.