S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  6197--A
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                               April 3, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. CLARK, JACKSON, SIMON, LEVENBERG, HEVESI, GONZA-
   LEZ-ROJAS, MEEKS, SHRESTHA -- read once and referred to the  Committee
   on  Social Services -- recommitted to the Committee on Social Services
   in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2  --  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:
 
   Section  1.  This  act shall be known and may be cited as the "mothers
 and infants lasting change ("MILC") allowance".
   § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby finds and
 declares that child poverty in New York city and cities across New  York
 state  is  shamefully  high  and  will likely worsen if current economic
 trends continue. Half of the top six cities in the  United  States  with
 the highest child poverty rates are in New York state, disproportionate-
 ly affecting communities and children of color. In New York city, nearly
 1  in  4 children live in poverty. In Rochester and Buffalo, that number
 is even higher: 1 in 2 children live in poverty.
   The legislature hereby finds and declares that New Yorkers are  unable
 to cover their basic necessities and support their families, particular-
 ly in the face of rising interest rates and inflation. Most notably, the
 cost  of  childcare,  which already consumes a massive portion of family
 income, rose 41% during the pandemic, and the total cost  of  raising  a
 child  through  high  school has risen to more than $300,000, which is a
 $26,000 increase from five years ago and is likely to present a  heavier
 burden  for  low-income  parents  and families for whom expenses such as
 food, housing, and gas comprise an even larger portion of their income.
   The legislature  hereby  finds  and  declares  there  is  overwhelming
 evidence  that  the  prenatal-to-three  and  early childhood development
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04583-05-3
              

 A. 6197--A                          2
 
 period are critical for a child's future  prospects  and  affects  their
 physical,  mental,  emotional  and  social  outcomes  over a lifetime. A
 program targeting infants in this formative phase would help  break  the
 intergenerational cycle of poverty rather than attempting to mitigate it
 later  on,  creating  a  positive  impact on children's lives and saving
 government funds down the road.
   The legislature hereby finds and declares  it  is  proven  that  unre-
 stricted  cash is a direct and effective solution to alleviating poverty
 and meeting needs for families. This was shown on a national level  with
 the  overwhelming success of the expanded Child Tax Credit, which lifted
 millions of children out of poverty with its monthly payments and led to
 a 41% spike in child poverty the  first  month  it  expired.  The  unre-
 stricted  cash  intervention  further  proved  how  an investment in the
 earliest days of life can have multiplying effects: studies  have  found
 that  a  permanent expansion of the expanded Child Tax Credit would have
 generated 10 times as much revenue as it  cost.    New  York  state  has
 recently  made  a  commitment through the Child Poverty Reduction Act in
 December 2021 to reduce child poverty by 50%  over  the  course  of  ten
 years, with the support of the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council,
 and  there  is an opportunity for unrestricted cash to support this goal
 and help the state reach its target.
   Therefore, the legislature hereby finds and  declares  that  New  York
 state has an opportunity and obligation to invest in its most vulnerable
 residents  by leading the fight against childhood poverty, and toward an
 equitable economy for all,  through  a  guaranteed  income  program  for
 infants.
   §  3.  Article 6 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
 title 4-C to read as follows:
                                  TITLE 4-C
           MOTHERS AND INFANTS LASTING CHANGE ("MILC") ALLOWANCE
 SECTION 409-O. MOTHERS AND INFANTS LASTING CHANGE ALLOWANCE.
   § 409-O. MOTHERS AND INFANTS LASTING CHANGE ALLOWANCE. 1.  WITHIN  ONE
 YEAR  OF THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS SECTION, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ESTAB-
 LISH A MOTHERS AND INFANTS LASTING CHANGE  ALLOWANCE  PILOT  PROGRAM  TO
 SUPPORT  LOW-INCOME  FAMILIES FOR THREE MONTHS OF PREGNANCY AND EIGHTEEN
 MONTHS OF A CHILD'S LIFE. SUCH PILOT PROGRAM  SHALL  BE  IN  EFFECT  FOR
 TWENTY-ONE MONTHS.
   2.  (A)  THE  DEPARTMENT,  IN  COORDINATION WITH LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES
 DISTRICTS, SHALL DEVELOP CRITERIA THAT LOCAL SOCIAL  SERVICES  DISTRICTS
 SHALL  USE  TO  SELECT A TOTAL OF FIFTEEN THOUSAND ELIGIBLE FAMILIES FOR
 PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM.
   (B) ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS CHOSEN FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM SHALL
 RECEIVE A SUBSIDY OF ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS PER MONTH FOR THE  LAST  THREE
 MONTHS OF PREGNANCY AND THE FIRST NINE MONTHS OF A CHILD'S LIFE AND FIVE
 HUNDRED  DOLLARS  PER MONTH FOR THE LAST NINE MONTHS OF PARTICIPATION IN
 THE PROGRAM.
   (C) THE DEPARTMENT SHALL ALLOCATE THE NECESSARY FUNDS TO LOCAL  SOCIAL
 SERVICES DISTRICTS FOR SELECTED ELIGIBLE SELECTED PARTICIPANTS.
   (D)  MONTHLY  DISTRIBUTIONS  SHALL  BE  MADE  BY LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES
 DISTRICTS ON THE FIRST OF EACH MONTH FOR THE DURATION OF THE PROGRAM  TO
 THE ELIGIBLE SELECTED PARTICIPANTS.
   3. ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS SHALL:
   (A)  HAVE  AN INCOME WHICH IS BELOW TWO HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE FEDERAL
 POVERTY LINE. SUCH INCOME SHALL  BE  PROVEN  BY  PROVIDING  ONE  OF  THE
 FOLLOWING:
   (I) A FILED TAX RETURN FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR;
 A. 6197--A                          3
 
   (II)  A  LETTER  FROM AN EMPLOYER DOCUMENTING THE DATES OF WORK OF THE
 APPLICANT AND THE YEARLY PAY FROM THE EMPLOYER;
   (III) A W-2 OR 1099 FORM FROM THE PREVIOUS TAX YEAR; OR
   (IV)  A  WAGE  NOTICE PROVIDED PURSUANT TO SECTION ONE HUNDRED NINETY-
 FIVE OF THE LABOR LAW THAT DOCUMENTS EMPLOYMENT FOR  A  PERIOD  OF  TIME
 WITHIN  SIX  MONTHS PRIOR TO THE DATE THE APPLICANT CERTIFIES THAT HE OR
 SHE BECAME ELIGIBLE;
   (B) PARTICIPATE IN MONTHLY SURVEYS PROVIDED BY THE DEPARTMENT; AND
   (C) MEET ANY OTHER CRITERIA DEEMED NECESSARY BY THE DEPARTMENT.
   4. OF THE FIFTEEN THOUSAND ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS:
   (A) TEN THOUSAND PARTICIPANTS SHALL RESIDE IN A CITY WITH A POPULATION
 OF ONE HUNDRED FORTY THOUSAND OR MORE; AND
   (B) FIVE THOUSAND PARTICIPANTS SHALL RESIDE IN A RURAL AREA AS DEFINED
 IN SECTION TWENTY-NINE HUNDRED FIFTY-ONE OF THE PUBLIC HEALTH LAW.
   5.  THE  DEPARTMENT,  IN  COORDINATION  WITH  LOCAL  SOCIAL   SERVICES
 DISTRICTS,  SHALL ASSIST ELIGIBLE PARTICIPANTS WITH ACCESS TO RESOURCES,
 SUBSIDY MANAGEMENT, AND ANYTHING ELSE DEEMED NECESSARY  BY  THE  DEPART-
 MENT.
   6.  THE DEPARTMENT AND LOCAL SOCIAL SERVICES DISTRICTS SHALL CONDUCT A
 MONTHLY SURVEY TO DETERMINE THE IMPACT OF THE  PROGRAM.  THE  DEPARTMENT
 SHALL PREPARE AN INTERIM REPORT REGARDING THE FIRST TWELVE MONTHS OF THE
 PROGRAM  WHICH SHALL BE COMPLETED BY THE EIGHTEENTH MONTH OF THE PROGRAM
 AND A FINAL REPORT SHALL BE MADE NO LATER THAN TWELVE MONTHS  AFTER  THE
 COMPLETION OF THE TWENTY-ONE MONTH PROGRAM.
   §  4.  Paragraph  (a)  of subdivision 8 of section 131-a of the social
 services law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (xiv)  to  read  as
 follows:
   (XIV)  ANY FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE RECEIVED BY INDIVIDUALS FROM THE MOTH-
 ERS AND INFANTS LASTING CHANGE ("MILC") ALLOWANCE.   SUCH EXEMPTION  AND
 DISREGARD  SHALL  BE  APPLICABLE  FOR  THE LENGTH OF TIME THE INDIVIDUAL
 RECEIVES THE ALLOWANCE.  THE  COMMISSIONER  SHALL  SEEK  FEDERAL  WAIVER
 AUTHORITY  TO  DISREGARD THE INCOME FROM THE MOTHERS AND INFANTS LASTING
 CHANGE ("MILC") ALLOWANCE FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE SUPPLEMENTAL  NUTRITION
 ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
   § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.