Bill Text: NY A10701 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Provides relief to human services providers in response to the outbreak of novel coronavirus, COVID-19 and makes an appropriation therefor.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 27-2)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-07-01 - referred to ways and means [A10701 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A10701-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          10701

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                      July 1, 2020
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Hevesi) --
          read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means

        AN ACT to provide relief to human services providers in response to  the
          outbreak  of  novel  coronavirus, COVID-19 and making an appropriation
          therefor

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1.  As  used  in this act, the following terms shall have the
     2  following meanings:
     3    1. "Human service" shall mean any service provided to  individuals  or
     4  groups  of  individuals,  for the purpose of improving or enhancing such
     5  individuals'  health  and/or  welfare,  by  addressing  social  problems
     6  including  but  not  limited  to:  domestic violence, teenage pregnancy,
     7  migrant health problems, child abuse, nutritional deficiencies, suicide,
     8  hunger, unemployment, lack of suitable shelter, crime, drug and  alcohol
     9  abuse and poverty.
    10    2.  "Human  services provider" shall mean any public or not-for-profit
    11  private entity utilizing public  and/or  private  funds  to  provide  or
    12  contract  for  the  provision  of  human services for the benefit of the
    13  general public or specific client groups.
    14    § 2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the commis-
    15  sioner of social services, in consultation  with  the  director  of  the
    16  office  for  the  aging, the commissioner of health, the commissioner of
    17  the division for youth, and the commissioner  of  mental  health,  shall
    18  amend  all state and passthrough contracts with human services providers
    19  to provide retroactive incentive pay to all human services employees who
    20  were designated essential workers during the  state  disaster  emergency
    21  declared pursuant to executive order 202 of 2020.
    22    § 3. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the commis-
    23  sioner  of  social  services,  in  consultation with the director of the
    24  office for the aging, the commissioner of health,  the  commissioner  of
    25  the  division  for  youth,  and the commissioner of mental health, shall
    26  amend all state and passthrough contracts with human services  providers

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16612-01-0

        A. 10701                            2

     1  to  provide  any  necessary  personal protective equipment (PPE) to such
     2  human services providers as determined by such commissioners.
     3    §  4.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all state
     4  agencies shall permit human services  providers  to  utilize  contracted
     5  funds  to  provide  incentive  pay  to  human services employees who are
     6  designated  essential  workers  during  the  state  disaster   emergency
     7  declared pursuant to executive order 202 of 2020.
     8    §  5.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any state
     9  agency with a contract with a human services provider to  provide  human
    10  services  for  fiscal  year  2021 shall immediately provide a 60 percent
    11  cash advance on such fiscal year 2021 contract.
    12    § 6. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,  any  state
    13  taskforce  involved in the recovery from the outbreak of novel coronavi-
    14  rus, COVID-19, shall include a representative of human services  provid-
    15  ers.
    16    §  7. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, subject to
    17  available  appropriations,  the  commissioner  of  social  services,  in
    18  consultation  with the director of the office for the aging, the commis-
    19  sioner of health, the commissioner of the division for  youth,  and  the
    20  commissioner  of mental health, shall establish an annual cost of living
    21  adjustment (COLA) of 3 percent  effective  April  first  of  each  state
    22  fiscal  year, beginning with the 2021-2022 fiscal year through the 2026-
    23  2027 fiscal year, for the rates of payments, contracts or any other form
    24  of reimbursement for all state human services programs.
    25    § 8. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the  contrary,  all  not-
    26  for-profit  human  services  debt  incurred  on  state  or local program
    27  contracts shall be forgiven.  The commissioner of  social  services,  in
    28  consultation  with the director of the office for the aging, the commis-
    29  sioner of health, the commissioner of the division for  youth,  and  the
    30  commissioner of mental health, shall promulgate rules and regulations to
    31  identify and forgive such debts.
    32    §  9.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any state
    33  agency with a contract with a human services provider to  provide  human
    34  services  which  has  provided  such human services provider with a cash
    35  advance on such contract shall not recoup such cash advance at  the  end
    36  of the fiscal year.
    37    §  10. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all state
    38  agencies, including but not limited to the dormitory  authority  of  the
    39  state  of  New  York,  with a contract with a human services provider to
    40  provide human services which includes capital obligations, shall fulfill
    41  all such capital obligations.
    42    § 11. Notwithstanding any  provision  of  law  to  the  contrary,  the
    43  commissioner  of  social  services, in consultation with the director of
    44  the office for the aging, the commissioner of health,  the  commissioner
    45  of  the division for youth, and the commissioner of mental health, shall
    46  adopt an indirect cost rate for all human services contracts. Such indi-
    47  rect cost rate shall be modeled after the  indirect  cost  rate  funding
    48  initiative  in the city of New York health and human services cost poli-
    49  cies and procedures manual adopted for the 2020 fiscal year.
    50    § 12. There is hereby established a workgroup consisting of  the  not-
    51  for-profit   contracting  advisory  committee  established  pursuant  to
    52  section 179-aa of the state finance law, in consultation with the attor-
    53  ney general and representatives of human services providers to  identify
    54  and  make  recommendations  regarding  the  extension  of  any easing of
    55  reporting requirements  as  a  result  of  COVID-19  which  resulted  in
    56  increased  efficiency for the processing of human services contracts and

        A. 10701                            3

     1  other related documents. The workgroup shall report to the governor  and
     2  the  legislature  with  any  such recommendations within one year of the
     3  effective date of this act.
     4    §  13. The sum of one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) is hereby
     5  appropriated to the nonprofit infrastructure capital investment  program
     6  out of any moneys in the state treasury in the general fund to the cred-
     7  it  of  the state purposes account, not otherwise appropriated, and made
     8  immediately available, for the purpose of funding project costs for such
     9  program. Such moneys shall be payable on the audit and  warrant  of  the
    10  comptroller  on  vouchers  certified  or approved by the commissioner of
    11  health in the manner prescribed by law.
    12    § 14. Severability. If any provision of this act, or  any  application
    13  of  any  provision  of  this  act, is held to be invalid, that shall not
    14  affect the validity or effectiveness of any other provision of this act,
    15  or of any other application of any provision of this act, which  can  be
    16  given effect without that provision or application; and to that end, the
    17  provisions and applications of this act are severable.
    18    § 15. This act shall take effect immediately.
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