STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3606
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 28, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI, BARRON, TAYLOR, SEAWRIGHT, O'DONNELL,
ENGLEBRIGHT, REYES, BRONSON, SIMON, FERNANDEZ, GOTTFRIED, EICHENSTEIN,
DICKENS, L. ROSENTHAL, RA, OTIS, FAHY, THIELE, J. M. GIGLIO, LUPARDO
-- 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.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01748-01-1
A. 3606 2
1 § 3. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the commis-
2 sioner of social services, in consultation with the director of the
3 office for the aging, the commissioner of health, the commissioner of
4 the division for youth, and the commissioner of mental health, shall
5 amend all state and passthrough contracts with human services providers
6 to provide any necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) to such
7 human services providers as determined by such commissioners.
8 § 4. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all state
9 agencies shall permit human services providers to utilize contracted
10 funds to provide incentive pay to human services employees who are
11 designated essential workers during the state disaster emergency
12 declared pursuant to executive order 202 of 2020.
13 § 5. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any state
14 agency with a contract with a human services provider to provide human
15 services for fiscal year 2022 shall immediately provide a 60 percent
16 cash advance on such fiscal year 2022 contract.
17 § 6. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any state
18 taskforce involved in the recovery from the outbreak of novel coronavi-
19 rus, COVID-19, shall include a representative of human services provid-
20 ers.
21 § 7. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, subject to
22 available appropriations, the commissioner of social services, in
23 consultation with the director of the office for the aging, the commis-
24 sioner of health, the commissioner of the division for youth, and the
25 commissioner of mental health, shall establish an annual cost of living
26 adjustment (COLA) of 3 percent effective April first of each state
27 fiscal year, beginning with the 2022-2023 fiscal year through the 2027-
28 2028 fiscal year, for the rates of payments, contracts or any other form
29 of reimbursement for all state human services programs.
30 § 8. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all not-
31 for-profit human services debt incurred on state or local program
32 contracts shall be forgiven. The commissioner of social services, in
33 consultation with the director of the office for the aging, the commis-
34 sioner of health, the commissioner of the division for youth, and the
35 commissioner of mental health, shall promulgate rules and regulations to
36 identify and forgive such debts.
37 § 9. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, any state
38 agency with a contract with a human services provider to provide human
39 services which has provided such human services provider with a cash
40 advance on such contract shall not recoup such cash advance at the end
41 of the fiscal year.
42 § 10. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all state
43 agencies, including but not limited to the dormitory authority of the
44 state of New York, with a contract with a human services provider to
45 provide human services which includes capital obligations, shall fulfill
46 all such capital obligations.
47 § 11. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the
48 commissioner of social services, in consultation with the director of
49 the office for the aging, the commissioner of health, the commissioner
50 of the division for youth, and the commissioner of mental health, shall
51 adopt an indirect cost rate for all human services contracts. Such indi-
52 rect cost rate shall be modeled after the indirect cost rate funding
53 initiative in the city of New York health and human services cost poli-
54 cies and procedures manual adopted for the 2020 fiscal year.
55 § 12. There is hereby established a workgroup consisting of the not-
56 for-profit contracting advisory committee established pursuant to
A. 3606 3
1 section 179-aa of the state finance law, in consultation with the attor-
2 ney general and representatives of human services providers to identify
3 and make recommendations regarding the extension of any easing of
4 reporting requirements as a result of COVID-19 which resulted in
5 increased efficiency for the processing of human services contracts and
6 other related documents. The workgroup shall report to the governor and
7 the legislature with any such recommendations within one year of the
8 effective date of this act.
9 § 13. The sum of one hundred million dollars ($100,000,000) is hereby
10 appropriated to the nonprofit infrastructure capital investment program
11 out of any moneys in the state treasury in the general fund to the cred-
12 it of the state purposes account, not otherwise appropriated, and made
13 immediately available, for the purpose of funding project costs for such
14 program. Such moneys shall be payable on the audit and warrant of the
15 comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the commissioner of
16 health in the manner prescribed by law.
17 § 14. Severability. If any provision of this act, or any application
18 of any provision of this act, is held to be invalid, that shall not
19 affect the validity or effectiveness of any other provision of this act,
20 or of any other application of any provision of this act, which can be
21 given effect without that provision or application; and to that end, the
22 provisions and applications of this act are severable.
23 § 15. This act shall take effect immediately.
