A 7056: Authorizes the department of public service to develop, implement, administer and operate a temporary middle income home energy assistance program; makes an appropriation therefor.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7056 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY March 20, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BICHOTTE HERMELYN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Energy AN ACT to amend the public service law, in relation to authorizing the department of public service to develop a temporary middle income home energy assistance program; making an appropriation therefor and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public service law is amended by adding a new section 2 28 to read as follows: 3 § 28. Temporary middle income home energy assistance program. 1. The 4 department is authorized to develop, implement, administer and operate a 5 plan, and hold funds available for such plan, to make available one-time 6 supplementing grants for the purpose of assisting eligible households to 7 obtain home heating fuel. 8 2. For purposes of this section, the term "home heating fuel" shall 9 mean fuel oil, coal, wood, propane, natural gas, electricity, steam, 10 kerosene and any other fuel when used for residential heating purposes. 11 3. The department is required, in accordance with the plan established 12 in subdivision one of this section, to participate in the temporary 13 middle income home energy assistance program and to assist eligible 14 households to obtain middle income home energy assistance. 15 4. Persons who qualify for middle income home energy assistance in 16 accordance with standards promulgated by the department, shall be certi- 17 fied as eligible for and entitled to receive such home energy assist- 18 ance. No person, however, shall be certified as eligible for and enti- 19 tled to receive such home energy assistance if no state funds are 20 available for such purpose. 21 5. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of law to the contrary, 22 the amount of any home energy assistance payments or allowances provided 23 to an eligible household under such plan shall not be considered income EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD04533-01-5 
 A. 7056 2 1 or resources of such households, or of any member thereof, for any 2 purpose under any state law. 3 § 2. The sum of one million dollars ($1,000,000), or so much thereof 4 as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated to the department of public 5 service out of any moneys in the state treasury in the general fund to 6 the credit of the state purposes fund, not otherwise appropriated, and 7 made immediately available, for the purpose of supporting the temporary 8 middle income home energy assistance program. Such moneys shall be 9 payable on the audit and warrant of the comptroller on vouchers certi- 10 fied or approved by the department of public service in the manner 11 prescribed by law. 12 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be 13 deemed repealed April 1, 2027.