S 10702: Creates a true cost of economic security study to measure how much income and other resources are needed for a family of a given composition in a given geographic location to adequately meet a comprehensive set of regular household costs, set aside savings both for future planning and for short-term emergencies, and manage debt.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 10702  IN SENATE September 21, 2026 ___________ Introduced by Sen. PERSAUD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the creation of a true cost of economic security study The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The social services law is amended by adding a new section 2 131-cc to read as follows: 3 § 131-cc. True cost of economic security study. 1. Study established. 4 (a) The true cost of economic security (TCES) measures how much income 5 and other resources are needed for a family of a given composition in a 6 given geographic location to adequately meet a comprehensive set of 7 regular household costs, set aside savings both for future planning and 8 for short-term emergencies, and manage debt. 9 (b) The TCES is a tool that can be used to: (i) create a benchmark for 10 measuring the effectiveness of proposals, programs, and policies 11 intended to increase economic security; (ii) identify where existing and 12 proposed policies may be unintentionally increasing economic insecurity; 13 (iii) assist policymakers in identifying and addressing cost areas that 14 consume a disproportionate share of New Yorkers' resources, contributing 15 to economic insecurity; (iv) identify geographical areas of concentrated 16 economic insecurity and target interventions; (v) determine the wages 17 and other resources necessary for New Yorkers to achieve economic secu- 18 rity; and (vi) enhance online "budget calculator" tools that enable 19 users to strategize combinations of public and private supports and 20 subsidies, with training and education, and/or employment, to increase 21 income and economic security. 22 2. Collection and analysis. The department of labor shall contract 23 with a third party, that meets the requirements in subdivision four of 24 this section, for the collection and analysis of data that results in 25 the calculation of the true cost of economic security. 26 3. Calculation of the true cost of economic security measure. (a) The 27 true cost of economic security measure shall: (i) determine the 28 resources required to reach a base level of economic security; (ii) EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD06134-03-6 
 S. 10702 2 1 account for family size, composition, and geography to the county level; 2 (iii) utilize, to the extent such information is available, the most 3 up-to-date costs of housing, a reasonable food budget, regionally 4 specific transportation, health care, including premiums and out-of- 5 pocket expenses, center-based child care, technology, taxes, including 6 local, state and federal taxes, and service of certain types of debt as 7 well as other miscellaneous costs required to fully engage in today's 8 economy and society; (iv) account for income from labor earnings and 9 self-employment income, government social insurance programs like Social 10 Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and SNAP, tax credits, including local, 11 state, and federal tax credits, as well as employer-provided health care 12 contributions; and (v) include a savings target no less than that 13 included in the most recent national true cost of economic security 14 measure. 15 (b) In calculating the true cost of economic security, the contractor 16 shall utilize, to the extent practicable, data that is county-level and 17 nationally standardized, calculated annually, and from reliable govern- 18 ment or academic/scholarly sources, such as the United States census 19 bureau, United States department of housing and urban development, or 20 any other data reported to state and federal agencies using standardized 21 methodology. State or local data may be utilized where such data is 22 more targeted, granular, or comprehensive than available federal sourc- 23 es. Data should be disaggregated demographically, geographically, by 24 county and, where available, by sub-county areas, for every region in 25 the state. 26 4. Third-party contractor. In selecting a third-party contractor, the 27 department of labor may consider the potential contractor's years of 28 experience; the number of calculations performed for other states; the 29 record of having produced such calculations and reports within the budg- 30 et and time constraints of previous contracts; the relevant skills, 31 experience, and education of the contractor's personnel; whether the 32 contractor is located in or affiliated with a college or university; and 33 such other factors as the department of labor deems relevant and appro- 34 priate to evaluate the qualifications of such third-party contractor. 35 5. Report. The department of labor shall submit a report of the find- 36 ings required in subdivisions two and three of this section to the 37 governor, the speaker of the assembly and the temporary president of the 38 senate, no later than one year after the effective date of this section 39 and biennially thereafter. 40 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of April next succeeding 41 the date on which it shall have become a law.