S 1966: Requires social services districts to, every heating season, automatically re-enroll persons or households currently receiving assistance through the low-income home energy assistance program, so long as each person or household maintains eligibility.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1966 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE January 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. C. RYAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Social Services AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring social services districts to automatically re-enroll eligible persons or households for the low-income home energy assistance program The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 97 of the social services law, as 2 added by chapter 785 of the laws of 1983, is amended to read as follows: 3 2. a. Each social services district shall be required, in accordance 4 with the state plan and federal regulations, to participate in the 5 federal low-income home energy assistance program and to assist eligible 6 households found in such districts to obtain low-income home energy 7 assistance. However, only those persons who qualify for low-income home 8 energy assistance in accordance with federal and state requirements, and 9 standards promulgated by the department, shall be certified as eligible 10 for and entitled to receive said home energy assistance. No person, 11 however, shall be certified as eligible for and entitled to receive said 12 home energy assistance if no federal funds are available for such 13 purpose. 14 b. Each social services district shall every heating season automat- 15 ically re-enroll persons or households who are receiving home energy 16 assistance through the low-income home energy assistance program, so 17 long as such persons or households continue to meet the federal and 18 state eligibility requirements and standards. For purposes of this 19 section, "heating season" shall mean the time period designated by the 20 office of temporary and disability assistance each year. 21 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05928-01-5