Bill Text: NY A05331 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Enacts the HOPE pilot program; allows households to apply for multiple food and anti-poverty benefits simultaneously online; enables families to work with nonprofit and government agencies to enact action plans to boost their long-term self-sufficiency.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-13 - referred to social services [A05331 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-A05331-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5331 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY February 13, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. GONZALEZ-ROJAS, DE LOS SANTOS, MAMDANI -- read once and referred to the Committee on Social Services AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to enacting the HOPE pilot program; 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. The social services law is amended by adding a new section 2 98 to read as follows: 3 § 98. HOPE pilot program. 1. As used in this section the following 4 terms shall have the following meanings: 5 a. "Commissioners" means the commissioner of the office of temporary 6 and disability assistance and the commissioner of health, acting colla- 7 boratively. 8 b. "Eligible pilot community" means a unit of general purpose local 9 government, Indian tribal organization, or an entity that represents a 10 smaller geographical area therein including but not limited to a neigh- 11 borhood. 12 c. "Target population" means and includes any individual or household 13 that: 14 (i) their income is below two hundred percent of the federal poverty 15 level; 16 (ii) suffers from food insecurity; 17 (iii) earns insufficient income to ensure food security or economic 18 security; 19 (iv) lives in a rural, suburban or urban community that suffers from 20 poverty, hunger or food insecurity; 21 (v) is homeless; 22 (vi) receives assistance from a state program funded under title IV-A 23 of the federal social security act, relating to temporary assistance to 24 needy families; EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD08617-01-5A. 5331 2 1 (vii) is eligible for benefits under any federal or state nutrition 2 assistance program or federal or state anti-poverty program; or 3 (viii) is formerly a youth in transition from foster care or the juve- 4 nile detention facilities. 5 d. "Partner not-for-profit organization" means any national, regional, 6 state, or local not-for-profit organization described in section 7 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code which has tax 8 exempt status under section 501(a) of such code. 9 e. "Unit of general purpose local government" means any city, county, 10 town, municipality, or other political subdivision of the state, or any 11 combination thereof, which has a building code or similar authority over 12 a particular geographic area of the state. 13 2. a. The commissioners shall allow eligible entities that apply to 14 such commissioners to carry out health, opportunity, and personal empow- 15 erment ("HOPE") accounts pilot projects to enable target populations of 16 individuals to establish through banks, credit unions, and any govern- 17 mental or Indian tribal organizations, HOPE accounts that enable such 18 individuals to: 19 (i) have their paychecks deposited directly in such accounts; 20 (ii) use such accounts to increase savings that would be matched with 21 funds provided by government and private sources, including individual 22 development accounts; 23 (iii) use an account mobile application on a smart phone to easily 24 locate and sign up for job training and placement services online; 25 (iv) enable such individuals to use any smart phone, tablet or comput- 26 er to: 27 (A) learn about the public and philanthropic programs that provide 28 benefits to such individuals, including aid to improve health, nutri- 29 tion, job training and placement, housing, and income; 30 (B) receive federal and state tax credits; and 31 (C) apply for, submit eligibility documents for, enroll in, and manage 32 the use of such benefits at once through the convenience of their device 33 if individuals or their households are eligible for one or more of such 34 benefits; 35 (v) receive a basic smart phone, tablet, or computer, along with a 36 subsidized internet wi-fi access plan, if such individuals do not own a 37 smart phone, tablet or computer; 38 (vi) obtain the access and information described in subparagraph (iv) 39 of this paragraph with assistance at libraries, government offices, or 40 not-for-profit agencies if such individuals are uncomfortable using 41 internet technology themselves; 42 (vii) obtain access to the information described in subparagraph (iv) 43 of this paragraph, with the assistance of government or not-for-profit 44 employees, AmeriCorps national service participants, or Senior Corps 45 members, to receive home visits if such individuals are elderly or disa- 46 bled; 47 (viii) access health care information that specifies medical benefits, 48 and any out-of-pocket costs, for each of the health plans for which such 49 individuals may be eligible, and to empower such individuals to easily 50 select the plan that works best for them; 51 (ix) enable such individuals to file directly, and without expending 52 funds to obtain third-party tax filing services, to obtain federal tax 53 credits and refunds, and with the state and localities with their own 54 supplemental tax credits, to simultaneously file for credits and 55 refunds;A. 5331 3 1 (x) deposit cash in the account that is set aside for education, job 2 training, starting a business, or buying a home and that would be 3 nontaxable; 4 (xi) easily access and monitor, in one central online account: 5 (A) to be able to check the status, amounts, and recertification dead- 6 lines for some or all their benefits and savings; and 7 (B) to pay all bills online, saving high check cashing fees and enor- 8 mous amounts of time; 9 (xii) budget resources by using real-time cash flow data and long-term 10 financial planning data, including calculating how much such individuals 11 would lose in interest on credit cards versus how much such individuals 12 would gain in interest by saving more; 13 (xiii) access calendar and scheduling functions that enable individ- 14 uals to keep track of all job search, work, family, and school obli- 15 gations, as well as any social service filing or appointment dates; 16 (xiv) be protected by security and privacy systems so that only such 17 individuals, and not the government, not-for-profit organizations, or 18 banking partners, would be able to see or track private financial and 19 appointment information; and 20 (xv) notwithstanding other provisions of law, allow program applicants 21 to easily and clearly authorize their sharing of personal and financial 22 information with multiple government agencies, solely for the purpose of 23 those government agencies enabling the individuals to apply for and 24 utilize government benefits. 25 b. Pilot projects authorized by paragraph a of this subdivision shall 26 be carried out for a one year period in each of the fiscal years two 27 thousand twenty-six through two thousand twenty-nine. 28 3. a. The commissioners shall allow eligible entities that apply to 29 such commissioners to carry out HOPE action plans pilot projects to 30 enable target populations of individuals to partner with government and 31 not-for-profit organizations by entering into voluntary agreements to 32 carry out long-term HOPE action plans that: 33 (i) specify exactly how the parties to such plans will help such indi- 34 viduals and their families earn, learn, and save better in order to 35 ensure greater economic opportunity for themselves and their children by 36 working together in a long-term, positive relationship for the purpose 37 of ensuring upward mobility; 38 (ii) are designed to empower such individuals and their families to 39 better organize their time and focus their activities on productive 40 endeavors while providing them extra resources to do so; 41 (iii) may be: 42 (A) short-term, conducted over a year or two years and aimed at help- 43 ing families achieve very basic goals, such as avoiding homelessness and 44 hunger; or 45 (B) long-term with far more ambitious goals for upward mobility; and 46 (iv) would require that participating individuals and families, 47 government entities, and not-for-profit partners have equal rights to 48 hold each other accountable for plan outcomes and funding. 49 b. Pilot projects authorized by paragraph a of this subdivision shall 50 be carried out for a one year period in each of the fiscal years two 51 thousand twenty-six through two thousand twenty-nine. 52 4. a. The commissioners shall each create grant application processes 53 to competitively make grants to eligible entities to aid target popu- 54 lations. To be eligible to receive a grant for a fiscal year under this 55 section, eligible entities shall submit to the appropriate commissioner 56 an application that contains a description of how the applicant proposesA. 5331 4 1 to use the grant funds to implement the components of the pilot projects 2 authorized by this section. Applications shall be submitted in such 3 form, at such time, and containing such other information as the commis- 4 sioners may require. 5 b. If one of the commissioners finds it appropriate, that commissioner 6 may use cooperative agreements for purposes of making grants under this 7 section. 8 c. Grants made under this section shall range in amounts from two 9 hundred fifty thousand dollars to three million dollars, and should be 10 proportionate to the geographical size, project complexity, and number 11 of individuals participating in each project. Eligible entities may 12 receive grants made under this section by two or more of the commission- 13 ers. To the extent funds are available, each commissioner shall make no 14 fewer than eight such grants annually. 15 d. To the extent practicable, the commissioners shall make grants for 16 pilot projects that operate statewide, as well as pilot projects 17 designed to serve specific rural, urban, and suburban areas. To the 18 extent practicable, pilot projects for which grants are made shall be 19 distributed among diverse administrative regions as determined by the 20 office of temporary and disability assistance and the department of 21 health. 22 e. For purposes of making grants under this section, preference shall 23 be given for pilot projects that: 24 (i) serve individuals in historically underserved, high-poverty, rural 25 or urban communities; 26 (ii) simultaneously test both HOPE accounts and HOPE action plans; 27 (iii) involve low-income individuals as equal partners in project 28 planning and implementation; 29 (iv) make additional funds available directly to low-income households 30 through action plans, either through government payments or through 31 not-for-profit organization subgrantees; 32 (v) are matched by considerable non-state funds without penalizing 33 very low-income, underserved rural and urban communities that cannot 34 provide non-state matching funds; 35 (vi) propose concrete plans for long-term sustainability and expan- 36 sions without future federal or state grant funds; 37 (vii) assist low-income households to apply for the federal earned 38 income tax credits and state tax credits; 39 (viii) provide resources in both English and additional languages 40 commonly spoken in the applicable area; 41 (ix) prioritize client-facing, fully tested technology and mobile 42 device applications; 43 (x) include a robust monitoring and evaluation planning and reporting 44 plan, including proposed staffing and reporting for that plan, including 45 reporting on the extent to which the pilot makes it easier, quicker, and 46 less costly for low-income individuals to access a variety of benefits, 47 the extent to which the pilot will save administrative funds over the 48 long-run, the extent to which the accuracy and integrity of the benefits 49 programs included are maintained or improved, and the extent to which 50 low-income households are able to more easily obtain free or low-cost 51 banking services; 52 (xi) subcontract part of the pilot project implementation work to 53 United States-based private businesses, banks, savings and loans, credit 54 unions, co-ops and not-for-profit organizations described in section 55 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code which has taxA. 5331 5 1 exempt status under section 501(a) of such code with relevant, success- 2 ful experience in similar or related project activities; 3 (xii) incorporate a benefits calculator to enable applicants to learn 4 how the receipt of some benefits might or might not impact whether they 5 are eligible for other benefits and might impact the amount of those 6 other benefits for which they are eligible; 7 (xiii) include planning and funding for the pilot entities to train 8 their staffs and clients to utilize the new technologies; 9 (xiv) in rural and other areas without strong broadband service, inte- 10 grate activities under the grant with other activities to strengthen 11 local broadband service; 12 (xv) enable low-income individuals to obtain free or reduced-price 13 smart phones and free or reduced-price data services; 14 (xvi) ensure that individuals without personal smart phone, tablet, or 15 computer access are able to benefit from the systems and technological 16 improvements in the pilot projects at public locations such as public 17 libraries, community centers, and social service offices; 18 (xvii) propose a detailed, workable plan to thoroughly beta test and 19 field test any new technologies or systems in the pilot project before 20 making such technologies or systems available to all households, indi- 21 viduals, or the entire pilot area; and 22 (xviii) identify the applicable federal, state, local, or Indian tribe 23 statutory and regulatory authorities, including waiver authorities, to 24 be potentially leveraged to most effectively implement the proposed 25 pilot project. 26 5. a. The commissioner of health, in consultation with the commission- 27 er for the office of temporary and disability assistance, shall hold a 28 merit-based competition to award HOPE technology innovation contracts to 29 state-based private businesses and not-for-profit organizations 30 described in section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue 31 Code which has tax exempt status under section 501(a) of such code with 32 relevant, successful experience in technology, to create technology, 33 including mobile applications, widgets, and templates that pilot enti- 34 ties can use to create HOPE accounts. 35 b. The commissioner of health shall award no more than ten and no 36 fewer than two such contracts each fiscal year. 37 c. Such contracts may range in size from two hundred thousand dollars 38 to four million five hundred thousand dollars. 39 d. All technologies developed with funding provided under this subdi- 40 vision shall be open-sourced and available to the public for free. 41 e. No contractor shall have access to any client or household data 42 through a project under this section, unless such contractor is a 43 contractor or subgrantee for a pilot entity, in which case such contrac- 44 tor may have limited, functional access to such data. In no case shall a 45 contractor share or sell client or household data. 46 f. In making awards under this subdivision, the commissioner of health 47 shall give preference to applicants that ensure the following with 48 respect to the applicable technology: 49 (i) client-facing technology with top preferences mobile device appli- 50 cations and uses and secondary preferences to tablet and computer and 51 texting uses; 52 (ii) incorporate fail-safe systems to maintain the privacy and securi- 53 ty of data; 54 (iii) are easily adaptable at the lowest possible financial costs with 55 the least possible staff time by pilot entities and other state, county,A. 5331 6 1 city, municipal, and Indian tribal governments in a manner that can 2 easily be utilized by low-income individuals; and 3 (iv) build in the ability to be easily updated as technologies evolve. 4 6. None of the pilot projects carried out under this section shall do 5 any of the following: 6 a. Decrease the overall monetary value of federal, state, local or 7 Indian tribe government funding assistance given to any individual or 8 family, although all entities involved could independently, or jointly, 9 increase funding under such projects. 10 b. Decrease the overall federal, state, local or Indian tribe govern- 11 ment funding for anti-poverty programs spent by participating pilot 12 communities and agencies, although all entities involved may independ- 13 ently, or jointly, increase funding. 14 c. Lengthen the amount of time or increase the requirements necessary 15 to receive any government benefits, or in any way make it more difficult 16 to obtain any form of government assistance. 17 d. Limit the legal rights of anyone in the target populations to 18 receive government or not-for-profit organization assistance. 19 e. Decrease overall public sector employment in any eligible pilot 20 community, but public employees may be transferred at similar or higher 21 salaries and pay grades from positions that oversee paperwork to posi- 22 tions that provide direct services to the public, assuming such trans- 23 fers do not violate collective bargaining agreements or their other 24 rights as public employees. 25 f. Decrease or increase work requirements for existing government 26 programs. 27 g. Reduce program integrity measures or increase the possibility of 28 fraud in any government program. 29 h. Track or monitor the physical location or immigration status of 30 immigrants, be used for any immigration enforcement activity against any 31 individuals, or be used to provide any data whatsoever to agencies 32 involved in immigration enforcement activities or policy. 33 i. Enable any pilot entity or contractor, subcontractor or partner of 34 any pilot entity to share or sell client or household data obtained 35 through those projects. 36 j. Eliminate the existing ability of applicants to apply for, recerti- 37 fy, or manage government benefits by physically visiting a government 38 office. 39 7. a. No later than September thirtieth of each of the fiscal years 40 two thousand twenty-six through two thousand thirty, the commissioners 41 shall submit to the governor, the temporary president of the senate and 42 the speaker of the assembly, a report on the results of all the pilot 43 projects created pursuant to this section. 44 b. Each report submitted pursuant to paragraph a of this subdivision 45 shall include detailed data on the extent to which the pilot project 46 makes it easier, quicker, and less costly for low-income individuals to 47 access a variety of benefits, the extent to which the pilot project will 48 save administrative funds over the long-term, the extent to which the 49 accuracy and integrity of the benefits programs included are maintained 50 or improved, and the extent to which low-income households are able to 51 more easily obtain free or low-cost banking services. 52 § 2. The sum of forty-nine million dollars ($49,000,000), or so much 53 thereof as may be necessary, is hereby appropriated for each of the 54 fiscal years 2026 through 2029 out of any moneys in the state treasury 55 in the general fund to the credit of the local assistance account, notA. 5331 7 1 otherwise appropriated, and made immediately available, for the purpose 2 of carrying out the provisions of this act as follows: 3 (i) The sum of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) shall be appropriated 4 to the commissioner of the office of temporary and disability assist- 5 ance, of which five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) shall be used 6 internally by the office of temporary and disability assistance for 7 staff and other expenses to plan, award, and oversee pilot projects 8 under this act and nine million five hundred thousand dollars 9 ($9,500,000) shall be available for grants under section one of this 10 act; 11 (ii) The sum of fifteen million dollars ($15,000,000) to the commis- 12 sioner of health, of which five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) 13 shall be used internally by the department of health for staff and other 14 expenses to plan, award, and oversee pilot projects under this act and 15 nine million five hundred thousand dollars ($9,500,000) shall be avail- 16 able for grants under section one of this act. 17 (iii) Of the amount appropriated for a fiscal year to carry out this 18 act, at least 10 percent shall be allocated to provide assistance in 19 persistent poverty counties. For purposes of this section, the term 20 "persistent poverty counties" means any county that has had 20 percent 21 or more of its population living in poverty over the past 30 years, as 22 measured by the 1990, 2000, and 2010 decennial censuses. 23 Such moneys shall be payable on the audit and warrant of the comp- 24 troller on vouchers certified or approved by the commissioner of the 25 office of temporary and disability assistance or the commissioner of 26 health, as necessary and in the manner prescribed by law. 27 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 28 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend- 29 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen- 30 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and 31 completed on or before such effective date.
