Bill Text: NY S02132 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes the baby bucks allowance to provide income to eligible participants for the last three months of pregnancy and the first 18 months of the child's life; excludes income received from the baby bucks allowance for purposes of supplemental nutrition assistance program eligibility.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-15 - REFERRED TO CHILDREN AND FAMILIES [S02132 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S02132-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          2132

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 15, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  RAMOS,  BROUK,  BAILEY,  CLEARE,  COMRIE, COONEY,
          FERNANDEZ, GONZALEZ, GOUNARDES, HOYLMAN-SIGAL, JACKSON,  MAY,  RIVERA,
          SALAZAR, SCARCELLA-SPANTON, SEPULVEDA -- read twice and ordered print-
          ed,  and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Children and
          Families

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to establishing the
          baby bucks allowance

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "baby bucks
     2  allowance".
     3    § 2. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby finds and
     4  declares  that child poverty in New York city and cities across New York
     5  state is shamefully high and will  likely  worsen  if  current  economic
     6  trends  continue.  Half  of the top six cities in the United States with
     7  the highest child poverty rates are in New York state, disproportionate-
     8  ly affecting communities and children of color. In New York city, nearly
     9  1 in 4 children live in poverty. In Rochester and Buffalo,  that  number
    10  is even higher: 1 in 2 children live in poverty.
    11    The  legislature hereby finds and declares that New Yorkers are unable
    12  to cover their basic necessities and support their families, particular-
    13  ly in the face of rising interest rates and inflation. Most notably, the
    14  cost of childcare, which already consumes a massive  portion  of  family
    15  income,  rose  41%  during the pandemic, and the total cost of raising a
    16  child through high school has risen to more than $300,000,  which  is  a
    17  $26,000  increase from five years ago and is likely to present a heavier
    18  burden for low-income parents and families for  whom  expenses  such  as
    19  food, housing, and gas comprise an even larger portion of their income.
    20    The  legislature  hereby  finds  and  declares  there  is overwhelming
    21  evidence that the  prenatal-to-three  and  early  childhood  development
    22  period  are  critical  for  a child's future prospects and affects their

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04614-01-5
        S. 2132                             2

     1  physical, mental, emotional and  social  outcomes  over  a  lifetime.  A
     2  program  targeting  infants in this formative phase would help break the
     3  intergenerational cycle of poverty rather than attempting to mitigate it
     4  later  on,  creating  a  positive  impact on children's lives and saving
     5  government funds down the road.
     6    The legislature hereby finds and declares  it  is  proven  that  unre-
     7  stricted  cash is a direct and effective solution to alleviating poverty
     8  and meeting needs for families. This was shown on a national level  with
     9  the  overwhelming success of the expanded Child Tax Credit, which lifted
    10  millions of children out of poverty with its monthly payments and led to
    11  a 41% spike in child poverty the  first  month  it  expired.  The  unre-
    12  stricted  cash  intervention  further  proved  how  an investment in the
    13  earliest days of life can have multiplying effects: studies  have  found
    14  that  a  permanent expansion of the expanded Child Tax Credit would have
    15  generated 10 times as much revenue as it  cost.    New  York  state  has
    16  recently  made  a  commitment through the Child Poverty Reduction Act in
    17  December 2021 to reduce child poverty by 50%  over  the  course  of  ten
    18  years, with the support of the Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council,
    19  and  there  is an opportunity for unrestricted cash to support this goal
    20  and help the state reach its target.
    21    Therefore, the legislature hereby finds and  declares  that  New  York
    22  state has an opportunity and obligation to invest in its most vulnerable
    23  residents  by leading the fight against childhood poverty, and toward an
    24  equitable economy for all,  through  a  guaranteed  income  program  for
    25  infants.
    26    §  3.  Article 6 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
    27  title 4-C to read as follows:
    28                                   TITLE 4-C
    29                            BABY BUCKS ALLOWANCE
    30  Section 409-o. Baby bucks allowance.
    31    § 409-o. Baby bucks allowance. 1. Within one  year  of  the  effective
    32  date of this section, the department shall establish a baby bucks allow-
    33  ance  pilot  program  to support low-income families for three months of
    34  pregnancy and eighteen months of a  child's  life.  Such  pilot  program
    35  shall be in effect for twenty-one months.
    36    2.  (a)  The  department,  in  coordination with local social services
    37  districts, shall develop criteria that local social  services  districts
    38  shall  use  to  select a total of fifteen thousand eligible families for
    39  participation in the program.
    40    (b) Eligible individuals chosen for participation in the program shall
    41  receive a subsidy of one thousand dollars per month for the  last  three
    42  months of pregnancy and the first nine months of a child's life and five
    43  hundred  dollars  per month for the last nine months of participation in
    44  the program.
    45    (c) The department shall allocate the necessary funds to local  social
    46  services districts for selected eligible selected participants.
    47    (d)  Monthly  distributions  shall  be  made  by local social services
    48  districts on the first of each month for the duration of the program  to
    49  the eligible selected participants.
    50    3. Eligible participants shall:
    51    (a)  have  an income which is below two hundred percent of the federal
    52  poverty line. Such income shall  be  proven  by  providing  one  of  the
    53  following:
    54    (i) a filed tax return from the previous year;
    55    (ii)  a  letter  from an employer documenting the dates of work of the
    56  applicant and the yearly pay from the employer;
        S. 2132                             3

     1    (iii) a W-2 or 1099 form from the previous tax year; or
     2    (iv)  a  wage  notice provided pursuant to section one hundred ninety-
     3  five of the labor law that documents employment for  a  period  of  time
     4  within  six  months  prior to the date the applicant certifies that they
     5  became eligible;
     6    (b) participate in monthly surveys provided by the department; and
     7    (c) meet any other criteria deemed necessary by the department.
     8    4. Of the fifteen thousand eligible participants:
     9    (a) Ten thousand participants shall reside in a city with a population
    10  of one hundred forty thousand or more; and
    11    (b) Five thousand participants shall reside in a rural area as defined
    12  in section twenty-nine hundred fifty-one of the public health law.
    13    5.  The  department,  in  coordination  with  local  social   services
    14  districts,  shall assist eligible participants with access to resources,
    15  subsidy management, and anything else deemed necessary  by  the  depart-
    16  ment.
    17    6.  The department and local social services districts shall conduct a
    18  monthly survey to determine the impact of the  program.  The  department
    19  shall prepare an interim report regarding the first twelve months of the
    20  program  which shall be completed by the eighteenth month of the program
    21  and a final report shall be made no later than twelve months  after  the
    22  completion of the twenty-one month program.
    23    §  4.  Paragraph  (a)  of subdivision 8 of section 131-a of the social
    24  services law is amended by adding a new subparagraph (xiv)  to  read  as
    25  follows:
    26    (xiv)  any  financial assistance received by individuals from the baby
    27  bucks allowance. Such exemption and disregard shall  be  applicable  for
    28  the  length  of  time the individual receives the allowance. The commis-
    29  sioner shall seek federal waiver authority to disregard the income  from
    30  the  baby  bucks allowance for the purpose of the supplemental nutrition
    31  assistance program.
    32    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.