PURSUANT TO THE PROVISIONS OF THE State Administrative Procedure Act, NOTICE is hereby given of the following action:
Action taken:
Amendment of section 352.5(e) of Title 18 NYCRR.
Statutory authority:
Social Services Law, sections 20(3)(d), 34(3)(f), 131(1) and 131-s
Subject:
Utility Service.
Purpose:
To suspend the enforcement of utility repayment agreements during periods of cold weather in order to provide districts with the flexibility to assist households during the current period of historically high energy costs.
Text of final rule:
Subdivision (e) of section 352.5 is amended to read as follows:
(e) Payment essential to continue or restore utility service for an applicant for family assistance, safety net assistance, veteran assistance or emergency public assistance. A payment must be made for utilities previously provided to an applicant for family assistance, safety net assistance, veteran assistance or emergency public assistance if such payment is essential to continue or restore utility service. Payment essential to continue or restore utility service may be provided to an applicant whose utility bill includes costs for service for the applicant's own residential unit and for space outside that unit. Payment may only be made when it is documented that the applicant is the tenant of record and the customer of record, as defined in subdivision (a) of this section, and alternative payment or housing accommodations cannot be made and the applicant is without liquid resources to continue or restore utility service. Payment must not exceed the cost of utilities provided to the applicant during the four most recently completed monthly billing periods or two most recently completed bi-monthly billing periods for which a bill has been issued immediately preceding the date of application for such assistance. Payment is limited to the applicant's proportionate share of the cost of service for the most recently completed four monthly or two most recently completed bi-monthly billing periods for which a bill has been issued immediately preceding the date of application for such assistance when the applicant's utility bill includes costs for service for the applicant's own residential unit and for space outside that unit. Payment must not exceed the balance due on the account. In a shared meter situation subject to the provisions of section 52 of the Public Service Law, the proportionate share is to be determined by the utility company's apportionment of retroactive charges upon completion of a shared meter investigation and determination. As a condition of receiving such assistance, an applicant not in receipt of recurring public assistance or supplemental security income whose gross monthly household income on the date of application exceeds the public assistance standard of need for the same size household must sign an agreement to repay the assistance within one year of the date of the payment. A household consists of all persons who occupy a housing unit. A house, an apartment or other group of rooms, or a single room is regarded as a housing unit when it is occupied or intended for occupancy as separate living quarters. A household includes related family members and all unrelated persons, if any, such as lodgers, foster children, wards, or employees who share the housing unit. A person living alone, or a group of unrelated persons sharing a housing unit as partners, also constitutes a household. The public assistance standard of need is determined by applying the following statewide standards of need in accordance with office regulations: the pre-add allowance as set forth in Schedule SA-2a of section 352.3 of this Part; the shelter allowance as paid, but not to exceed the maximum allowance set forth in section 352.3 of this Part; the fuel allowance set forth in Schedule SA-6a, SA-6b or SA-6c of section 352.5 of this Part, if the applicant is the tenant of record and customer of record for the residential heating bill; the home energy and supplemental home energy payments (HEA and SHEA) as set forth in schedule SA-2b or SA-2c of section 352.1 of this Part; and, if applicable, the additional cost of meals for persons unable to prepare meals at home as set forth in schedule SA-5 of section 352.7 of this Part. The repayment agreement must set forth a schedule of payments that will assure repayment within one year of the date of payment. Subsequent assistance to continue or restore utility service must not be provided unless any prior utility arrearage payments have been repaid or are being repaid in accordance with the schedule of payments contained in each prior repayment agreement as of the date of application for such subsequent assistance, or unless the enforcement of such prior repayment agreement(s) is suspended by the local social services district during a period of cold weather, defined, for these purposes, as the time period from November 1st of each year and ending April 15th of the following year. Repayment agreements under this subdivision may be enforced in any manner available to a creditor, in addition to any other remedy the district may have pursuant to the Social Services Law.
Final rule as compared with last published rule:
Nonsubstantive changes were made in section 352.5(e).
Text of rule and any required statements and analyses may be obtained from:
Jeanine Stander Behuniak, New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, 40 North Pearl Street 16C, Albany, New York 12243-0001, (518) 474-9779, email: Jeanine.Behuniak@OTDA.state.ny.us
Revised Regulatory Impact Statement, Revised Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, Revised Rural Area Flexibility Analysis and Revised Job Impact Statement
The nonsubstantive revision made to section 352.5(e) is merely a technical change. The words “for these purposes” have been added to the regulatory text in order to clarify that “a period of cold weather” is defined only for the purposes of this regulatory subdivision. Since this change is only a clarification, it does not necessitate revisions to the previously published Regulatory Impact Statement, Regulatory Flexibility Analysis, Rural Area Flexibility Analysis and Job Impact Statement.
Assessment of Public Comment
The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance received one comment in response to its Notice of Emergency Rule Making (I.D. No. TDA-48-08-00001-E) published on November 26, 2008, in the New York State Register. An assessment of this comment appeared as part of the Notice of Emergency Rule Making (I.D. No. TDA-07-09-00014-E) published on April 22, 2009, in the New York State Register. No additional comments have been received.
