OTDA Home Laws & Policies Regulatory Agenda

OTDA Regulatory Agenda

Pursuant to State Administrative Procedure Act (SAPA) § 202-d, the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) is required to publish a regulatory agenda for those regulations that it is considering for publication in the New York State Register. Set forth below is an agenda for the first half of 2013. SAPA § 202-d does not preclude OTDA from proposing for adoption a regulation that is not described in the agenda, nor does it require OTDA to propose for adoption a regulation that is described in the agenda.

All references are to Title 18 of the New York Codes, Rules and Regulations (NYCRR) unless otherwise noted. The agenda items are organized pursuant to the Part of Title 18 NYCRR that most likely would be amended. However, the agenda items eventually could require amendments to different Parts than those listed below and/or to more than one Part of Title 18 NYCRR.

PART 300 Local Welfare Administration

A new section 300.13 will be added to reflect programmatic responsibility for desk review of distribution and collections under section 347.25.*

PART 301 – Veteran Assistance

Amend regulations to replace gender-specific terms with gender-neutral terms.

Part 340 – Public Access to Department Records under Freedom of Information Law

Update regulations concerning public access to records under the Freedom of Information Law to reflect statutory amendments to Public Officers Law Article 6.*

Part 341 – Local Advisory Councils

Remove the regulatory requirement for social services districts to create and maintain local advisory councils.*

Part 346 – Support Collection

Establish guidelines for the local child support enforcement units to follow in determining whether and under what circumstances a passport, which has been revoked, denied or suspended by the US Department of State due to non-payment of child support, may be released.*

Update regulations to address State statutory amendments, and an exemption thereof, concerning property execution provisions.*

Update regulations to address process changes to lottery intercept provisions.*

Part 347 – Establishment of Paternity and Enforcement of Child Support

Update regulation pertaining to the calculation of basic child support obligations, repeal the child support standards chart, and further update regulation to reflect Chapter 182 of the Laws of 2010 as it pertains to the modification of child support orders.*

Revise regulations for the distribution and assignment of child support collections to reflect the requirements of Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2008 and federal law and to conform with the Personal Responsibility Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act’s elimination of excess current support.*

Update regulation setting forth definitions used in this Part.*

Revise desk review procedures addressing the accounting and disbursement of child support for certain current and former recipients of Public Assistance.*

Revise regulation to establish the procedures by which the State will distribute child support incentives received from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and allocate portions of those incentives to social service districts.*

Promulgate regulations for establishing and enforcing medical support obligations.*

Revise regulation concerning confidentiality of information based on September 26, 2008 federal final rule and Social Services Law (SSL) § 111-v.*

Revise regulation concerning case closure to add new criterion as set forth in the federal Department of Health and Human Services regulation at Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) § 303.11.

Revise regulations concerning the provision of child support services in intergovernmental cases based on July 2, 2010 federal final rule.

Part 349 – General Provisions

Update provisions regarding persons who are permanently residing in the United States under the color of law (PRUCOL).*

Part 351 – Investigation and Eligibility

Clarify provisions concerning the submission of a social security number as a condition of eligibility for Public Assistance.*

Delete the regulatory provisions relating to the Learnfare program.

Require social services districts to make all applicants for and recipients of public assistance aware of their option to receive information appropriate for victims of sexual assault consistent with SSL § 131 (20).*

Part 352 – Standards of Assistance

Amend regulations to make technical updates to Part 352, including updating references to “aid to dependent children” and “home relief” with “family assistance” and “safety net assistance” respectively.

Amend regulations to address support payments, noncountable income and resources, and estimates of need and application of income. *

Amend regulations to establish new schedules for the standard of monthly need for determining eligibility for all categories of public assistance consistent with SSL § 131-a.

Amend regulations authorizing social services districts to provide shelter allowance supplements at local option to prevent eviction and address homelessness.*

Amend regulations governing emergency shelter allowances for persons medically diagnosed with AIDS or HIV-related illness.*

Update regulations to comply with the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010.*

Amend regulations to implement a shared living reduction.*

Part 358 – Fair Hearings

Revise fair hearings regulations to clarify the distinction between the standard of proof required at the hearing and the standard required for judicial review.*

Amend fair hearings regulations to add provisions concerning a telephone hearings process.*

Amend the definition of the fair hearing record as it pertains to decisions without a hearing.*

Part 369 – Family Assistance

Amend regulation to address applications for or receipt of public assistance as an assignment to the State and the social services district of rights to support.

Part 385 – Public Assistance and Food Stamp Employment Program Requirements

Revise assessment regulations to clarify that the requirements for exempt individuals in households without dependent children are consistent with those for exempt individuals in households with dependent children.*

Amend employment program provisions for notices of conciliation and notices of discontinuance or reduction to incorporate plain language requirements.*

Establish additional guidelines regarding work activity definitions and work documentation and verification procedures to make them consistent with standards required by federal regulations.*

Implement changes to participation rate regulations to conform to amendments to the Social Services Law which require social services districts to expand the countable work activities available to Safety Net Assistance participants without children to include community service programs, the provision of child care services to an individual participating in community service and time limited vocational education training, job search and job readiness assistance.*

Revise regulations for employment to comply with final federal regulations.*

Revise Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) employment and training regulations to conform with federal regulations.*

Clarify how participation rates are calculated based on federal reporting requirements and clarify the calculation of two distinct Safety Net Assistance work participation rates.*

Correct a technical error in regulation related to good cause for failing to comply with work requirements.

Identify cases that may be excluded from participation rates pursuant to federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) regulations.*

Repeal provisions which permit foster care parents and individuals who are caring for a disabled household member to be deemed as community service participants as required by federal regulations.

Authorize shift of certain cases to non-TANF Family Assistance or to non-MOE (non-Maintenance of Effort) Safety Net Assistance to facilitate implementation of changes as required by federal regulations.*

Part 387 – Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Amend regulations to make technical updates to Part 387.

Update regulations to reflect the current policy that standard allowances for heating/air conditioning, utility and telephone costs are used in calculating shelter expenses for SNAP.*

Update regulations to reflect the current policy that households in shared living arrangements are entitled to the full applicable level of the standard utility allowance.*

Revise SNAP regulations concerning the special definition of the “head of the household.”*

Update the determination of SNAP eligibility regulations to include Supplemental Security Income live-alone New York State Nutrition Improvement Program provisions and education grant exclusions.*

Delete SNAP monthly reporting/retrospective budgeting references and add provisions for change reporting.*

Conform regulations concerning in-office interviews for SNAP applicants to federal requirements.*

Generally update SNAP regulations to conform to changes in federal regulations and law, including the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008.*

Amend regulations to accommodate the Statewide implementation of the Working Families Food Stamp Initiative.*

Amend regulations to reflect expanded categorical eligibility for SNAP.*

Update regulations for the SNAP Transitional Benefits Alternative Program, which helps provide nutritional assistance to households who often are transitioning from public assistance programs to employment and would otherwise not be eligible for SNAP benefits.*

Amend regulations regarding what is a complete periodic report to require verification of income only if a change in income has been reported.*

Part 388 – Food Assistance Program

Repeal provisions relating to the Food Assistance Program.

Part 393 – Home Energy Assistance Program

Amend HEAP regulations to reflect current practices and the provisions of the federally accepted HEAP State Plan.*

Part 398 – State Supplemental Personal Needs Allowance

Amend regulations to add the administration of the Supplemental Security Income State supplemental payment program consistent with SSL §§ 22, 208, 209, 212, and 366.*

It is not anticipated that small business regulation guides will need to be developed for the proposals set forth in this agenda.

* The asterisks identify rules for which a regulatory flexibility analysis or a rural area flexibility analysis may be required.

At this time, OTDA cannot specify the dates for publication in the New York State Register of the items listed above. OTDA would welcome comments related to this regulatory agenda at the address listed below, and each published Notice of Proposed Rule Making will provide a public comment period and a contact person to whom comments can be sent.

Any questions or comments concerning the items listed in this agenda can be referred to:

Jeanine Stander Behuniak
New York State Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance
40 North Pearl Street 16C
Albany, New York 12243

Telephone: (518) 474-9779
Email: jeanine.behuniak@otda.ny.gov