Relates to the wage reporting system

Section 2 of the bill would amend Tax Law § 171-a(4) to repeal the authority of the Commissioner of DTF to provide information from WRS concerning public assistance employment programs to the Department of Labor (DOL).

Section 3 of the bill would amend Tax Law § 697(e)(3) to authorize DTF to provide information to OTDA for the above stated purposes provided that the information regarding Ruiner recipients shall not be used to recover public assistance previously provided and shall only be available to OTDA for a period of three years and six months after the closure of the recipient's public assistance case.

Section 4 of the bill would amend Tax Law § 697(1)(2)(B) to amend the definition of employment security to delete the reference to public assistance work programs.

Section 5 of the bill would amend Tax Law § 697 to add a new subsection (o) to authorize the DTF to provide information to OTDA for the purposes described above. Such information includes the wages, the name and federal employer identification number of employers, and the return of information supplied by OTDA to DTF in order to execute the match such as name and social security number.

Section 6 of the bill would amend Social Services Law (SSL) § 23(1)(a), (b), (c) and (d) to enable OTDA to provide information obtained from the WRS to social services districts concerning former recipients of public assistance.

Section 7 of the bill would amend SSL § 23(3) to provide that the information obtained by OTDA from the wage reporting system is confidential and can only be disclosed for specified purposes.

Section 8 of the proposal would amend the SSL by adding a new section 24 to require OTDA to report on its website oil a quarterly basis the public assistance recipient outcomes (e.g., the percentage and number of adult public assistance recipients with earnings during a quarter and the average amount of the earnings) using wage reporting data.

Section 9 of the bill would require OTDA to add a provision to its common application (LDSS 2921), at the time of its next revision, advising applicants that OTDA may obtain information from the DTP's wage reporting system regarding applicants for, recipients of and former recipients of public assistance for the above stated purposes provided that the information regarding former recipients shall not be used to recover public assistance previously provided and shall only be available to OTDA for a period of three years and six months after the closure of the recipient's public assistance case. Section 10 of the bill would require OTDA to submit to the legislature and the governor a final report of public assistance recipient outcomes using the wage reporting data no later than January 1, 2013. This report would be made available to the public on OTDA's website.

Section 11 of the proposal would provide for an effective date of April 1, 2009.

Existing law

Tax Law § 171-a contains provisions concerning the WRS operated by DTF.

Tax Law § 697 contains provisions concerning the information that can be released to certain State agencies and others by DTF.

SSL § 23 authorizes OTDA to provide information obtained from the WRS operated by DTF to social services districts and other entities. That section also provides that information obtained by OTDA from the WRS is confidential and must not be disclosed to persons or agencies other than those considered entitled to such information when such disclosure is necessary for the proper administration of programs of public assistance and care or for the proper administration of the child support program.

Prior legislative history

In the 2006 Legislative Session, a similar bill was introduced as S.7890. That bill passed the Senate, but it was not reported from the Assembly Social Services Committee. In the 2006 Legislative Session, a bill was introduced as A.11736 that, in part, authorized OTDA to obtain WRS information for the purpose of assessing former recipients' eligibility for transitional benefits. That bill passed the Assembly, but it was not reported from the Senate Rules Committee.

In the 2007 Legislative Session, a similar bill was introduced as S.4549. That bill passed the Senate and was referred to the Assembly Social Services Committee. In 2008 similar language:was included in the SFY 2008-09 Executive Budget Article VII (Part V of the Education, Labor and Family Assistance Bill).

Statement in support

Part C of Chapter 57 of the Laws of 2005 transferred the functions, powers, duties and obligations of DOL concerning employment programs for applicants for and recipients of public assistance from DOL to OTDA. Although that Part authorized the substitution of OTDA for DOL in any law concerning the administration of the public assistance employment programs, it is prudent for OTDA to have specific statutory authority to ensure that OTDA has appropriate access to information contained in WRS concerning such programs.

This proposal specifically provides for the transfer of WRS information from DTF to OTDA concerning former recipients of public assistance for a period of three years and six months after the closure of the recipient's public assistance case and only for the purpose of evaluating eligibility for transitional benefits and the effectiveness of public assistance programs and employment performance.

OTDA requires access to information maintained in the WRS in order to effectively evaluate the eligibility of former recipients for transitional benefits and to administer the public assistance programs with respect to program reporting, monitoring, development, and evaluation. The requested WRS information would enable OTDA to construct databases of public assistance recipient outcomes and assess job retention and advancement data. The information concerning former recipients would enable OTDA to assess the ability of former recipients to maintain permanent employment, determine how well public assistance programs are working and assist social services districts in designing programs that will better enable public assistance recipients to obtain self-sufficiency.

OTDA requires WRS access to evaluate the effectiveness of significant federal, State and local investments in public assistance programs over time. Additionally, provisions of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families' (TANF) reauthorization made it more difficult for the State to meet federally-mandated work participation rates and greatly increase the State's chance of incurring a TANF penalty. This penalty, which could be hundreds of millions of dollars in lost TANF funds and increased State and local expenditures, would increase annually if the rate remains unmet. Therefore, obtaining WRS information in order to evaluate which employment programs are working is essential in order to target the investment of resources in the most cost-effective manner.

Budget implications

This proposal has no significant fiscal impact.

Effective date

This bill would be effective April 1, 2009.