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Who cares
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Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
History
- Referred to social services
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 53–9
- Ordered to third reading cal.1821
- Committee discharged and committed to rules
- Referred to social services
Full text
The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to prohibiting the sale or purchase of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products or lottery tickets with public assistance benefits and prohibiting use of or access to such benefits in a casino, liquor store or adult entertainment facility; and to amend the state finance law, in relation to establishing the public assistance integrity fund
Purpose
Protects the use of public assistance benefits by prohibiting the sale or purchase of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products or lottery tickets with public assistance benefits and the electronic withdrawal of public assistance benefits in casinos, liquor stores and establishments providing adult-oriented entertainment.
Summary of provisions
Section 2: Amends Social Services Law by adding two sections:
Read the full memo (738 words)
Section 147-a, which defines "public assistance benefits"; prohibits the purchase or sale of alcoholic beverages, tobacco products or lottery tickets with public assistance benefits; establishes penalties for violation; directs the commissioner of temporary and disability assistance to develop and establish criteria for training programs on prohibition of the sale of such items to be administered by certain entities, establish criteria for applying issuing, revoking and renewing certificates of approval and completion for training programs.
Section 147-b, which prohibits the withdrawal and use of public assistance benefits in certain facilities.
Section 3: Amends state finance law establishing the Public assistance integrity fund, containing monies received from fines and fees established in Section 2.
Section 4: Provides the effective date.
Existing law
No law exists protecting public assistance cash benefits from being either used to purchase alcohol, tobacco or lottery tickets, or with drawn or used in any liquor store, casino or establishment providing adult-oriented entertainment.
Justification
Public assistance is designed to help needy families provide care for their children, promote job preparation and achieve self-sufficiency. There are many families who desperately need this assistance, but unfortunately there are also others who take advantage of New Yorkers' desire to help those in need.
Food Stamps and Temporary Assistance programs such as Family Assistance are intended to provide benefits to low-income workers, seniors, and the disabled to help pay for necessities such as food, housing and energy costs, paper products, and school supplies. This cash assistance is increasingly administered to these families through Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Cards. Currently, no state law protects public assistance cash benefits from either being misused to purchase alcoholic beverages, tobacco or lottery tickets or withdrawn from Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) at locations such as liquor stores, casinos or establishments providing adult-oriented entertainment.
New York is full of people who sincerely care about their neighbors and are happy to help families in need keep food on the table and a roof over their head. However, one would be hard pressed to find someone who thinks that money intended to help those in need should be split with people looking to spend it on alcohol, tobacco, or lottery tickets constituents from across New York have logged complaints about misuse of public funds for such items. These abuses are not just hurting taxpayers, they are hurting the families who need this assistance most, and it must stop.
Additionally, a report from WNYT in Albany examined records from 11 counties and showed tens of thousands of dollars in cash assistance had been withdrawn from ATMs located at adult entertainment clubs, OTBs, liquor stores and beverage and tobacco retailers.
Similar reports have resulted in other states, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Indiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Pennsylvania and Washington, enacting similar restrictions on the use of public assistance.
The "Public Assistance Protection Act" would prohibit misuse in compliance with Section 4004 of the federal Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012, signed by President Barack Obama on February 22, 2012, requiring states to maintain policies and practices as necessary to prevent public assistance provided through federal programs from being used in any electronic benefit transfer transaction in any liquor store or casino.
Current law protects assistance through Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and the "Public Assistance Protection Act" extends that protection to cash assistance with the aims of ensuring this much needed assistance does indeed help those families in need for which it was intended.
Legislative history
2013-14: S.966 Passed Senate 2012: S.7671 Passed Senate
Fiscal implications
Minimal.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the 180th day after it shall have become law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.