 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          8254
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                     April 27, 2020
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by  Sen.  MYRIE  -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
 
        AN ACT to amend the state finance  law,  in  relation  to  the  negative
          effect of COVID-19 related budget cuts on certain populations
 
          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 "Do No Harm
     2  Act".
     3    § 2. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 7 of section 23 of the state finance
     4  law, as added by section 24 of part JJ of chapter  56  of  the  laws  of
     5  2020, is amended to read as follows:
     6    (d)  The  following  types of appropriations shall be exempt from such
     7  reduction pursuant to this subdivision: (i) public  assistance  payments
     8  for  families  and individuals and payments for eligible aged, blind and
     9  disabled persons related  to  supplemental  social  security;  (ii)  any
    10  reductions  that  would  violate  federal  law;  (iii)  payments of debt
    11  service and related expenses for which  the  state  is  constitutionally
    12  obligated  to pay debt service or is contractually obligated to pay debt
    13  service, subject to an appropriation, including where the  state  has  a
    14  contingent  contractual  obligation;  [and]  (iv)  payments the state is
    15  obligated to make pursuant to court orders or  judgments;  and  (v)  any
    16  reductions in funding that would compound the disproportionate impact of
    17  COVID-19  on  certain  disproportionately  impacted  populations.    Any
    18  proposed reduction in funding that would compound  the  disproportionate
    19  impact  of  COVID-19  on certain disproportionately impacted populations
    20  shall be accompanied by a remediation  plan  to  offset  the  dispropor-
    21  tionate  impact.  For  the purposes of this paragraph, "disproportionate
    22  impact" shall mean disparities in rates of infection and death by  race,
    23  age,  and zip code based on demographic data provided by state and local
    24  departments of health.
    25    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately;  provided,  however,  the
    26  amendments  to subdivision 7 of section 23 of the state finance law made
    27  by section two of this act shall not affect the repeal of such  subdivi-
    28  sion and shall be deemed repealed therewith.
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD16243-01-0
Relates to the "Do No Harm Act"

What's Happening

Why It Matters
