Res. No. 727

Resolution Calling on The New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to sign, legislation in the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget that creates targeted and means-tested guaranteed income programs for low-income households including children and families, people residing in homeless shelters, and foster youth.

By Council Members Williams, Ossé, Hudson and Louis

Whereas, Guaranteed Income (GI), or regular unconditional cash payments, provided to members of a discrete community, has been proven to help individuals advance economically and overcome barriers to work, homeownership, wealth, and wellbeing; and

Whereas, In the United States, there are dozens of GI pilots, and research from the Guaranteed Income Pilots Dashboard, a project of the Stanford Basic Income Lab and Center for Guaranteed Income Research, shows that most participants in GI programs spend their cash payments on meeting immediate needs such as food and groceries, transportation, and housing costs; and

Whereas, Many GI program participants state that the cash payments have allowed them to avoid taking on additional debt to pay for necessities, increasing their physical and emotional wellbeing; and

Whereas, There are already multiple, successful, GI pilots in New York State, including the Level Up program for low income individuals in Mount Vernon, the Ithaca Guaranteed Income program for unpaid caregivers to children and aging disabled adults living at or below 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), and the Bridge Project in New York City targeting low-income pregnant individuals; and

                     Whereas, The New York State legislature is considering a number of bills which would create GI programs targeting some of the most vulnerable communities including families with children, foster youth, and people residing in homeless shelters; and

Whereas, New York State Senate Bill S.3102, The Transition Age Youth Bill, sponsored by New York State Senator Jabari Brisport and pending in the State Senate, and which does not have a companion bill in the State Assembly, would establish an unconditional cash assistance program for youth leaving foster care as young adults; and

Whereas, According to the Fair Futures’ Youth Advisory Board, around 500 young adults exit foster care on their own in New York City annually, and nearly one fifth of them experience homelessness within six years of exiting care, and the New York City Center for Innovation Through Data Intelligence’s Transition Age Youth Housing Study found that 37% of the young people who transition out of foster care will end up in jail or homeless services within two years; and

Whereas S.3102 would provide monthly cash payments to youth transitioning out of foster care for three years, supporting them in attaining self-sufficiency and overcoming some barriers to economic mobility; and

Whereas, New York State Assembly Bill A.2801, The Child and Family Wellbeing Act Bill, sponsored by Assembly Member Andrew Hevesi and pending in the State Assembly, and which does not have a companion bill in the State Senate, establishes a fund for communities to use to support the needs of children and families, including cash assistance; and

Whereas, one in five New York children live in poverty, and data from the Citizen’s Committee for Children of New York shows that children living in poverty is concentrated in specific neighborhoods, especially in the Bronx and parts of Brooklyn; and

Whereas, A.2801 would create a funding program led by community-based organizations and with avenues for community input to meet the specific needs of children and families in communities with high levels of poverty and would include cash assistance to help families meet immediate needs; and

Whereas, New York State Senate Bill S.8374, sponsored by New York State Senator Roxanne Persaud and pending in the State Senate, and companion bill A.10155A, sponsored by Assembly Member Maritza Davila and pending in the State Assembly, would increase the federal poverty level requirement for recipients where it concerns the one-time disregard of earned income from two hundred percent to four hundred percent; and

Whereas, Over half a million New Yorkers receive public assistance each year and many are unable to work towards self-sufficiency and greater economic mobility, often due to the fact that even a small increase in their incomes could disqualify them from benefits such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Medicaid, childcare and rental assistance, but still would not allow them to earn a wage near high enough to cover living and medical expenses; and

Whereas, S.8374/A.10155A doubles the amount of earned income that is disregarded for the purposes of calculating qualification for public assistance for up to six months after an individual receiving public assistance enters the workforce, allowing public assistance recipients the chance to save income and prepare for future expenses; and

Whereas, New York State Senate Bill S.8655, sponsored by New York State Senator Cordell Cleare and pending in the State Senate, and companion Bill A.5507, sponsored by Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal and pending in the State Assembly, would increase personal and special needs allowances for certain individuals receiving public assistance; and

Whereas, the personal needs allowance for individuals and special needs allowance for families residing in shelters which serve three meals a day has not been increased in over 20 years, despite inflation rates resulting in a cumulative price increase of 92% since 1995; and

Whereas, this increased allowance will give the nearly 90,000 New Yorkers residing in Department of Homeless Services shelters the means to purchase important items not provided by shelters, such as personal hygiene items, over the counter medicine, diapers, clothing, and other necessities; and

Whereas, GI programs have the power to help build economic security and create self-sufficiency, relieving pressure on welfare agencies, and providing greater autonomy and wellbeing for New Yorkers; now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls on The New York State Legislature to pass, and the Governor to Sign, legislation in the Fiscal Year 2025-2026 budget that creates targeted and means-tested guaranteed income programs for low-income households including children and families, and foster youth.

PR

LSR 18375/18613

1/8/2025