STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 2046 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. SLATER, ANGELINO, BARCLAY, BEEPHAN, BENDETT, BLANKENBUSH, BLUMENCRANZ, BRABENEC, K. BROWN, DeSTEFANO, DiPIETRO, DURSO, GANDOLFO, GIGLIO, GRAY, HAWLEY, LEMONDES, MAHER, MANKTELOW, MIKULIN, MILLER, MORINELLO, PALMESANO, PIROZZOLO, RA, REILLY, SIMPSON, SMULLEN, SMITH, TAGUE, TANNOUSIS, WALSH, McDONOUGH, E. BROWN, JENSEN, BROOK-KRASNY, GALLAHAN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations AN ACT to amend the executive law, in relation to directing the division of homeland security and emergency services to develop a plan to ensure that refugee resettlement agencies monitor certain refugees; and directing the office for new Americans to conduct a background check on refugees; to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring aliens admitted to the United States as refugees to register with the office of temporary and disability assistance; and to amend the not-for-profit corporation law, in relation to requiring refugee resettlement agencies to submit quarterly reports to the bureau of refugee and immigrant assistance and requiring such agencies to moni- tor refugees for a certain period of time The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 2 of section 709 of the executive law is 2 amended by adding a new paragraph (w) to read as follows: 3 (w) develop and implement a plan to ensure that all refugee resettle- 4 ment agencies comply with the requirements of section one thousand four 5 hundred thirteen of the not-for-profit corporation law. 6 § 2. Paragraphs (m) and (n) of subdivision 5 of section 94-b of the 7 executive law, as added by chapter 206 of the laws of 2014, are amended 8 and a new paragraph (o) is added to read as follows: 9 (m) Encourage and assist local governments in the development of 10 activities to enhance civic engagement among immigrants and in immigrant 11 communities; [and] EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD05025-01-5
A. 2046 2 1 (n) Beginning in two thousand fifteen, by June fifteenth of each year, 2 produce a report to the governor, the speaker of the assembly, and the 3 temporary president of the senate describing the activities of the 4 office, including but not limited to, summarizing calls received through 5 the hotline and website, information on ESOL training services provided 6 by the office, the number of immigrants assisted through the opportunity 7 centers, or an estimation thereof, the status of any workforce develop- 8 ment programs, and any other relevant information[.]; and 9 (o) Screen and perform a background screening of every immigrant who 10 registers pursuant to subdivision nine of section twenty of the social 11 services law, to ensure that the immigrant does not present a security 12 risk to the state or the United States. The office shall provide the 13 results of each such screening to the department of law, the division of 14 state police, the New York city police department, the office of the 15 county sheriff for each county in the state, all municipal police 16 departments and the division of homeland security and emergency 17 services. 18 § 2-a. Paragraphs (o) and (p) of subdivision 5 of section 94-b of the 19 executive law, as added by chapter 625 of the laws of 2024, are amended 20 and a new paragraph (q) is added to read as follows: 21 (o) Encourage the development of and provide for the establishment of 22 a state military immigrant family legacy program liaison, as provided in 23 section twenty-nine-b of the veterans' services law; [and] 24 (p) Request individuals seeking assistance from the office answer the 25 following questions: "Have you served in the United States military?" 26 "Has someone in your family served in the United States military?" 27 Individuals identifying themselves or a family member as "intended 28 recipients" of the staff sergeant Alex R. Jimenez New York state mili- 29 tary immigrant family legacy program as such term is defined in para- 30 graph (e) of subdivision one of section twenty-nine-b of the veterans' 31 services law, shall be advised of such program. In addition, such indi- 32 viduals shall be informed that the department of veterans' services and 33 local veterans' service agencies established pursuant to section seven- 34 teen of the veterans' services law provide assistance to uniformed 35 service members, veterans and their families regarding benefits avail- 36 able under federal and state law. Information regarding veterans and 37 military status provided by assisted individuals shall be protected as 38 personal confidential material, and used only to identify such individ- 39 uals as "intended recipients" of the staff sergeant Alex R. Jimenez New 40 York State military immigrant family legacy program, and to assist such 41 individuals in matters relating to immigration status and citizenship, 42 and in referring such individuals to the department of veterans' 43 services or local veterans' service agencies for information and assist- 44 ance with regard to benefits and entitlements under federal and state 45 law[.]; and 46 (q) Screen and perform a background screening of every immigrant who 47 registers pursuant to subdivision nine of section twenty of the social 48 services law, to ensure that the immigrant does not present a security 49 risk to the state or the United States. The office shall provide the 50 results of each such screening to the department of law, the division of 51 state police, the New York city police department, the office of the 52 county sheriff for each county in the state, all municipal police 53 departments and the division of homeland security and emergency 54 services. 55 § 3. Paragraphs (i) and (j) of subdivision 3 of section 20 of the 56 social services law, paragraph (i) as added by chapter 304 of the laws
A. 2046 3 1 of 1990 and paragraph (j) as amended by section 20 of part PP of chapter 2 56 of the laws of 2022, are amended and a new paragraph (k) is added to 3 read as follows: 4 (i) to assure conformance with federal law, by entering into agree- 5 ments with the federal social security administration and public agen- 6 cies in other states responsible for administering the food stamp 7 program or programs under title I, II, IV-A, IV-D, X, XIV, XVI, or XIX 8 of the social security act under which the department will provide such 9 agencies, when required by federal law and only to the extent so 10 required, with data which may be of use in establishing or verifying 11 eligibility for or benefit amounts in such programs or ability to pay 12 support for a person receiving support collection services including 13 data obtained from the wage reporting system operated by the state 14 department of taxation and finance pursuant to section one hundred 15 seventy-one-a of the tax law[.], as added by chapter five hundred 16 forty-five of the laws of nineteen hundred seventy-eight; 17 (j) to ensure the provision, on any form required to be completed at 18 application or recertification for the purpose of obtaining financial 19 assistance pursuant to this chapter, the form shall contain a check-off 20 question asking whether the applicant or recipient or a member of his or 21 her family served in the United States military, and an option to answer 22 in the affirmative. Where the applicant or recipient answers in the 23 affirmative to such question, the office of temporary and disability 24 assistance shall ensure that contact information for the state depart- 25 ment of veterans' services is provided to such applicant or recipient 26 addition to any other materials provided[.]; and 27 (k) to collect and maintain reports submitted by refugee resettlement 28 agencies pursuant to section fourteen hundred thirteen of the not-for- 29 profit corporation law. 30 § 4. Section 20 of the social services law is amended by adding a new 31 subdivision 9 to read as follows: 32 9. (a) The bureau of refugee and immigrant assistance of the office of 33 temporary and disability assistance shall provide to each alien who 34 resides in the state, and who was admitted to the United States of Amer- 35 ica as a refugee pursuant to section two hundred seven of the United 36 States Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. § 1157) or who was 37 seeking asylum pursuant to section two hundred eight of such act (8 38 U.S.C. § 1158), that he or she is required, within thirty days of enter- 39 ing the state, to: 40 (i) register as a refugee with the office of temporary and disability 41 assistance; and 42 (ii) be interviewed by and provide his or her fingerprints to an offi- 43 cer or employee of such office designated by the commissioner of tempo- 44 rary and disability assistance. 45 (b) The commissioner of temporary and disability assistance shall 46 maintain all refugee registration data and information in an electronic 47 database. Not less than on a monthly basis, the office of temporary and 48 disability assistance shall forward a copy of the registration record of 49 each refugee who registered during the preceding month, to the office of 50 children and family services, the department of health, the office for 51 new Americans, the department of law, the division of state police, and 52 the division of homeland security and emergency services. 53 (c) Annually, on or before February first, the commissioner of tempo- 54 rary and disability assistance shall submit a report on the registration 55 program established by this subdivision to the governor, the temporary 56 president of the senate and the speaker of the assembly. Such report
A. 2046 4 1 shall include the number of refugees who registered during the previous 2 calendar year and their countries of origin. 3 (d) For the purposes of this subdivision, the terms "alien" and "refu- 4 gee" shall have the same meaning as is ascribed to such terms by section 5 one hundred one of the United States Immigration and Nationality Act (8 6 U.S.C. 1101). 7 § 5. The not-for-profit corporation law is amended by adding a new 8 section 1413 to read as follows: 9 § 1413. Refugee resettlement agencies. 10 (a) Definition. "Refugee resettlement agency" means a voluntary agen- 11 cy, as defined pursuant to section 1411 of the United States Immigration 12 and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. § 1521), organization, or affiliate of 13 such agency or organization that receives federal funding for refugee 14 reception and placement resettlement services or other federal grants 15 intended for the support of refugee resettlement activities. 16 (b) Reporting requirement. Each refugee resettlement agency shall 17 report, on a quarterly basis, to the bureau of refugee and immigrant 18 assistance of the office of temporary and disability assistance: 19 (1) the total number of refugees resettled by the agency and the total 20 of such refugees in each of the following age groups: 21 (A) under eighteen years of age, 22 (B) between eighteen and sixty-four years of age, and 23 (C) sixty-five years of age or older; 24 (2) the public assistance benefits the refugees have applied for or 25 have been granted; and 26 (3) the countries of origin of the refugees. 27 (c) Monitoring requirement. Each refugee resettlement agency shall 28 monitor refugees who have registered with the office of temporary and 29 disability assistance pursuant to subdivision nine of section twenty of 30 the social services law until such time as a refugee is granted perma- 31 nent resident status by the United States Citizenship and Immigration 32 Services. 33 § 6. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that 34 if chapter 625 of the laws of 2024 shall not have taken effect on or 35 before such date then section two-a of this act shall take effect on the 36 same date and in the same manner as such chapter of the laws of 2024, 37 takes effect.