BILL NUMBER: S173
SPONSOR: RAMOS
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the labor law, in relation to establishing the unemploy-
ment bridge program; to amend the state finance law, in relation to
establishing the unemployment bridge program fund; and making an appro-
priation therefor (Part A); and to amend the tax law, in relation to
enacting the "Digital Ad Tax Act (DATA)" (Part B)
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Establishes the act to be cited as the "The Unemployment
Bridge Program."
Section 2. Amends the labor law by adding section 591-b, which estab-
lishes the "unemployment bridge program". This section outlines the
powers given to the department of labor, the eligibility provisions for
the program and application and disbursement procedures. Furthermore,
this new section also includes protections and enforcement provisions,
as well as procedures for "navigators" and privacy and operating fund
provisions.
Section 3. Amends the state finance law to create a new fund known as
the "unemployment bridge program fund." In addition to creating the fund
it also includes payout provisions and a lockbox provision ensuring that
the funds for the program are neither commingled nor used for any other
purpose as well as being eligible to be rolled over.
Section 4. Amends the tax law to establish the "digital ad tax."
Section 5. Amends the tax law to implement the 'digital ad tax," by
adding a new article 15, which sets forth definitions and describes the
conditions for imposition of the tax, returns, and tax payment.
Section 6. Amends the tax law by adding a new section 1516 which sets
the penalty for willful acts or omissions related to the act as a misde-
meanor.
Section 7. Sets forth the severability clause. Section E. Sets the
effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
In April 2020, the global pandemic resulted in a near shutdown of the
nation's economy. This led millions of Americans being cut from their
job, losing their main breadwinners to the pandemic, and needing emer-
gency unemployment benefits. The safety nets provided by the State and
Federal government leaves many communities out of receiving unemployment
and disability financial support.
Namely, undocumented workers and some workers who work in the cash or
underground economy are excluded from our unemployment insurance system.
To address this inequity the state allocated $2.1 billion for the
Excluded Workers Fund in the FY 2022 budget. An estimated 290,000 work-
ers who were excluded from unemployment services were eligible for the
emergency fund benefits. Still, this fund was exhausted quickly and does
not fix the fact that some categories of workers are still excluded from
the federal/state unemployment system because of exclusions in the
federal Law or practical realities that leave groups of workers out in
the cold. The Unemployment Bridge Program rectifies this exclusion by
creating an unemployment insurance program, not only for undocumented
workers, but also for others whose labor is not recognized by the exist-
ing system (hold 'non-traditional' forms of employment),including but
not limited to domestic workers, landscaping and groundskeeping workers,
day laborers, and domestic construction workers who are paid off the
hooks; street vendors, freelancers, self-employed workers: and workers
recently released from incarceration or immigrant detention who cannot
use their prison or detention labor to qualify for unemployment bene-
fits.
The new fund establishes in-depth requirements and procedures making it
possible for members of these communities to apply and receive benefits
for their ongoing unemployment. Given the variety of circumstances these
workers face, this legislation establishes fair and accessible methods
of employment and identity verification through a point system. This
allows for a safe and effective method of application for the most vari-
able members of the community in which the Unemployment Bridge Program
aims to serve.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 2023-24: S3192 (Ramos) Referred to Finance /
A4821 (Reyes) referred to labor
2021-22: S8165-A (Ramos) Referred to Finance / A9037-A (Reyes) referred
to labor
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately provided, however, that the
applicable effective date of Parts A and B of this act shall be as
specifically set forth in the last section of such Parts.

Statutes affected:
S173: ninety-five-l state finance law