BILL NUMBER: S3572
SPONSOR: CLEARE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to establish the Marshall plan for moms interagency task force;
and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof
 
PURPOSE:
To develop a Marshall Plan for Moms task force that will study how best
to provide support to Moms and other caregivers.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 sets forth legislative findings.
Section 2 creates the Marshall Plan for Moms interagency taskforce to
study the utilization of recurring payments or financial assistance to
mothers and other caregivers and any equivalent policies under all
current state and federal programs; the current utilization rates and
impacts of the state paid family leave program as well as specific
impacts of the program on mothers and other caregivers; current state
policy impacting the childcare industry and the access or availability
of childcare in all areas of the state; the availability and access to
unemployment for New Yorkers who have left a job or worked reduced hours
in order to take on caregiving responsibilities; the impact of any new
policies imposed by the federal government or by state or local offi-
cials during the COVID-19 pandemic that have impacted mothers and other
caregivers in the workforce, the availability and access to mental
health support for mothers and other caregivers, and the impact of
access or availability to mental health support on such families; the
access and availability of all such programs for immigrant families, and
the impact of inaccessibility or unavailability of any such programs on
Immigrant families and the state; any other areas the task f orde deems
relevant in the review of policies that may impact mothers and other
caregivers.
Section 3 sets forth the composition of the taskforce, which will be
composed of the Commissioner of Labor, Commissioner of Social Services,
Chairperson of the Worker's Compensation Board of the State of New York,
the Commissioner of the Department of Health; the Director of the divi-
sion on Human Rights or the designee of those individuals. Additional
members will be appointed by the Governor (2), including one appointed
upon the recommendation of the President of the NYS American Federation
of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations and one upon the
recommendation of the NYS Business7, cii, and by the temporary president
of the Senate (1), by the spd' the Assembly (1), by the minority leader
of the Assembly (1) and by the minority leader of the Senate (1).
Section 4 requires the task force to hold five public hearings around
the state within one year of the effective date.
Section 5 requires the task force to submit a report of its findings and
recommendations to the legislature within two years.
Section 6 sets forth the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Women continue to face unjust gender and racial.wage gaps, and represent
a majority of low-wage jobs despite historical increase in workforce
participation. Women of color are subject to an even greater pay gap
than white women and stand to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars over
their lifetimes. Yet, women's wages are key to their families' economic
security and survival. Across the country, mothers are breadwinners in
almost half of families with children under 18, even though mothers face
a greater pay gap than women as a whole.
Even prior to the pandemic, working mothers faced continued biases and
stigmas in the workplace that caregiving responsibilities will negative-
ly impact their work performance. Women have suffered the majority of
pandemic-related job losses. Since February 2020, women have lost over
5,400,000 net jobs and account for 55% of overall net job loss since the
beginning of the.crisis. Women of color are experiencing higher rates of
job loss than White women. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics
January 2021 unemployment data, the jobless rate for Black women and
Latina women aged 20 and over is over 60% higher than their white coun-
terparts. Asian Americans recorded the highest jobless rates among women
in the last 6 months of 2020, even though before the pandemic their
average unemployment rate was the lowest. Women, historically, have
faced a disproportionate burden of caregiving responsibilities. Mothers
are three times more likely than fathers to be responsible for most of
the caregiving and household work. Single mothers are more likely than
other parents to take care of all housework and childcare responsibil-
ities in their household, and are more likely than other mothers to
experience financial insecurity. Throughout the pandemic, this burden
has been especially great, as parents, primarily mothers, have had to
support their children through remote learning. School closures have had
a disproportionate impact on women, many of whom have had to reduce
their work hours, take a leave absence, or permanently leave the work-
force.
The unprecedented burdens of childcare, work, and remote learning have
stressor are compounded by financial instability, racial injustice,
being a single parent, having children with special needs, and many
other factors. By failing to assign fiscal value to the care provided by
parents, especially moms, our economic system devalues the caretaking
function and ignores the role it plays in society. This bill creates a
task force to study how to provide payments to moms and other caregiv-
ers, and address the intersecting policy.areas that disproportionately
impact women, including childcare, paid family leave, family supportive
policies, etc.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2021-22: A6567-A Niou - referred to governmental operations
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Undetermined
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be deemed
repealed 3 years after such date.