NY A10420

Directs the Department of Labor to contract with a third party to calculate self-sufficiency standards measuring the income needed for families to meet basic needs without public or private assistance, accounting for family size, composition, and geographic location.

Requires basic needs budgets to include costs of housing, food, transportation, health care, child care, and applicable local, state, and federal taxes and tax credits, using nationally standardized data from sources like the U.S. Census Bureau and HUD.

Establishes contractor qualifications including at least 20 years' continuous experience calculating self-sufficiency standards, prior work for at least 30 states, proven budget and timeline performance, and affiliation with a college/university or relevant expertise.

Mandates the Department of Labor submit findings to the Governor, Assembly Speaker, and Senate President by September 1, 2016, and biennially thereafter.

Identifies self-sufficiency standards as tools for benchmarking anti-poverty programs, allocating economic development resources, targeting job training, and creating budget calculator tools to help individuals transition from welfare and unemployment.