* § 370-aa. State heating fuel crisis assistance. 1. The commissioner\nshall establish a state program to provide heating fuel related crisis\nassistance to households whose total income from all sources is between\none hundred twenty-five percent and two hundred percent of the federal\ncommunity services administration poverty guidelines and who have not\nreceived a grant for heating fuel assistance during the nineteen hundred\nseventy-nine--nineteen hundred eighty winter from any other emergency or\nenergy assistance program. To the extent funds are available, such\nhousehold may apply and be eligible for assistance if the household is\nthreatened with shut-off or nondelivery of heating fuel due to\nnonpayment and in the case of a one person household, the household's\nliquid resources do not exceed one thousand five hundred dollars or in\nthe case of households of more than one person liquid resources do not\nexceed two thousand two hundred fifty dollars. Liquid resources shall\nmean those resources which are in cash or are financial instruments\nwhich are convertible to cash.\n 2. Eligible households with incomes between one hundred twenty-five\npercent and one hundred fifty percent of the federal community services\nadministration poverty guidelines may receive a total benefit not to\nexceed two hundred dollars; eligible households with incomes between one\nhundred fifty per cent and one hundred seventy-five percent of the\nfederal community services administration poverty guidelines may receive\na total benefit not to exceed one hundred fifty dollars; and eligible\nhouseholds with incomes between one hundred seventy-five percent and two\nhundred percent of the federal community services administration poverty\nguidelines may receive a total benefit not to exceed one hundred\ndollars. Eligible households which pay for heat directly may receive\nbenefits in the form of direct payment to suppliers of home heating\nfuels. All households may receive assistance in the form of cash up to\nfifty dollars for warm clothing, blankets, replacement of broken window\npanes, firewood, temporary shelter, emergency repairs to heating\nequipment, nutrition, health and other supportive services. In no event\nshall the sum of assistance under this program made to or on behalf of\nany household exceed the actual amount needed to ameliorate the heating\nfuel crisis.\n 3. a. Assistance may also be provided to households whose rent\nincludes heat. Such assistance may be provided only in the event that\nthe owner of the rented dwelling has abandoned responsibility for paying\nheating costs. Such assistance may be in the form of emergency heating\nfuel deliveries.\n b. Such assistance shall be provided for a period not to exceed\nfifteen days, in order to allow time for appropriate action to be taken\nby city or county officials.\n c. In such cases where the landlord or owner has abandoned his\nresponsibility for paying heating costs, and where tenants or landlords\ncan verify that at least sixty percent of the building's households are\nat or below two hundred percent of the federal community services\nadministration poverty guidelines, the buildings may qualify.\n d. The department shall make all reasonable efforts to recover from\nthe landlord, emergency expenditures for heating fuel.\n 4. This program shall be administered at the county level and in the\ncity of New York by the local departments of social services. Local\ndepartments shall distribute funds allocated for heating fuel crisis\nassistance to eligible households for the payment of heating fuel costs\nas described in subdivisions two and three of this section. The\ndepartment shall prepare application forms for use by the local\ndepartments and instructions to be used in completing applications.\nCertification of eligibility and authorization of payment shall be the\nresponsibility of the local departments. The local departments shall\nprovide for preliminary screening and as
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