Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/new-york/court-of-appeals/2020/9.html
Timestamp: 2020-04-04 00:59:07
Document Index: 373678923

Matched Legal Cases: ['§ 431', '§ 901', '§ 602', '§ 4', '§ 1810', '§ 2805', '§ 1115', '§ 111', '§ 387', '§ 387']

Leggio v. Devine :: 2020 :: New York Court of Appeals Decisions :: New York Case Law :: New York Law :: US Law :: Justia
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The Court of Appeals confirmed the determination of a local services agency, confirmed by a state agency, that child support payments a parent receives, made for the benefit of her five children living at home, are included as "household" income in deciding whether the household is eligible for benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), holding that, for the purposes of SNAP, child support directly received by a parent is household income, even if it is used for the benefit of an ineligible college student living at home.
The Suffolk County Department of Social Services (DSS) discontinued the household's benefits because its income exceeded the upper limit for the household. Because the two college children were ineligible for SNAP, DSS did not count them as household members but did include the full amount of child support in its calculation of household income. The mother appealed, arguing that the college children's pro rata share of the child support payment should be excluded from household income, rendering the household SNAP-eligible. The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) upheld the determination. The Appellate Division confirmed the OTDA's determination. The Court of Appeals also confirmed, holding that the OTDA's interpretation of the relevant federal statutes was not irrational and was entitled to deference.
Matter of Leggio v Devine 2020 NY Slip Op 00999 Decided on February 13, 2020 Court of Appeals Wilson, J. Published by New York State Law Reporting Bureau pursuant to Judiciary Law § 431. This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication in the Official Reports.
[*1]In the Matter of Tina Leggio, Appellant,
Sharon Devine, & c. et al., Respondents.
Empire Justice Center, amicus curiae.
At the relevant time, petitioner Tina Leggio was a single parent raising five children under the age of 22 [FN1]. The two eldest children were full-time college students who lived at home. Because they did not satisfy any of the conditions for a student enrolled in higher education at least half-time to be eligible for SNAP, as enumerated in 7 CFR 273.5(b), and were not otherwise eligible for a federal exemption under the law, they were ineligible for the program. The children's father paid $593.75 per week to support all five children. The household had been receiving SNAP benefits because Ms. Leggio's income, including the child support, had been below the applicable income limit.
In October 2014, upon Ms. Leggio's application to recertify under SNAP, the Suffolk County Department of Social Services (DSS) discontinued the household's benefits because its income exceeded the upper limit for a household of four (Ms. Leggio plus her three younger children, excluding the two in college). Because the two older children were ineligible for SNAP, DSS did not count them as household members. Nevertheless, DSS included the full amount of child support in its calculation of household income. Ms. Leggio challenged that determination, contending that because her two children in college were excluded from SNAP benefits, their pro rata share of the child support payment (two-fifths of $593.75, or $237.50 per week) should likewise be excluded from household income, rendering the household SNAP-eligible. [FN2]
We granted Ms. Leggio leave to appeal, and now affirm the Appellate Division order on different grounds. The plain text of the statutes and regulations that bind OTDA provide that income of ineligible college students, including child support income, must be excluded from household income, contrary to the Appellate Division's reading of the governing law (see 7 CFR 273.5[d]; 273.11[d]). Consequently, if Ms. Leggio's two eldest children are the owners of their pro rata shares of the child support she receives, the household would be eligible for SNAP benefits [FN3]. Conversely, if child support funds are considered income of the custodial parent who received them (here, Ms. Leggio) they are household income not subject to any exclusion, and Ms. Leggio's household's income would be too high to receive SNAP benefits. Although the consequences of allocating the income are clear, the threshold question, whether child support is income of the recipient-parent or of the beneficiary-child for purposes of [*2]determining eligibility for SNAP benefits, is unresolved by any federal or state statute or regulation or decision of this Court.
"Two State agencies and a Regional office questioned the classification of ineligible students as non-household members rather than disqualified individuals for purposes of handling their income and resources. The State agencies felt that a student's income and resources should be considered in determining the eligibility and benefit level of the food stamp household. The Department feels, however, that students who do not meet one of the eligibility criteria of Pub. L. 96-249 [adding student eligibility requirements of 7 USC 2015(e)] do not fall into the same class as a person who has unlawfully entered the country or who has refused to provide his or her social security number"
(1980 Food Stamp Amendments; Eligibility Limits; Final Rule, 46 FR 43020, 43023-43024 [1981]).
There is a fair argument that the federal regulations are ambiguous as to whether ineligible students are household members because 7 CFR 273.1(b)(7) says that students "are not eligible to participate as separate households or as a member of any household" (emphasis added). One reading would hold that, on the plain text, ineligible students may not be considered household members. That reading is supported by the rulemaking history of section 273.5, where the agency referred to "the classification of ineligible students as non-household members [*3]rather than disqualified individuals" (1980 Food Stamp Amendments; Final Rule, 46 FR at 43024). Another reading of the regulation would hold that even though students living at home are household members (per 7 CFR 273.1[b][1][ii]), they "are not eligible to participate" as such. That reading can be supported by emphasis on the second clause of the same sentence from the final rulemaking, referencing "the classification of ineligible students as non-household members rather than disqualified individuals for purposes of handling their income and resources" (1980 Food Stamp Amendments; Final Rule, 46 FR at 43024).
As OTDA points out, some states have stepped into the breach and determined, via agency action, to whose income child support payments are attributed for SNAP purposes—and have come to different conclusions. In Alabama, Alaska, and West Virginia, the relevant state agencies have published policy guides directing that child support payments count as the income of the person receiving them—generally, a parent. Florida, Indiana, and Missouri have directed the opposite: child support is income of the child, even if it is paid to a custodial parent [FN4]. The [*4]parties have pointed to no New York statute or regulation that answers the question [FN5]. OTDA's SNAP sourcebook is likewise silent on the matter.
As a preliminary matter, we must determine the proper role of deference in this appeal. Where "the interpretation of a statute involves specialized knowledge and understanding of underlying operational practices or entails an evaluation of factual data and inferences to be drawn therefrom, the courts should defer to the administrative agency's interpretation" (Intl. Union of Painters & Allied Trades v New York State Dept. of Labor, 32 NY3d 198, 209 [2018] [quotations omitted]). However, "[w]here instead the question requires statutory analysis dependent only on an accurate apprehension of legislative intent, there is little basis to rely on any special competence or expertise of the administrative agency and its interpretive regulations are therefore to be accorded much less weight'" (id. at 215, citing Matter of Moran Towing & Transp. Co. v New York State Tax Commn., 72 NY2d 166, 173 [1988] and quoting Kurscics v Merchants Mut. Ins. Co., 49 NY2d 451, 459 [1980]; see also Seittelman v Sabol, 91 NY2d 618, 625-626 [1998]).[FN6]
Accounting for child support income in the context of SNAP requires no specialized knowledge of operational practices or factual data. But it is likewise not a question of pure statutory interpretation because there is no statutory [*5]or regulatory language—not even ambiguous language—to interpret. Instead, this question comes down to a policy decision within the cooperative federalism framework of a national program committed to state administration (see Rodriguez v Perales, 86 NY2d 361, 367 [1995]); see also Bridget A. Fahey, Consent Procedures and American Federalism, 128 Harv L Rev 1561 [2015]). There is evidence that either position is acceptable under federal law, as demonstrated by the varying positions taken by different states (see note 2 supra; see also Ruhe v Bergland, 683 F2d 102, 105 [4th Cir 1982] [upholding Virginia's treatment of cash housing subsidies as household income for SNAP purposes based on "the household's control of cash" as having "a reasonable basis"]). Therefore, it was not irrational for OTDA to determine that because Ms. Leggio received the child support and was able to use it, in her discretion, to provide food for the household, the support counted as household income, including the portion made in favor of her SNAP-ineligible college student children.
Accordingly, we defer to OTDA's policy choice as consistent with the applicable statutes and regulations, if it is rational (see Gilman v New York State Div. of Hous. and Community Renewal, 99 NY2d 144, 149 [2002]; Matter of Pell v Bd. of Educ. Of Union Free Sch. Dist. No. 1 of Towns of Scarsdale & Mamaroneck, Westchester County, 34 NY2d 222, 231 [1974]). As noted above, OTDA has not adopted a policy through notice-and-comment rulemaking, or even stated a policy in its SNAP sourcebook. Instead, the agency has developed its policy as a common law court does, via stare decisis through ad hoc adjudications that must comport with the "underlying precept . . . that in administrative, as in judicial, proceedings justice demands that cases with like antecedents should breed like consequences" (Matter of Charles A. Field Delivery Serv., 66 NY2d 516, 519 [1985]; quoting Matter of Howard Johnson Co. v State Tax Commn., 65 NY2d 726, 727 [1985] [internal quotations omitted]). The agency must follow its own precedent or must explain why it has distinguished the case before it or changed policies. "Absent such an explanation, failure to conform to agency precedent will . . . require reversal on the law as arbitrary, even though there is in the record substantial evidence to support the determination made" (Charles A. Field, 66 NY2d at 520 [1985]).
OTDA's fair hearing decisions concerning child support payments for the benefit of college-aged students have not been a model of clarity [FN7]. However, as to the specific question at issue here, OTDA's core policy has been mostly consistent with the rule it applied: when a student lives at home and a parent directly receives child support provided in whole or in part for the care of that student, the monies are income of the parent (FH No. 7231042M [April 26, 2016] ["[t]he rule regarding child support is that the income belongs to the person to whom it is assigned"]).[FN8]
Although OTDA's prior decisions have not established its policies as clearly as a published set of rules or instructions in a handbook might have, we defer to the agency's rational policy, as asserted now with support in its [*6]previous findings, that the child support at issue, paid directly to her and over which she had discretion, was properly considered Ms. Leggio's income and therefore properly included as the income of her household [FN9].
Footnote 1: Ms. Leggio's sixth child was older than 22 at the relevant time and is not at issue in this appeal.
Footnote 2: As of October 1, 2014, the limit on net monthly income for a household of four to receive SNAP benefits was $2,160.03 (A-150). The contested pro rata share of child support was $1,029.17, which, if excluded, would have lowered the household's net monthly income from $2,917.26 to $1,888.09.
Footnote 3: OTDA agrees: it has consistently taken the position in this proceeding that if the child support payments are deemed to be the property of the children—for example, if paid directly to a college student—those funds must be excluded from the income attributed to the household of which they are part.
Footnote 4: Res Br at 37 nn 16-17, comparing Alabama Dep't of Human Resources, Food Assistance Points of Eligibility Manual § 901(B)(4) ("Child support is considered the income of the person to whom it is legally obligated, usually the custodial parent."); Alaska Dep't of Health & Social Servs., Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Manual § 602-3B(3) ("Child support payments are counted as income to the person receiving it."); West Virginia Dep't of Health & Human Resources, West Virginia Income Maintenance Manual § 4.4.4.P ("[C]hild support is counted for the AG [Assistance Group] that receives the income, even when it is forwarded to, and/or used, for the child.") with Florida Dep't of Children & Families, Access Florida Program Policy Manual § 1810.0700 (child support "is considered as unearned income of the child for whom the payment is intended"); Indiana Family & Social Servs. Admin., Program Policy Manual § 2805.15.05.05 (directing program administrators to "[c]onsider child support income to be the income of the child"); Missouri Dep't of Social Servs., Income Maintenance Manual § 1115.010.00 (child support "is income to the child for whom the payment is made if the child is in the [eligibility unit]").
Footnote 5: Under Social Services Law § 111-h(4), "[a]ny and all moneys paid into the support collection unit pursuant to an order of support made under the family court act or the domestic relations law, where the petitioner is not a recipient of public assistance, shall upon payment into such support collection unit be deemed for all purposes to be the property of the person for whom such money is to be paid." Though the parties agree that the child support here was paid to a support collection unit, any argument that this fact should affect OTDA's determination was not raised before or considered by OTDA, and therefore that argument is unpreserved for our review (see Matter of Corrigan v New York State Off. of Children & Family Servs., 28 NY3d 636, 643 [2017]).
Footnote 6: OTDA argues that it is entitled to deference because its position is an interpretation of Department of Social Services (18 NYCRR) § 387.10(b)(3)(iii), which defines "unearned income" as, among other things, "support or alimony payments made directly to the household from nonhousehold members" (see also 7 CFR 273.9[b][2][iii] [same]). However, 18 NYCRR § 387.10(b)(3)(iii) is insufficient to resolve the issue before us. To be sure, the child support payments in question were made by Ms. Leggio's former husband—who is not a household member—to either Ms. Leggio or her children, who are all household members. The relevant question is whether, under federal regulation 7 CFR 273.5(d)—which has no state analogue—the money is properly considered "the income and resources of an ineligible student." If so, as discussed above, that income must be excluded from household income (see 7 CFR 273.11[d]). Thus, even if the child support is the unearned income of the household per state regulation, it may nevertheless be excludable because of a federal regulation particular to student income that is binding upon the state. OTDA does not cite to any federal or state regulation particular to student income that is binding upon the state and bears on the treatment (or exclusion) of child support payments. Therefore, OTDA's policy as to the treatment of child support payments made for the benefit of college students is not an interpretation of its own regulation and does not qualify for deference under the solicitude given to an agency's interpretation of its own regulation, when within its area of expertise (see Andryeyeva v New York Health Care Inc., 33 NY3d 152, 174 [2019], quoting Matter of Peckham v Calogero, 12 NY3d 424, 431 [2009]).
Footnote 7: For instance, when funds are received by a parent and immediately forwarded to a student living away at school, OTDA has not considered those funds to count as household income, though it has sometimes considered the funds income of the student (Decision After Fair Hearing No. 7683685Q [OTDA April 3, 2018]); and other times income of the parent but subject to the maintenance exclusion (FH No. 7256864R [April 6, 2016]; FH No. 6571007K [Feb. 6, 2014]). OTDA similarly has found that funds received by a parent for an ineligible student living at home and spent by the parent for the student's benefit were subject to the maintenance exclusion—contrary to its decision in the instant case—in a decision it now disavows (FH No. 6479136L [Nov. 8, 2013]; Resp Br at 22, n 11). When child support funds are paid directly to a student, OTDA considers those funds as income of the student (FH No. 7637515N [Dec. 29, 2017]; Oral Arg Tr at 20) but if the parent jointly has access to the bank account, the income is attributable to the parent (FH No. 7224173H [April 5, 2016]).
Footnote 8: Notably, in 2018, two Fair Hearing decisions held the opposite (Decision After Fair Hearing No. 7758129M [OTDA July 5, 2018]; FH No. 7856769 [Dec. 21, 2018]). OTDA claims the change was to conform with the Appellate Division's decision in this case (Resp to Amic Br at 10, n 3). For purposes of this appeal, we accept that explanation.
Footnote 9: Amici attack OTDA's policy as unfair to struggling households attempting to provide food for college students living at home. However, determination of the wisdom of OTDA's policy is left to the other branches of our government (see, e.g., Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, 2020 State of the State Book, "Proposal. Expand College Student Enrollment in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) Benefits" at 257, available at https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/files/2020StateoftheStateBook.pdf [last accessed Feb. 11, 2020]).
The Court of Appeals confirmed a local services agency's determination that child support payments a parent received, made for the benefit of her children living at home, including college students, are included as "household" income in deciding whether the household is eligible for benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, holding that, the agency's determination was proper.
The Court of Appeals confirmed a local services agency's determination that child support payments a...