550. Unemployment insurance fund. 1. Composition and investment. (a) The unemployment insurance fund shall be continued. It shall consist of all contributions, interest, penalties and monies from the re-employment service fund pursuant to section five hundred eighty-one-b of this article received and paid into the fund, and of moneys credited to this state pursuant to section nine hundred three of the federal social security act, of property and securities acquired by and through the use of moneys belonging to the fund, and of interest earned thereon. All money in the fund, immediately upon receipt, shall be deposited or invested in the obligations of the "Unemployment Trust Fund" of the United States government or its authorized agent, so long as said trust fund exists, notwithstanding any other statutory provision to the contrary. The commissioner shall requisition from the unemployment trust fund necessary amounts from time to time.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this article, any moneys credited to the state pursuant to section nine hundred three of the federal social security act for federal fiscal years two thousand, two thousand one and two thousand two, shall be transferred into the unemployment administration fund established pursuant to section five hundred fifty-one of this title. These moneys are to be used only to pay expenses incurred by the state for the administration of the unemployment insurance law and are not to be used for the payment of unemployment compensation or for the administration of state public employment offices.
2. Custodian of funds. The state commissioner of taxation and finance and the state comptroller shall be the custodians of the funds received upon requisition by the industrial commissioner from the unemployment trust fund and, subject to audit by the state comptroller, the industrial commissioner shall direct the disbursement thereof. The state commissioner of taxation and finance, notwithstanding any other provision of law, may for the purpose of such disbursement authorize any depository of the fund to make payments out of any moneys therein upon drafts on the fund issued by the industrial commissioner and countersigned by the state comptroller. The state commissioner of taxation and finance may deposit any portion of such funds which he deems not needed for immediate use in the manner and subject to all the provisions of law respecting the deposit of other state funds by him. Interest earned by such portion of such funds deposited by the state commissioner of taxation and finance shall be collected by him and placed to the credit of the fund.
3. Fund sole source of benefits. The fund shall be administered in trust and shall be used solely to pay benefits, except that subject to the limitations therein contained moneys credited to this fund pursuant to section nine hundred three of the federal social security act may upon an appropriation duly made by the legislature be used for the administration of the unemployment insurance law and shall for such purpose and to the extent required be transferred to the administration fund established under this article. All payments shall be made upon vouchers drawn on the fund by the commissioner in accordance with procedures established by him. The fund shall be the sole and exclusive source for the payment of benefits which shall be due and payable only to the extent that contributions and other payments to the fund with increments thereon, actually collected and credited to the fund and not otherwise appropriated or allocated, are available therefor.
4. Non-liability of state. The state of New York undertakes the administration of the fund without any liability on the part of the state beyond the amount of moneys received through allotment from any agency of the United States.
Last modified: February 3, 2019