Bill Text: NY S02253 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relates to the residential emergency services to offer home repairs to the elderly program.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-03-19 - referred to housing [S02253 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S02253-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         2253--A
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 12, 2017
                                       ___________
        Introduced by Sens. LITTLE, CARLUCCI, PHILLIPS, SERINO -- read twice and
          ordered  printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on
          Housing, Construction and Community Development -- recommitted to  the
          Committee  on  Housing,  Construction  and  Community  Development  in
          accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 --  committee  discharged,  bill
          amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
          tee
        AN ACT to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to residen-
          tial emergency services to offer home repairs to the elderly program
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1. The private housing finance law is amended by adding a new
     2  article 29 to read as follows:
     3                                ARTICLE XXIX
     4           RESIDENTIAL EMERGENCY SERVICES TO OFFER HOME REPAIRS TO
     5                             THE ELDERLY PROGRAM
     6  Section 1260. Statement of legislative findings.
     7          1261. Definitions.
     8          1262. Residential emergency services to offer  home  repairs  to
     9                  the elderly contracts.
    10    § 1260. Statement  of  legislative  findings.  The  legislature hereby
    11  finds and declares that there exists in New York state a need for finan-
    12  cial resources to assist senior citizen  homeowners  with  the  cost  of
    13  addressing  emergencies  and code violations that pose a threat to their
    14  health and safety, or affecting the livability of their home.  Providing
    15  assistance for the cost of making such critical repairs will enable many
    16  seniors to continue to live independently in their own homes.
    17    § 1261. Definitions. As used in this article:
    18    1.  "Corporation" shall mean the housing trust fund corporation estab-
    19  lished in section forty-five-a of this chapter.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00764-04-8
        S. 2253--A                          2
     1    2. "Eligible applicant" shall mean a unit of local government or  not-
     2  for-profit  corporation  in  existence for a period of one or more years
     3  prior to application, which is, or will be at the time of award,  incor-
     4  porated  under  the  not-for-profit corporation law and has been engaged
     5  primarily in housing and community development activities.
     6    3. "Residential emergency services to offer home repairs to the elder-
     7  ly  programs" shall mean a series of activities by an eligible applicant
     8  to administer funds to provide either  loans  or  grants  to  homeowners
     9  sixty  years  of  age or older, with a household income of less than one
    10  hundred percent of the area median income, to oversee the adaptation  or
    11  retrofitting of eligible properties.
    12    4.  "Eligible  property" shall mean a housing unit that is the primary
    13  residence of a person that is sixty years of age or  older  and  have  a
    14  household  income  that  does not exceed one hundred percent of the area
    15  median income.
    16    § 1262. Residential emergency services to offer home  repairs  to  the
    17  elderly  contracts.  1. Within the limit of funds available in the resi-
    18  dential emergency services to offer home repairs to the elderly program,
    19  the corporation is hereby authorized to enter into contracts with eligi-
    20  ble applicants to provide financial assistance for the actual costs of a
    21  residential emergency services to offer  home  repairs  to  the  elderly
    22  program.  The financial assistance shall be either in the form of grants
    23  or loans, as the corporation shall determine. Funds  must  be  used  for
    24  one-  to  four-unit  dwellings  that  are owned and occupied by eligible
    25  households, and work undertaken cannot exceed ten thousand  dollars  per
    26  building.  No more than fifty percent of the total amount awarded pursu-
    27  ant  to  this article in any fiscal year shall be allocated to any resi-
    28  dential emergency services to offer home repairs to the elderly  program
    29  located within any single municipality.
    30    2. From the date of the emergency referral, the eligible applicant has
    31  seventy-two hours to respond and inspect the eligible property; from the
    32  date  of  the  inspection  and  assessment of emergency repair need, the
    33  eligible applicant must start the repairs within  seven  calendar  days;
    34  all  repairs  must be completed within thirty calendar days of the start
    35  of the repairs; or as otherwise determined by the corporation.
    36    3. The total payment pursuant to any one  contract  shall  not  exceed
    37  five  hundred  thousand  dollars  and  the  contract  shall  provide for
    38  completion of the program within a reasonable period, as specified ther-
    39  ein, which shall not in any event exceed three years from its  commence-
    40  ment.  Upon request, the corporation may extend the term of the contract
    41  for up to two additional one year periods for good cause  shown  by  the
    42  eligible applicant.
    43    4.  The  corporation  shall  authorize the eligible applicant to spend
    44  seven and one-half percent of the contract amount for approved  planning
    45  and administrative costs associated with administering the program.
    46    § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
    47  it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediate-
    48  ly,  the  addition,  amendment  and/or  repeal of any rule or regulation
    49  necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective  date  are
    50  authorized  and  directed  to  be  made  and completed on or before such
    51  effective date.