Bill Text: NY S08878 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Relates to eliminating rent for homeless shelters in cities having a population of one million or more; provides that a homeless individual or family applying for or receiving temporary housing assistance shall not be required to pay room and board or contribute any earned or unearned income, available benefits or resources to eliminate their need for temporary housing assistance or as a condition to receive temporary housing assistance from such provider.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-08-05 - REFERRED TO RULES [S08878 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S08878-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8878 IN SENATE August 5, 2020 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MYRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to eliminating rent for homeless shelters in cities with a population of one million or more; and to repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 36-c of the social services law is REPEALED. 2 § 2. Section 131 of the social services law is amended by adding two 3 new subdivisions 21 and 22 to read as follows: 4 21. The office of temporary and disability assistance shall prohibit 5 any publicly funded provider of temporary housing assistance in a city 6 having a population of one million or more, including but not limited to 7 those defined in subdivision sixteen of section one hundred thirty-one-a 8 of this title from requiring recipients of public assistance, emergency 9 assistance for adults, supplemental security income or additional state 10 payment to participate in work activities, including but not limited to 11 those defined in section three hundred thirty-six of this chapter, as a 12 condition to receive temporary housing assistance from such provider. 13 Provided, however, if such recipient chooses to volunteer or receive 14 money to work, he or she shall be fully informed in writing that there 15 is no obligation to perform work or volunteer as a condition of receiv- 16 ing temporary housing assistance from such provider. Written, signed 17 consent to volunteer or receive money to work shall be kept on file 18 while he or she is receiving temporary housing assistance from such 19 provider. Nothing herein shall prevent the provider of temporary housing 20 assistance from keeping such consent electronically. 21 22. a. Any temporary housing assistance provider, in a city having a 22 population of one million or more, found to be collecting income, room 23 and board or any other type of contribution in violation of subdivision 24 sixteen of section one hundred thirty-one-a of this title, shall, after 25 notice and an opportunity to be heard by the department, be required to 26 return any funds collected in violation of this section to such recipi- 27 ent and may be subject to a civil penalty not to exceed five hundred EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD16126-03-0S. 8878 2 1 dollars for each violation. The department shall adopt procedures in 2 accordance with the state administrative procedure act for assessment of 3 penalties pursuant to this section. Such procedure shall include the 4 opportunity for an administrative appeal. Any provider found to have 5 violated this section and who is subsequently found to have violated 6 this section five or more times within one year of the initial finding 7 may be determined, at the discretion of the department and taking into 8 consideration the geographic availability of similar services, to be 9 ineligible to receive public funding for a period not to exceed five 10 years. 11 b. Any provider which has been deemed ineligible to receive public 12 funding pursuant to this section may apply to the department for an 13 order discontinuing such disqualification. The application shall set 14 forth the grounds, including that the provider has taken sufficient 15 actions to remove from responsibility officers and employees who engaged 16 in the actions that formed the basis of the violation, that the provider 17 has taken appropriate and sufficient actions to ensure that the actions 18 that formed the basis of the violation are unlikely to recur, and that 19 it will not be in the public interest to continue the disqualification. 20 § 3. Section 131-a of the social services law is amended by adding a 21 new subdivision 16 to read as follows: 22 16. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, rule or regulation to 23 the contrary, a homeless individual or family applying for or receiving 24 temporary housing assistance, in a city having a population of one 25 million or more, shall not be required to pay room and board or contrib- 26 ute or deposit any earned or unearned income, available benefits or 27 resources to eliminate their need for temporary housing assistance or as 28 a condition to receive temporary housing assistance from such provider. 29 For the purposes of this subdivision, any provider of temporary housing 30 assistance or short-term housing shall include, but not be limited to, a 31 family shelter, a cluster site apartment, a shelter for adults, a United 32 States Department of Housing and Urban Development assisted transitional 33 housing shelter, a public home, a hotel, an emergency apartment, a 34 domestic violence shelter, a runaway and homeless youth shelter, a room 35 and board shelter, a safe haven shelter, a veterans short-term housing 36 shelter, a criminal justice short-term housing shelter, or a safe house 37 for refugees, asylees, or trafficking victims operating in New York 38 state. 39 § 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall 40 have become a law.
