Establishes the Adirondack park affordable housing task force; requires such task force to conduct a comprehensive review of affordable housing issues within the Adirondack park and to make recommendations for addressing such issues.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A6684
SPONSOR: Jones TITLE OF BILL:
An act to establish the Adirondack park affordable housing task force;
and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof
PURPOSE:
Establishes the Adirondack park affordable housing task force.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 creates the Adirondack Park Affordable Housing Task Force to
conduct a comprehensive review of affordable housing issues and make
recommendations to address them. Additionally, this section establishes
that 27 members will be on the Task Force, that includes representatives
from the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, Department of Labor,
Adirondack Park Agency, the counties within the Adirondack Park, Adiron-
dack Community Housing Trust, and ten members appointed by the Governor
with input from President of the Senate and the Speaker of the Assembly.
Section 2 appoints the representative from the Division of Housing and
Community Renewal and Adirondack Park Agency as joint chairs of the task
force. This section also allows no compensation for task force members
except for travel reimbursement and sets the quorum at a majority of
members. Additionally, this section establishes the process to fill
vacancies. It also allows the task force to hold public hearings and to
consult with any agency or organization as well as request information
from agencies or organizations to help them carry out their duties. It
also establishes the scope of the Task Force and requires the Task Force
to submit a report to government leaders by January 1, 2026 that
includes information on the projected future availability of affordable
housing, the factors contributing to a lack of affordable housing,
recommendations for affordable housing targets and legislation to
address this issue.
Section 3 established that the bill will be effective immediately and
shall expire on December 31, 2026.
JUSTIFICATION:
Affordable housing is a rising problem in the Adirondack Park. Since
2020, the number of second homes that have been purchased in the region
has increased dramatically, which has led to skyrocketing property
values and ultimately has priced the middle and working class from
affording a home. This has only exacerbated the worker shortage that was
already happening in the Adirondack Park, and employers, especially in
the service and hospitality industries, simply cannot find employees who
can afford to live where they work. This has also worsened the health-
care worker shortage and teacher shortage, which will have lasting
impacts on the region. This task force will complete a comprehensive
review of affordable housing available in the Adirondack Park, and will
identify any issues and make recommendations on how to address them.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Effective immediately
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6684
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 1, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. JONES -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Housing
AN ACT to establish the Adirondack park affordable housing task force;
and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration there-
of
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Adirondack
2 park affordable housing act".
3 § 2. 1. There is hereby established an Adirondack park affordable
4 housing task force, hereinafter referred to as the "task force", to
5 conduct a comprehensive review of affordable housing issues within the
6 Adirondack park and to make recommendations for addressing those issues.
7 The task force shall consist of twenty-seven members which shall
8 include: the commissioner of the division of housing and community
9 renewal or their designee; the commissioner of labor or their designee;
10 the executive director of the Adirondack park agency or their designee;
11 one representative from each county which contains a part of the Adiron-
12 dack park, appointed by such counties' legislature or board of supervi-
13 sors; the president of the Adirondack community housing trust or their
14 designee; and ten other members to be appointed by the governor as
15 follows: two upon the recommendation of the temporary president of the
16 senate; two upon the recommendation of the speaker of the assembly; one
17 upon the recommendation of the minority leader of the senate; one upon
18 the recommendation of the minority leader of the assembly; and four
19 without recommendation from any other person.
20 2. Task force members shall receive no compensation for their services
21 but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred in
22 the performance of their duties, to the extent funds are appropriated
23 for such purpose. The commissioner of the division of housing and commu-
24 nity renewal, or their designee, and the executive director of the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10252-01-3
A. 6684 2
1 Adirondack park agency, or their designee, shall serve as joint chairs
2 of the task force. A majority of the members of the task force shall
3 constitute a quorum for the transaction of business or the exercise of
4 any power or function of the task force. Any vacancies on the task force
5 shall be filled in the manner provided for in the initial appointment.
6 3. The task force shall be authorized to hold public hearings and
7 meetings, and to consult with any organization, educational institution,
8 or government entity or person, to enable it to accomplish its duties.
9 To effectuate the purposes of this act, the task force may request and
10 shall receive from any department, division, board, bureau, commission
11 or other agency of the state or any state public authority such assist-
12 ance, information and data as will enable the task force to properly
13 carry out its powers and duties hereunder.
14 4. The task force shall undertake a review and assessment of afforda-
15 ble housing within the Adirondack park, including, but not limited to:
16 the past, current and projected future availability of affordable hous-
17 ing within the park; the factors causing or contributing to the lack of
18 affordable housing in the park; and proposed legislative, policy or
19 other measures that can be implemented to increase the availability of
20 affordable housing in the park.
21 5. The task force shall prepare and submit to the governor, the tempo-
22 rary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the chair of
23 the senate committee on housing, construction and community development
24 and the chair of the assembly committee on housing, on or before January
25 first, two thousand twenty-six, a report containing:
26 (a) a definition of what constitutes affordable housing within the
27 Adirondack park;
28 (b) the past, current and projected future availability of affordable
29 housing within each county, town, village, hamlet and city in the
30 Adirondack park;
31 (c) the factors causing or contributing to a lack of affordable hous-
32 ing within the Adirondack park;
33 (d) recommendations for affordable housing targets for communities in
34 the Adirondack park; and
35 (e) recommendations for legislative, policy or other measures that can
36 be implemented by state or local government to increase the availability
37 of affordable housing in the Adirondack park and the achievement of the
38 affordable housing targets in paragraph (d) of this subdivision.
39 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
40 deemed repealed December 31, 2026.
