Creates a pilot program for families in public housing whose eligibility is threatened due to income earned by a member of the family who is under the age of 21.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10485
IN SENATE
May 15, 2026
___________
Introduced by Sen. GONZALEZ -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and
Community Development
AN ACT to amend the public housing law, in relation to creating a pilot
program for families in public housing whose eligibility is threatened
due to youth employment, and providing for the repeal of such
provisions upon the expiration thereof
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 "youth
2 employment empowerment act (YEEA)".
3 § 2. The public housing law is amended by adding a new article 16 to
4 read as follows:
5 ARTICLE XVI
6 YOUTH EMPLOYMENT EMPOWERMENT ACT
7 Section 650. Definitions.
8 651. Public housing and youth employment subsidy pilot program.
9 652. Eligibility.
10 653. Funding allocation and distribution.
11 654. Payment of housing vouchers.
12 655. Subsidy amount determination.
13 656. Verification of income.
14 657. Annual reports.
15 § 650. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following
16 terms shall have the following meanings:
17 1. "Imminent loss of housing" means having received a verified peti-
18 tion or notice of eviction; having received a court order resulting from
19 an eviction action that notifies the individual or family that they must
20 leave their housing; or facing loss of housing due to a court order to
21 vacate the premises due to loss of eligible status.
22 2. "Imminent rent increase" means having received a verified notice of
23 an increase of rents due to being outside the eligible income range.
24 3. "Public housing agency" means any county, municipality, or other
25 governmental entity or public body that is authorized to administer any
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15471-02-6
S. 10485 2
1 public housing program (or an agency or instrumentality of such an enti-
2 ty), and any other public or private non-profit entity that administers
3 any other public housing program or assistance.
4 4. "Housing subsidy local administrator" means a public housing agen-
5 cy, as defined in subdivision three of this section, or Section 8 local
6 administrator designated to administer the public housing subsidy and
7 youth employment pilot program within a community, county or region, or
8 statewide, on behalf of and under contract with the public housing agen-
9 cy. In the city of New York, the housing subsidy local administrator
10 shall be the New York city department of housing preservation and devel-
11 opment, or the New York city housing authority, or both.
12 5. "Family" means a group of persons residing together. Such group
13 includes, but is not limited to, a family with or without children (a
14 child who is temporarily away from the home because of placement in
15 foster care is considered a member of the family) or any remaining
16 members of a tenant family. The commissioner shall have the discretion
17 to determine if any other group of persons qualifies as a family.
18 6. "Owner" means any private person or any entity, including a cooper-
19 ative, an agency of the federal government, or a public housing agency,
20 having the legal right to lease or sublease dwelling units.
21 7. "Dwelling unit" means a single-family dwelling, including attached
22 structures such as porches and stoops; or a single-family dwelling unit
23 in a structure that contains more than one separate residential dwelling
24 unit, and in which each such unit is used or occupied, or intended to be
25 used or occupied, in whole or in part, as the residence of one or more
26 persons.
27 8. "Income" shall mean the same as it is defined by 24 CFR § 5.609 and
28 any amendments thereto.
29 9. "Adjusted income" shall mean the same as it is defined by 24 CFR §
30 5.611 and any amendments thereto.
31 10. "Subsidy" means a payment made to an approved individual for the
32 cost of securing new accommodation or rental assistance to remain in
33 place.
34 11. "Lease" means a written agreement between an owner and a tenant
35 for the leasing of a dwelling unit to the tenant. The lease establishes
36 the conditions for occupancy of the dwelling unit by an individual or
37 family with housing assistance payments under a contract between the
38 owner and the housing access voucher local administrator.
39 12. "Youth" means an individual under the age of twenty-one.
40 § 651. Public housing and youth employment subsidy pilot program. The
41 commissioner, subject to the appropriation of funds for this purpose,
42 shall implement a four-year pilot program to provide rental assistance
43 in the form of housing subsidies for eligible families who face an immi-
44 nent loss of housing or increase in rent in accordance with the
45 provisions of this article. The housing subsidy local administrator
46 shall issue subsidies pursuant to this article beginning March first,
47 two thousand twenty-eight subject to appropriation of funds for this
48 purpose, and may contract with the division of housing and community
49 renewal to administer any aspect of this pilot program in accordance
50 with the provisions of this article. The commissioner shall designate
51 and contract with housing access subsidy local administrators in the
52 state to make subsidies available to such families beginning March
53 first, two thousand twenty-eight and to administer other aspects of the
54 pilot program in accordance with the provisions of this article.
S. 10485 3
1 § 652. Eligibility. The commissioner may issue rules or guidance for
2 determining eligibility under this program, as determined by the local
3 housing agency, provided that:
4 1. A family shall be eligible for this pilot program if they are
5 facing imminent loss of housing or are rent burdened and facing an
6 increase in rent due to an increase in income earned by a member of the
7 family who is a youth. Families who meet the standards in this section
8 shall be eligible regardless of immigration status.
9 2. An individual or family in receipt of rental assistance pursuant to
10 this pilot program shall no longer be financially eligible for such
11 assistance under this pilot program at the conclusion of such youth's
12 employment.
13 3. When an individual or family becomes financially ineligible for
14 rental assistance under this pilot program pursuant to subdivision two
15 of this section, the individual or family shall retain rental assistance
16 for a period no less than one year, subject to appropriation of funds
17 for this purpose.
18 4. Income eligibility shall be verified prior to a housing access
19 subsidy local administrator's initial determination to provide rental
20 assistance for this pilot program and upon determination of such eligi-
21 bility, a family and the employed youth shall annually certify their
22 income for the purpose of determining continued eligibility and any
23 adjustments to such rental assistance.
24 § 653. Funding allocation and distribution. Subject to appropriation,
25 funding shall be allocated by the commissioner in each county, or their
26 designee. Funding for counties located within the city of New York shall
27 be allocated directly to the New York city department of housing preser-
28 vation and development and/or the New York city housing authority.
29 § 654. Payment of housing vouchers. 1. The housing voucher shall be
30 paid directly to any owner under a contract between the owner of the
31 dwelling unit to be occupied by the voucher recipient and the appropri-
32 ate housing access voucher local administrator. The commissioner shall
33 determine the form of the housing assistance payment contract and the
34 method of payment.
35 2. A housing assistance payment contract entered into pursuant to
36 subdivision one of this section may provide for an initial payment of up
37 to five months of rent arrears that have accrued during prior occupancy
38 of a dwelling unit by a voucher recipient if such payment of arrears is
39 necessary to continue such voucher recipient's occupancy of such dwell-
40 ing unit, and thereby prevent imminent loss of housing.
41 § 655. Subsidy amount determination. The monthly subsidy amount under
42 this article for a family whose eligibility for rental assistance has
43 been denied or reduced due to a determination based on income earned by
44 a member of the family who is a youth, as set forth in section six
45 hundred fifty-two of this article, shall be either:
46 1. the monthly market value of rent for a family who has lost housing
47 eligibility; or
48 2. the difference between the prior year's rent and any increase which
49 resulted from such adverse determination.
50 § 656. Verification of income. The commissioner shall establish proce-
51 dures which are appropriate and necessary to assure that income data
52 provided to the housing access voucher local administrator and owners by
53 individuals and families applying for or receiving assistance under this
54 article is complete and accurate. A youth shall verify employment to
55 the commissioner through the submission of an approved method, to be
56 determined by the commissioner, including but not limited to paystubs.
S. 10485 4
1 § 657. Annual reports. 1. The commissioner shall, on or before Novem-
2 ber first, two thousand twenty-eight and annually thereafter until the
3 conclusion of the pilot program created pursuant to this article, submit
4 a report on the implementation of this article to the governor, the
5 temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly, the
6 chair of the senate committee on housing, the chair of the senate
7 finance committee, the chair of the assembly committee on housing, and
8 the chair of the assembly ways and means committee.
9 2. The commissioner of the New York city department of housing preser-
10 vation and development, or the chief executive officer of the New York
11 city housing authority, or both, shall, on or before November first, two
12 thousand twenty-eight and annually thereafter until the conclusion of
13 the pilot program created pursuant to this article, submit a report on
14 the implementation of this article in the city of New York to the gover-
15 nor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of the assembly,
16 the chair of the senate committee on housing, the chair of the senate
17 finance committee, the chair of the assembly committee on housing, and
18 the chair of the assembly ways and means committee.
19 3. Such reports shall include, but need not be limited to, the follow-
20 ing: (a) the amount of funding allocated for each county or the city of
21 New York for subsidies pursuant to this article, (b) the number of indi-
22 viduals or families who applied for such subsidy pursuant to this arti-
23 cle, (c) the number of individuals or families placed on waiting lists
24 for subsidies pursuant to this article, if any such waiting lists exist,
25 (d) the number of individuals or families issued subsidies pursuant to
26 this article, (e) the median income of individuals or families issued
27 subsidies pursuant to this article, (f) the median payment standard per
28 dwelling unit, including the monthly assistance payment and monthly rent
29 obligation, for subsidies pursuant to this article, and (g) the number
30 of individuals or families who had been issued subsidies pursuant to
31 this article but who became no longer financially eligible during the
32 reporting period.
33 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be
34 deemed repealed March 1, 2032.
