Establishes rental vouchers for working families; provides definitions; allows for families to make an application for rental vouchers at the appropriate social services district or any facilitated enrollment site authorized by the office of temporary and disability assistance; sets forth eligibility requirements.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
1851
2011-2012 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 12, 2011
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WRIGHT, GLICK, J. RIVERA, O'DONNELL, JACOBS,
KELLNER, JEFFRIES, JAFFEE, KAVANAGH -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.
BOYLAND, BRENNAN, CAHILL, CLARK, COLTON, HOOPER, LAVINE, V. LOPEZ,
McENENY, MILLMAN, PERRY, PHEFFER, ROBINSON, ROSENTHAL, SCARBOROUGH,
WEISENBERG -- read once and referred to the Committee on Social
Services
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to establishing
rental vouchers for working families
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Article 5 of the social services law is amended by adding
2 a new title 8-A to read as follows:
3 TITLE 8-A
4 RENTAL VOUCHERS FOR WORKING FAMILIES
5 Section 310. Definitions.
6 311. Application.
7 312. Eligibility.
8 313. Rental payments.
9 314. Maintenance of effort.
10 § 310. Definitions. For the purposes of this title:
11 1. The term "family" shall mean a family that includes an individual
12 who has not attained eighteen years of age, or has not attained nineteen
13 years of age and is a full-time student in a secondary school or in the
14 equivalent level of vocational or technical training.
15 2. The term "income" shall mean income from all sources of each member
16 of the household.
17 3. The term "adjusted income" shall mean the amount of income of the
18 members of the family residing in a dwelling unit, after any of the
19 following required income exclusions from annual income:
20 (a) four hundred dollars for any family containing an elderly or disa-
21 bled family member;
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05687-01-1
A. 1851 2
1 (b) the amount by which three percent of the annual family income is
2 exceeded by the sum of unreimbursed medical expenses for any elderly or
3 disabled family member or the amount by which three percent of the annu-
4 al family income is exceeded by the sum of unreimbursed reasonable
5 attendant care and auxiliary apparatus expenses for each disabled member
6 of the family to the extent necessary to enable any member of such fami-
7 ly (including such disabled family member) to be employed;
8 (c) any reasonable child care expense incurred necessary to enable a
9 family member to be employed or to further his or her education;
10 (d) four hundred eighty dollars for each member of the family residing
11 in the household who is less than eighteen years of age or is attending
12 high school or vocational training on a full-time basis, or who is eigh-
13 teen years of age or older and is a person with a disability;
14 (e) any payment made by a member of the family for the support and
15 maintenance of any child who does not reside in the household, except
16 that the amount excluded under this paragraph may not exceed four
17 hundred eighty dollars for each child for whom such payment is made;
18 (f) any payments made by a member of the family for the support and
19 maintenance of any spouse or former spouse who does not reside in the
20 household, except that the amount excluded under this paragraph shall
21 not exceed the lesser of either the amount that such family member has a
22 legal obligation to pay or five hundred fifty dollars for each individ-
23 ual for whom such payment is made; and
24 (g) the amount of any earned income of a member of the family residing
25 in the household who is not eighteen years of age or older and who is
26 not the head of the household or the spouse of the head of the house-
27 hold.
28 § 311. Application. Application for rental vouchers for working fami-
29 lies may be made at the appropriate social services district or any
30 facilitated enrollment site authorized by the office of temporary and
31 disability assistance to take such applications.
32 § 312. Eligibility. 1. To the extent that funds are available, fami-
33 lies shall be eligible for rental vouchers for working families if:
34 (a) the family income does not exceed two hundred percent of the
35 federal poverty level;
36 (b) the family would meet the mandatory work requirements established
37 in section three hundred thirty-five-b of this article;
38 (c) the family is not in receipt of temporary assistance;
39 (d) the rental obligation for the family is not more than ninety
40 percent of the fair market rent for the local social services district
41 as established by the United States Office of Housing and Urban Develop-
42 ment; and
43 (e) the rental unit for the family is habitable, safe and does not
44 have a record of hazardous conditions.
45 2. Should the employment status of a household member change such that
46 the family no longer meets the mandatory work requirements established
47 in section three hundred thirty-five-b of this article, the household
48 shall be allowed to continue to receive a rental voucher for up to three
49 months while the family attempts to come into compliance with such
50 mandatory work requirements. If, after three months, the family remains
51 out of compliance with such mandatory work requirements, the rental
52 voucher shall no longer be provided to such family and the family shall
53 be referred to alternative assistance programs to meet their basic
54 needs. Provided, however, that the loss of a rental voucher for failure
55 to comply with such mandatory work requirements shall not preclude the
A. 1851 3
1 family's eligibility for a rental voucher should they meet the mandatory
2 work requirements in the future.
3 3. Families in receipt of a rental voucher shall be required to
4 provide the local social services district with notice of changes in
5 income or employment status within one month of such change. Families
6 shall be recertified for the rental voucher program at least every six
7 months. Such recertification shall not require a face-to-face inter-
8 view.
9 § 313. Rental payments. Families shall pay as rent for a dwelling unit
10 assisted with a rental voucher the highest of the following amounts:
11 1. thirty percent of the family's monthly adjusted income; or
12 2. ten percent of the family's monthly income.
13 § 314. Maintenance of effort. To the extent allowable under federal
14 law, state funding for rental vouchers for working families shall be
15 utilized to meet the federally mandated maintenance of effort for the
16 temporary assistance for needy families block grant.
17 § 2. This act shall take effect April 1, 2012.
