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
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4184
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 1, 2019
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Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI, GLICK, RIVERA, O'DONNELL, JAFFEE --
Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. CAHILL, COLTON, PERRY, L. ROSENTHAL --
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;
22 (b) the amount by which three percent of the annual family income is
23 exceeded by the sum of unreimbursed medical expenses for any elderly or
24 disabled family member or the amount by which three percent of the annu-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01061-01-9
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1 al family income is exceeded by the sum of unreimbursed reasonable
2 attendant care and auxiliary apparatus expenses for each disabled member
3 of the family to the extent necessary to enable any member of such fami-
4 ly (including such disabled family member) to be employed;
5 (c) any reasonable child care expense incurred necessary to enable a
6 family member to be employed or to further his or her education;
7 (d) four hundred eighty dollars for each member of the family residing
8 in the household who is less than eighteen years of age or is attending
9 high school or vocational training on a full-time basis, or who is eigh-
10 teen years of age or older and is a person with a disability;
11 (e) any payment made by a member of the family for the support and
12 maintenance of any child who does not reside in the household, except
13 that the amount excluded under this paragraph may not exceed four
14 hundred eighty dollars for each child for whom such payment is made;
15 (f) any payments made by a member of the family for the support and
16 maintenance of any spouse or former spouse who does not reside in the
17 household, except that the amount excluded under this paragraph shall
18 not exceed the lesser of either the amount that such family member has a
19 legal obligation to pay or five hundred fifty dollars for each individ-
20 ual for whom such payment is made; and
21 (g) the amount of any earned income of a member of the family residing
22 in the household who is not eighteen years of age or older and who is
23 not the head of the household or the spouse of the head of the house-
24 hold.
25 § 311. Application. Application for rental vouchers for working fami-
26 lies may be made at the appropriate social services district or any
27 facilitated enrollment site authorized by the office of temporary and
28 disability assistance to take such applications.
29 § 312. Eligibility. 1. To the extent that funds are available, fami-
30 lies shall be eligible for rental vouchers for working families if:
31 (a) the family income does not exceed two hundred percent of the
32 federal poverty level;
33 (b) the family would meet the mandatory work requirements established
34 in section three hundred thirty-five-b of this article;
35 (c) the family is not in receipt of temporary assistance;
36 (d) the rental obligation for the family is not more than ninety
37 percent of the fair market rent for the local social services district
38 as established by the United States Office of Housing and Urban Develop-
39 ment; and
40 (e) the rental unit for the family is habitable, safe and does not
41 have a record of hazardous conditions.
42 2. Should the employment status of a household member change such that
43 the family no longer meets the mandatory work requirements established
44 in section three hundred thirty-five-b of this article, the household
45 shall be allowed to continue to receive a rental voucher for up to three
46 months while the family attempts to come into compliance with such
47 mandatory work requirements. If, after three months, the family remains
48 out of compliance with such mandatory work requirements, the rental
49 voucher shall no longer be provided to such family and the family shall
50 be referred to alternative assistance programs to meet their basic
51 needs. Provided, however, that the loss of a rental voucher for failure
52 to comply with such mandatory work requirements shall not preclude the
53 family's eligibility for a rental voucher should they meet the mandatory
54 work requirements in the future.
55 3. Families in receipt of a rental voucher shall be required to
56 provide the local social services district with notice of changes in
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1 income or employment status within one month of such change. Families
2 shall be recertified for the rental voucher program at least every six
3 months. Such recertification shall not require a face-to-face inter-
4 view.
5 § 313. Rental payments. Families shall pay as rent for a dwelling unit
6 assisted with a rental voucher the highest of the following amounts:
7 1. thirty percent of the family's monthly adjusted income; or
8 2. ten percent of the family's monthly income.
9 § 314. Maintenance of effort. To the extent allowable under federal
10 law, state funding for rental vouchers for working families shall be
11 utilized to meet the federally mandated maintenance of effort for the
12 temporary assistance for needy families block grant.
13 § 2. This act shall take effect April 1, 2020.
