Prohibits homeless shelters from denying shelter to a person because the person is considered to have other housing available unless the department of social services determines that such other housing is actually available, would not cause overcrowding, or put any person at unreasonable health or safety risk.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
9973
IN ASSEMBLY
March 2, 2018
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DE LA ROSA -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Social Services
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to homeless persons
seeking shelter
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision (k) of section 17 of the social services law,
2 as relettered by of chapter 424 of the laws of 2017, is relettered
3 subdivision (l).
4 § 2. Section 17 of the social services law is amended by adding a new
5 subdivision (k) to read as follows:
6 (k) ensure the following: (i) that no social services district or
7 established or temporary operator of an emergency shelter denies
8 services to a person seeking shelter on the grounds that the person
9 seeking shelter has other housing available unless the property owner or
10 tenant, as defined in section two hundred thirty-five-f of the real
11 property law, makes an affirmative declaration that the person seeking
12 shelter is welcome to stay with such property owner or tenant; (ii) that
13 such occupancy will not result in a situation where any person occupying
14 the home has fewer than eighty square feet of livable area; and (iii)
15 that such occupancy would not put any person staying in the home at an
16 unreasonable health or safety risk.
17 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
18 effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule
19 or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effec-
20 tive date are authorized and directed to be made and completed on or
21 before such effective date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11243-02-8
