Bill Text: NY A07994 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Specifies the persons authorized to visit facilities operated by the department of social services or a social services district and homeless projects; amends the definition of homeless project.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-03-07 - print number 7994a [A07994 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A07994-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                         7994--A

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    September 1, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. FORREST, SHIMSKY -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Social Services -- recommitted to the Committee on Social
          Services  in  accordance  with  Assembly  Rule  3, sec. 2 -- committee
          discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
          to said committee

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to persons  author-
          ized to visit facilities operated by the department of social services
          or a social services district and homeless projects

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 42 of the social services law is amended by  adding
     2  a new subdivision 6 to read as follows:
     3    6.  "Emergency congregate housing" shall mean any location operated by
     4  a state agency, city agency, or local municipality or a  provider  under
     5  contract or similar agreement with a state agency, city agency, or local
     6  municipality  where  individuals and families reside for more than nine-
     7  ty-six continuous hours and where such individuals and families sleep in
     8  a congregate setting with shared facilities, including but  not  limited
     9  to   sleeping  quarters and bathrooms; provided, however, that emergency
    10  congregate housing shall  not  include  any  location  operated  by  the
    11  department  or  a provider under contract or  similar agreement with the
    12  department.
    13    § 2. Subdivision 1 of section  42  of  the  social  services  law,  as
    14  amended  by    chapter  458  of  the laws of 1986, is amended to read as
    15  follows:
    16    1. "Homeless project" shall mean emergency  congregate  housing  or  a
    17  specific facility, including lands, buildings and improvements acquired,
    18  constructed, renovated or rehabilitated and operated by a not-for-profit
    19  corporation,  charitable organization, wholly owned subsidiary of a not-
    20  for-profit corporation or of a charitable  organization,  public  corpo-
    21  ration  or  a  municipality  to increase the availability of housing for

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13105-02-4
        A. 7994--A                          2

     1  homeless persons, which may include other non-housing services  such  as
     2  but  not  limited to dining, recreational, sanitary, social, medical and
     3  mental health services as may be deemed by the commissioner to be essen-
     4  tial to such a project.
     5    §  3.  The social services law is amended by adding a new section 40-a
     6  to read as follows:
     7    § 40-a. Persons authorized to visit  facilities.  Notwithstanding  any
     8  rule, regulation, or law to the contrary, the following persons shall be
     9  authorized  to  visit at pleasure all facilities operated by the depart-
    10  ment or a social services district, including adult care  facilities  as
    11  defined  in  subdivision  twenty-one  of section two of this chapter and
    12  homeless projects as defined in subdivision one of section forty-two  of
    13  this  chapter:  The  governor  and  lieutenant-governor, comptroller and
    14  attorney-general, members of  the  legislature  and  their  accompanying
    15  staff  as  requested  by  the  member  of  the legislature if the member
    16  requests to be so accompanied, members of the elected  legislative  body
    17  of  the  county  in which the facility is located and their accompanying
    18  staff as requested by the member of such legislative body if the  member
    19  requests  to  be  so accompanied, in city council and their accompanying
    20  staff as requested by the city council  member  if  the  council  member
    21  requests  to be so accompanied, judges of the court of appeals, justices
    22  of the supreme court and county judges,  district  attorneys  and  every
    23  clergyman  or  minister, as such terms are defined in section two of the
    24  religious corporations law, having charge of a congregation in the coun-
    25  ty in which such facility is located.
    26    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.