Bill Text: NY S01458 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Removes the requirement that rent arrears be repaid; forgives any outstanding repayment agreements for rent arrears.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-10 - REFERRED TO SOCIAL SERVICES [S01458 Detail]

Download: New_York-2025-S01458-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          1458

                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 10, 2025
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. KAVANAGH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Social Services

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in  relation  to  removing  the
          requirement that rent arrears be repaid

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

     1    Section 1. Section 131-w of the social services law, as added by chap-
     2  ter 41 of the laws of 1992, is amended to read as follows:
     3    § 131-w. Limitations in the payment of rent arrears. [Districts] Local
     4  social services districts shall  not  provide  assistance  to  pay  rent
     5  arrears, property taxes or mortgage arrears for persons not eligible for
     6  home  relief,  aid  to dependent children, emergency assistance to needy
     7  families with children or emergency assistance for aged, blind and disa-
     8  bled persons, except to persons who  are  without  income  or  resources
     9  immediately  available to meet the emergency need, whose gross household
    10  income does not exceed one hundred twenty-five percent  of  the  federal
    11  income  official poverty line [and who sign a repayment agreement agree-
    12  ing to repay the assistance in a period not  to  exceed  twelve  months.
    13  The districts shall enforce the repayment agreements by any legal method
    14  available  to  a  creditor, in addition to any rights it has pursuant to
    15  this chapter]. Local social  services  districts  shall  not  require  a
    16  recipient  to repay assistance provided to pay rent arrears. The depart-
    17  ment shall promulgate regulations to implement this section which shall,
    18  among  other  things, [establish standards for the contents of repayment
    19  agreements  and]  establish  standards  to  ensure  that  assistance  is
    20  provided only in emergency circumstances.
    21    §  2.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed in
    22  effect on and after March 13, 2020 and shall  apply  to  any  assistance
    23  provided to pay rent arrears on and after such date.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04179-01-5