Bill Text: NY S05106 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires SUNY and CUNY schools with at least twenty-five percent of its undergraduate students living on campus to establish substance use recovery housing programs which shall include on-site counseling, mentoring, and peer support.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-19 - REFERRED TO HIGHER EDUCATION [S05106 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S05106-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5106 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE February 19, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. HARCKHAM, FERNANDEZ -- read twice and ordered print- ed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Higher Educa- tion AN ACT to amend the education law and the mental hygiene law, in relation to requiring certain SUNY and CUNY schools to establish substance use recovery housing programs The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 355 of the education law is amended by adding a new 2 subdivision 22 to read as follows: 3 22. The state university trustees shall adopt rules requiring that 4 each institution of the state university of New York in which at least 5 twenty-five percent of the undergraduate students live in on-campus 6 housing establish a substance use recovery housing program to provide a 7 supportive substance-free on-campus housing environment that recognizes 8 the unique risks and challenges that recovering students face, and that 9 provides support programs to recovering students who reside in the 10 recovery housing to assist their efforts to remain substance-free. Such 11 program shall include, at a minimum, on-site counseling, mentoring, and 12 peer support. An institution may designate a floor, wing, or other 13 designated area within an on-campus housing building for such substance 14 use recovery housing program, and shall not be required to designate an 15 entire dormitory building for the program. The institution shall apply 16 for any federal, state, corporate, or other grant funding that may be 17 available to implement such substance use recovery housing program. 18 Each institution shall submit a plan for such substance use recovery 19 housing program to the office of higher education to be reviewed and 20 approved by the office of higher education, the office of addiction 21 services and supports, and the office of mental health. Such plan shall 22 be submitted within one year of the effective date of this subdivision. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD09764-01-5S. 5106 2 1 Each institution shall implement such substance use recovery housing 2 program within four years after such plan is approved. 3 § 2. Section 6206 of the education law is amended by adding a new 4 subdivision 24 to read as follows: 5 24. The board of trustees shall adopt rules requiring that each insti- 6 tution of the city university of New York in which at least twenty-five 7 percent of the undergraduate students live in on-campus housing estab- 8 lish a substance use recovery housing program to provide a supportive 9 substance-free on-campus housing environment that recognizes the unique 10 risks and challenges that recovering students face, and that provides 11 support programs to recovering students who reside in the recovery hous- 12 ing to assist their efforts to remain substance-free. Such program 13 shall include, at a minimum, on-site counseling, mentoring, and peer 14 support. An institution may designate a floor, wing, or other designated 15 area within an on-campus housing building for such substance use recov- 16 ery housing program, and shall not be required to designate an entire 17 dormitory building for the program. The institution shall apply for any 18 federal, state, corporate, or other grant funding that may be available 19 to implement such substance use recovery housing program. Each institu- 20 tion shall submit a plan for such substance use recovery housing program 21 to the office of higher education to be reviewed and approved by the 22 office of higher education, the office of addiction services and 23 supports, and the office of mental health. Such plan shall be submitted 24 within one year of the effective date of this subdivision. Each insti- 25 tution shall implement such substance use recovery housing program with- 26 in four years after such plan is approved. 27 § 3. Section 7.07 of the mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new 28 subdivision (i) to read as follows: 29 (i) The office shall, in conjunction with the office of higher educa- 30 tion and the office of addiction services and supports, review plans for 31 the establishment of a substance use recovery housing program submitted 32 by each institution of the state university of New York and the city 33 university of New York and establish procedures for the approval and 34 denial of such plans. 35 § 4. Section 19.07 of the mental hygiene law is amended by adding a 36 new subdivision (o) to read as follows: 37 (o) The office shall, in conjunction with the office of higher educa- 38 tion and the office of mental health, review plans for the establishment 39 of a substance use recovery housing program submitted by each institu- 40 tion of the state university of New York and the city university of New 41 York and establish procedures for the approval and denial of such plans. 42 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.
