Bill Text: NY S00290 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the housing opportunities for people to empower excellence and equity (HOPE) trust fund to provide access to rental housing; to facilitate the construction, renovation and rehabilitation of facilities to provide additional residential opportunities; to develop new and innovative approaches to residential living and to promote creation of sustainable living environments for people with developmental disabilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO MENTAL HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES [S00290 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S00290-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 290 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE (Prefiled) January 9, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. ORTT -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health and Develop- mental Disabilities AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law and the state finance law, in relation to the housing opportunities for people to empower excellence and equity trust fund The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings. Many adults with intellectual or 2 developmental disabilities have lived at home with family their entire 3 lives, which has resulted in substantial savings for the state of New 4 York over many years. In a growing number of cases, however, these indi- 5 viduals now live with aging family caregivers who can no longer effec- 6 tively provide care due to their own age related disabilities and these 7 individuals and their families remain on waiting lists for years at a 8 time, awaiting the opportunity to access an appropriate residential 9 opportunity. The legislature therefore finds that it is incumbent upon 10 the state of New York to address the needs of these aging caregivers and 11 their loved ones by identifying a source of funding to assist in meeting 12 the residential needs of these individuals. 13 § 2. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section 41.58 14 to read as follows: 15 § 41.58 The housing opportunities for people to empower excellence and 16 equity trust fund. 17 (a) The housing opportunities for people to empower excellence and 18 equity, hereinafter referred to as the HOPE trust fund, established 19 pursuant to section ninety-nine-ff of the state finance law, shall be 20 administered and overseen in accordance with these provisions with the 21 purpose of providing access to rental housing for persons with develop- 22 mental disabilities; to facilitate the construction, renovation and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02426-01-9S. 290 2 1 rehabilitation of facilities to provide additional residential opportu- 2 nities for people with developmental disabilities; to develop new and 3 innovative approaches to residential living which bring people into the 4 community consistent with the goal of full integration of persons with 5 disabilities and to promote creation of sustainable living environments 6 through home modifications, payment assistance options and home repairs. 7 The trust fund would be administered by the office of people with devel- 8 opmental disabilities, in consultation with the department of health, to 9 provide a mechanism to identify and prioritize need, by region, and work 10 with other state agencies, local government units, and other interested 11 persons, including people with intellectual or developmental disabili- 12 ties, parents or guardians or such persons, advocates for such persons 13 and service providers in prioritizing and planning for the satisfaction 14 of the identified needs. 15 (b) The funding from the trust fund shall be used for state-operated 16 and not-for-profit operated housing and other non-medicaid funded 17 supports to insure that the identified priority needs can be met, in 18 consultation with the commissioner of health, the commissioner of the 19 office for people with developmental disabilities shall allocate the 20 funds, by region, in order to implement the HOPE trust fund plan each 21 year. Funds would be transferred from the fund to support the above 22 purposes, as may be directed by the commissioner of the office for 23 people with developmental disabilities. 24 (c) An annual plan for the use of the HOPE trust fund would be devel- 25 oped and approved by the HOPE trust fund board composed of the commis- 26 sioner of the office for people with developmental disabilities, who 27 will serve as chair, and twelve members of the public appointed by the 28 governor, of whom two shall be upon the recommendation of the speaker of 29 the assembly, two shall be upon the recommendation of the temporary 30 president of the senate, one shall be upon the recommendation of the 31 minority leader of the state assembly and one shall be upon the recom- 32 mendation of the minority leader of the state senate. The commissioners 33 of health and of housing and community renewal, the director of the 34 division of the budget and the chief executive officers of the dormitory 35 authority of the state of the New York and of the state of New York 36 mortgage agency shall serve as ex officio members of the board. Member- 37 ship of the board shall include self-advocates, parents, guardians and 38 family members of persons with developmental disabilities, advocates and 39 others with expertise in the provision of residential services. 40 (d) In developing a plan for the disbursement of funds from the HOPE 41 trust fund, the board shall: 42 (i) Determine eligibility requirements for those individuals with 43 developmental disabilities who are provided services through the fund 44 and who are defined pursuant to subdivision twenty-two of section 1.03 45 of this chapter. In establishing eligibility, the board shall consider 46 the length of time the individual has been waiting for residential 47 services, the ability of family caregivers to continue to provide care, 48 and the extent of an individual's needs. Individuals who, in accordance 49 with the residential opportunities protocol established by the office 50 for people with developmental disabilities, have been determined to be 51 either priority one (requiring emergency placement due to abusive or 52 neglectful situation, facing imminent danger to self or others or at 53 risk of homelessness, among other factors) or priority two (requiring 54 urgent or emergency prevention placement, as a result of aging or fail- 55 ing health of caregivers, risk of neglect or abuse, or the individual'sS. 290 3 1 medical or physical condition, among other factors) shall be eligible 2 for the support of the trust fund. 3 (ii) Establish audit protocols for non-profit organizations licensed 4 pursuant to this chapter to assure that any monies spent from the HOPE 5 trust fund are appropriately expended consistent with the provisions of 6 this section. 7 (iii) Establish funding levels for state-operated and not-for-profit 8 operated programs providing services under this section. However, state- 9 operated programs shall receive a minimum of fifty percent of funding 10 available in this fund. 11 (iv) Prepare an annual progress report on the status of persons wait- 12 ing for services, the number of individuals served through the HOPE 13 trust fund, the settings such persons are served in and the extent of 14 federal financial participation in the fund. 15 (e) In order to receive monies provided by the fund, an authorized 16 provider of waiver services to persons with developmental disabilities 17 must enter into a contract with the office for people with developmental 18 disabilities. Approval of such contract shall require such provider to 19 agree to terms and conditions including: 20 (i) A description of the manner in which operating expenses of the 21 project shall be met, including the usage of available federal funding, 22 as appropriate, including, but not limited, to supplemental security 23 income and supplemental nutritional assistance program benefits; 24 (ii) a description of the services and supports which shall be 25 provided to eligible persons with developmental disabilities served by 26 the fund; 27 (iii) a description of the manner in which the project will provide 28 person centered services to the eligible individual; 29 (iv) the type of facility proposed; and 30 (v) such other terms and conditions as may be required by such office. 31 (f) The board may authorize expenditures from the HOPE trust fund for 32 expenses that it deems appropriate to develop person centered residen- 33 tial services for eligible individuals with developmental disabilities. 34 Such expenses may include: 35 (i) technical assistance for general project development and opera- 36 tion; 37 (ii) necessary legal, architectural, financial and other consulting 38 services; 39 (iii) the cost of renovation, construction and rehabilitation for 40 residential projects authorized pursuant to this section; and 41 (iv) funding for rental assistance and housing subsidies along with 42 rental security assistance. 43 (g) The office for people with developmental disabilities is hereby 44 directed to authorize and fund any necessary home and community based 45 medicaid waiver services for individuals placed into projects completed 46 pursuant to this section. 47 § 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 99-ff to 48 read as follows: 49 § 99-ff. Housing opportunities for people to empower excellence and 50 equity trust fund. 1. There is hereby established in the joint custody 51 of the state comptroller and the commissioner of taxation and finance a 52 fund to be known as the "HOPE trust fund". 53 2. The fund shall consist of all monies appropriated for its purpose, 54 all monies required by this section or any other provision of law to be 55 paid into or credited to such fund, and no less than five hundred 56 million dollars collected by the state in settlements from bankingS. 290 4 1 institutions or other financial services organizations. Nothing 2 contained herein shall prevent the department of health or the office 3 for people with developmental disabilities from receiving grants, gifts 4 or bequests for the purposes of the fund as defined in this section and 5 in section 41.58 of the mental hygiene law and depositing them into the 6 fund according to law. 7 3. Monies of the fund, when allocated, shall be available for adminis- 8 trative costs of the HOPE trust fund board established pursuant to 9 section 41.58 of the mental hygiene law and for funding the costs of 10 providing housing and residential supports to persons with developmental 11 disabilities in accordance with such section that are not otherwise 12 reimbursed by the medical assistance or other programs, as administered 13 and authorized by such board. 14 4. Monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant of 15 the state comptroller on vouchers approved and certified by the commis- 16 sioner of the office for people with developmental disabilities. 17 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
