Bill Text: NY S05141 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Establishes the affordable senior housing and services program to be administered by the housing trust fund corporation; such program shall provide payments, loans and grants for the reasonable and necessary expenses of creating, preserving or improving affordable senior housing which provides healthy aging services to residents.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S05141 Detail]
Download: New_York-2017-S05141-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5141--B Cal. No. 418 2017-2018 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 9, 2017 ___________ Introduced by Sens. LITTLE, HAMILTON, SERINO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first and second report, ordered to a third reading, passed by Senate and delivered to the Assembly, recalled, vote reconsidered, restored to third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading -- again amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading AN ACT to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to estab- lishing the affordable senior housing and services program The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The private housing finance law is amended by adding a new 2 article 28 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE XXVIII 4 AFFORDABLE SENIOR HOUSING 5 AND SERVICES 6 Section 1240. Statement of legislative findings and purpose. 7 1241. Definitions. 8 1242. Affordable senior housing and services program. 9 § 1240. Statement of legislative findings and purpose. The legislature 10 hereby finds and declares that there exists in the state a serious shor- 11 tage of rental housing for older persons who choose to live independent- 12 ly, and who may benefit from modest basic services in order to remain 13 living independently. Providing capital funding to facilitate the 14 construction and rehabilitation of affordable rental apartments for 15 older persons over the age of sixty, and providing service coordination 16 funds to not-for-profit organizations, will allow thousands of older New EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10424-08-7S. 5141--B 2 1 Yorkers to "age-in-place" comfortably in their community, reducing the 2 likelihood of residing in an institutional setting. 3 § 1241. Definitions. As used in this article: 4 1. "Corporation" shall mean the housing trust fund corporation estab- 5 lished in section forty-five-a of this chapter. 6 2. "Eligible applicant" shall mean a person of low income, a housing 7 development fund company incorporated pursuant to article eleven of this 8 chapter, a not-for-profit corporation or charitable organization which 9 has as one of its primary purposes the improvement of housing for 10 persons of low income, a wholly-owned subsidiary of such a corporation 11 or organization, a partnership at least fifty percent of the controlling 12 interest of which is held by such a corporation or organization and 13 which has agreed to limit profits or rate of return of investors in 14 accordance with a formula established or approved by the corporation or 15 a private developer which has agreed to limit profits or rate of return 16 of investors in accordance with a formula established or approved by the 17 corporation, a city, town, village or county, provided, however, that 18 the county is only acting as an administrator of a program under which 19 projects are rehabilitated or constructed or nonresidential properties 20 are converted by other eligible applicants, or a municipal housing 21 authority created pursuant to the public housing law, provided, however, 22 that any real property of such housing authority to be rehabilitated, 23 constructed or converted under this article shall not have been financed 24 pursuant to the provisions of the public housing law and shall not have 25 been owned by such authority prior to July first, nineteen hundred 26 eighty-six, and provided, further, however, that persons of low income 27 shall not be direct recipients of payments, grants or loans from the 28 corporation under this article but may receive such funds from another 29 eligible applicant. 30 3. "Affordable senior housing property" shall mean an apartment build- 31 ing or complex occupied by individuals over sixty years of age, who live 32 independently and at least eighty percent of whom have a total household 33 income that does not exceed eighty percent of the area median income, 34 and which apartment building or complex is not otherwise required to be 35 licensed as an adult care facility pursuant to article seven of the 36 social services law or an assisted living residence pursuant to article 37 forty-six-B of the public health law. 38 4. "Healthy aging services" shall mean a limited array of optional 39 services offered to residents of an affordable independent senior hous- 40 ing property on a voluntary participation basis that help promote heal- 41 thy aging, which may include: establishing and maintaining networking 42 relationships with community-based services and organizations; providing 43 residents with information and referral lists for community services; 44 arranging for educational and socialization programs for residents; 45 helping residents arrange for housekeeping, shopping, transportation, 46 meal delivery services, cooking and/or aging services technology; estab- 47 lishing resident safety programs; helping residents to apply for govern- 48 ment benefits; advocating for residents; offering opportunities for 49 exercise; educating residents about healthy diet; and other services 50 designed to address the needs of older adults residing in independent 51 senior housing. In no instance shall an independent senior housing prop- 52 erty be considered or purport to provide assisted living unless it is a 53 facility licensed pursuant to section forty-six hundred fifty-six of the 54 public health law. 55 § 1242. Affordable senior housing and services program. 1. Establish- 56 ment. Within amounts appropriated or otherwise available therefor, theS. 5141--B 3 1 corporation shall develop and administer an affordable senior housing 2 and services program which shall provide assistance in the form of 3 payments, grants and loans for reasonable and necessary expenses, to an 4 eligible applicant for the creation, preservation or improvement of 5 affordable senior housing properties, provided that such housing also 6 provides access to healthy aging services on a voluntary basis for all 7 residents of the affordable senior housing property. 8 2. Program criteria. The corporation shall develop procedures, crite- 9 ria and requirements related to the application and award of projects 10 pursuant to this section which shall include: eligibility, market 11 demand, feasibility and funding criteria; the funding determination 12 process; supervision and evaluation of contracting applicants; report- 13 ing, budgeting and recordkeeping requirements; provisions for modifica- 14 tion and termination of contracts; and such other matters not inconsist- 15 ent with the purposes and provisions of this article as the corporation 16 shall deem necessary or appropriate. 17 3. Fund allocation. Sixty percent of the total funds awarded pursuant 18 to this article in any fiscal year shall be allocated to projects 19 located in urban areas of the state, as such term is defined in subdivi- 20 sion four of section twelve hundred thirty-one of this chapter. Forty 21 percent of the total funds awarded pursuant to this article in any 22 fiscal year shall be allocated to projects located in rural areas of the 23 state, as such term is defined in subdivision three of section twelve 24 hundred thirty-one of this chapter. 25 4. Proof of available services. Applicants shall demonstrate proof 26 that healthy aging services shall be made available to all residents of 27 the property within thirty days of initial occupancy. There shall be no 28 requirement that residents take part in such services. The property 29 owner or his or her agent shall be responsible for ensuring that such 30 services are available and that residents are made aware of the avail- 31 ability of such services. If the owner of the property or his or her 32 agent also provides services such as home care, the owner or his or her 33 agent shall not require that any resident of the property use services 34 provided and shall proactively provide information to residents about 35 the availability of other companies or organizations in the community 36 that provide the same or similar services. 37 5. Services funding through the office for the aging. A portion of 38 the amount appropriated for the affordable senior housing and services 39 program shall be sub-allocated or transferred to the office for the 40 aging which shall provide grants on a competitive basis for not-for-pro- 41 fit organizations to provide healthy aging services. Such office shall 42 develop regulations that will ensure that funds are provided to organ- 43 izations that develop and operate affordable senior housing properties, 44 as defined in this article. The office for the aging shall provide 45 grants to organizations that have demonstrated experience working with 46 persons eligible for the program for at least three years. 47 6. Annual report. The corporation shall annually, on or before Decem- 48 ber thirty-first, submit a report to the legislature on the implementa- 49 tion of this article. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, 50 for each award made to a grantee under this article: a description of 51 such award; contract amount and cumulative total; the specific activ- 52 ities in rural and urban areas performed by such grantee; and such other 53 information as the corporation deems pertinent. 54 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
