Bill Text: NY S05748 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Creates a pilot program to encourage homeownership among persons and groups who are currently underrepresented in homeownership and/or have seen a marked decline in rates of homeownership over the last decade; and provides for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S05748 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S05748-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          5748

                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 14, 2019
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sen.  COMRIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction  and
          Community Development

        AN  ACT  to  create  a  pilot  program  to encourage homeownership among
          persons and groups who are currently underrepresented in homeownership
          and/or have seen a marked decline in rates of homeownership  over  the
          last  decade;  and  providing  for  the repeal of such provisions upon
          expiration thereof

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

     1    Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary,
     2  the  division  of  homes  and community renewal, in conjunction with the
     3  office of community renewal  and  the  affordable  housing  corporation,
     4  shall  conduct  a  pilot program to provide people in New York state who
     5  are  presently  and  who  have  been  historically  underrepresented  in
     6  homeownership  with  the resources they need, including outreach, educa-
     7  tion, and financial assistance, to achieve the dream of homeownership in
     8  a sustainable manner.
     9    § 2. Such pilot program shall be conducted in three areas  around  our
    10  state  that  have  seen declines in homeownership among underrepresented
    11  persons and groups.  The division of homes and community  renewal  shall
    12  choose  the  three  areas  in which the pilot program will be conducted,
    13  considering such factors  including,  but  not  limited  to,  population
    14  growth among underrepresented persons or groups that is not reflected in
    15  an  increase in homeownership among those same persons and groups, popu-
    16  lation changes that have resulted in  displacement  of  underrepresented
    17  persons and groups, and declines in homeownership among underrepresented
    18  persons or groups during the period since the financial crisis of 2008.
    19    § 3. Such pilot program shall make use of up to two million dollars of
    20  existing  funding  from the affordable housing corporation, section 45-b
    21  of the private housing finance law, to ensure equity in the  utilization

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11700-01-9
        S. 5748                             2

     1  of  currently  available  downpayment  assistance funding and to promote
     2  homeownership more broadly to low- and moderate-income residents of  New
     3  York  state, and shall increase the amount of the downpayment assistance
     4  to  up  to $75,000 per eligible homebuyer as is needed and deemed neces-
     5  sary without imposing an increase to the existing regulatory period.
     6    § 4. The division of homes and community renewal  shall  also  utilize
     7  the state's existing network of nonprofit housing organizations, includ-
     8  ing,  but not limited to, the Neighborhood and Rural Preservation Compa-
     9  nies, local community development  corporations,  and  other  community-
    10  based  housing  organizations,  that  provide  financial  management and
    11  housing counseling services to support low- and moderate-income homebuy-
    12  ers.
    13    § 5. The division of homes and community renewal shall issue  a  joint
    14  report  on  the status of the pilot program to the chair of the New York
    15  state senate standing committee on housing, construction  and  community
    16  development,  and  the  chair  of  the  New York state assembly standing
    17  committee on housing by December 31, 2019.
    18    § 6. Such report shall include, but not be limited to, the  status  of
    19  the  program,  the areas identified for the pilot, the nonprofit housing
    20  organizations identified as service providers, and the number of  people
    21  participating in the program.
    22    §  7. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire April 1,
    23  2020 when upon such date the provisions of  this  act  shall  be  deemed
    24  repealed.