Bill Text: NY S07009 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: Prohibits hotels and homeless shelters from displacing vulnerable persons in favor of non-United States citizens or non-lawful permanent residents of the United States; establishes fines for violations of such prohibitions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 6-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO SOCIAL SERVICES [S07009 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07009-Introduced.html

---

                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7009

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      May 16, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  Sens.  ROLISON,  WEBER,  ORTT  -- 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 prohibiting
          hotels and homeless shelters from  displacing  vulnerable  persons  in
          favor  of non-United States citizens or non-lawful permanent residents
          of the United States

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

     1    Section  1. The social services law is amended by adding a new section
     2  44-a to read as follows:
     3    § 44-a. Displacement of vulnerable persons. 1. Definitions. As used in
     4  this section:
     5    (a) "Hotel" shall mean a building or portion of a  building  which  is
     6  regularly used and kept open as such for the lodging of guests and shall
     7  include  an apartment hotel, a motel, boarding house or club, whether or
     8  not meals are served.
     9    (b) "Homeless shelter" shall mean  a  specific  facility  operated  or
    10  funded  by a not-for-profit corporation, charitable organization, wholly
    11  owned subsidiary of a not-for-profit corporation or of   a    charitable
    12  organization, public corporation or municipality for the availability of
    13  housing  for  homeless  persons,  which  may include  other  non-housing
    14  services including but not limited to  dining,  recreational,  sanitary,
    15  social, medical and mental  health  services.
    16    (c) "Vulnerable person" shall mean a United States citizen or a lawful
    17  permanent  resident  of  the  United  States  that is one or more of the
    18  following:
    19    (i) a veteran who served on active duty in the uniformed  services  of
    20  the United States, or in the army national guard, air national guard, or
    21  service  as a commissioned officer in the public health service, commis-
    22  sioned officer of the national oceanic and atmospheric administration or

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD11447-01-3
        S. 7009                             2

     1  environmental sciences services administration, cadet at a United States
     2  armed forces service academy,  and  who  has  been  released  from  such
     3  service under other than dishonorable conditions;
     4    (ii)  a  person under the age of eighteen years old or over the age of
     5  sixty-five years old;
     6    (iii) a person with a physical or mental disability;
     7    (iv) a victim of domestic violence;
     8    (v) a pregnant woman; or
     9    (vi) a parent or guardian with a minor child and whose income of  such
    10  parent or guardian is below the poverty level.
    11    2. No hotel or homeless shelter shall displace a vulnerable person who
    12  resides  in  such  hotel or homeless shelter as his or her primary resi-
    13  dence, whether such residence is permanent or temporary, for the purpose
    14  of housing a non-United States citizen or non-lawful permanent  resident
    15  of the United States.
    16    3.  Nothing  in  this section shall prohibit a hotel from displacing a
    17  vulnerable person for failure to pay a rate of charges  for  lodging  or
    18  other services provided by the hotel.
    19    4.  No  hotel  shall  increase  the  rate of charges for lodging for a
    20  vulnerable person due to the potential or promise of a  higher  rate  of
    21  charges  to  lodge  a  non-United States citizen or non-lawful permanent
    22  resident of the United States.
    23    5. (a) A hotel or homeless shelter that violates  subdivision  two  of
    24  this section may be fined up to one thousand dollars per violation.
    25    (b)  A  hotel  that  violates  subdivision four of this section may be
    26  fined up to five hundred dollars per day the hotel is in violation.
    27    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.