BILL NUMBER: S733
SPONSOR: MAY
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the private housing finance law and the state finance
law, in relation to establishing a housing project revolving loan
program and housing project revolving loan fund
 
PURPOSE:
To create a revolving loan program for residential housing construction
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 establishes the housing project revolving loan program for
mixed-income housing developments
Section 2 establishes the housing project revolving loan fund Section 3
establishes the effective date of the bill
 
JUSTIFICATION:
The great scale of New York State's housing crisis has been extremely
well documented and discussed. Tenants and prospective homeowners facing
huge and rising costs, low availability, and poor conditions virtually
everywhere in the state. Financing for affordable housing in the country
overall remains at far too low a level to reach the needs of New York-
ers, with the existing programs that are in existence requiring lengthy
periods of time and vast resources to be able to be successfully
completed. Most of the state outside of New York City has very few scal-
able financing options for mixed-income development.
The recent high-interest rate environment has been a major driver of the
cost it takes to complete a residential development, and makes building
any units affordably very difficult. One key tool the state could use to
help build more housing, and more affordable units, is a revolving loan
fund.
Revolving funds work by issuing loans at much cheaper rates than typical
market rate loans for mixed-income buildings. Once the project is
completed, project owners are then able to obtain permanent financing at
a cheaper rate, due to a decrease in risk in construction and leasing.
The owners then pay the original loan back to the revolving loan fund,
ready to be used again. We believe this is a prudent use of public
dollars to create a virtuous cycle of investment well into the future.
By seeding a revolving loan fund to be used for mixed-income housing at
$1.5 billion, the state could unlock new housing production, helping
grow the economy and providing great relief for residents seeking more
affordable housing options.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024: S9958 (May)
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Subject to appropriation
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately