BILL NUMBER: S3787
SPONSOR: MYRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to eliminating rent
for homeless shelters; and to repeal certain provisions of such law
relating thereto
 
PURPOSE:
This bill would prevent shelter providers; owners, managers, and employ-
ees from taking any form of payment, including rent or a percentage of
an individual's workforce stipend, from those residing in a homeless
shelter in New York State.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 repeals Section 36-c of the social services law.
Section 2 amends Section 131 of the social services law by adding a new
subdivision 21 which states that any provider of temporary housing
assistance found to be collecting income, room and board, or any other
type of contribution will be required to return funds collected to the
individual and may be subjected to a civil penalty. Providers with
multiple violations may lose public funding for a period of time.
Section 3 amends Section 131-a of the Social Services Law by adding a
new subdivision 16 which states a homeless individual or family applying
for or receiving temporary assistance shall not be required to pay room
and board or contribute any earned or unearned income, available bene-
fits, or resources to eliminate the need for shelter or as a condition
to receive temporary housing assistance to any local or state govern-
ment, agency, or provider.
Section 4 establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Temporary housing assistance is provided to eligible homeless individ-
uals and families to meet an immediate need for shelter. Currently,
homeless individuals and families are being forced to pay a percentage
of their limited income to stay in a homeless shelter. These individ-
uals and families are in crisis. Requiring them to pay rent in a shelter
is cruel and counter-productive: making it financially more difficult
for the homeless to move out of the shelter, while creating an incentive
to shelter operators for longer stays in the shelter.
Shelter providers, who pay their residents a stipend for work performed,
and then take a percentage of the stipend, are essentially doing the
same thing, taking money out of the hands of traumatized people in
desperate circumstances. This bill prohibits both methods of charging
what is essentially rent as a condition of staying in a homeless shel-
ter.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
S3414A of 2023-24: Reported and Committed to Finance.
S317 of 2021-22: Referred to Social Services.
S6177-A of 2019-20: Referred to Social Services.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall have
become a law.

Statutes affected:
S3787: 36-c social services law, 131 social services law, 131-a social services law