Senate Bill S5867

                                BILL NUMBER:S5867

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the public housing law, in relation to veterans' eligibility
for public housing

PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The legislation amends the eligibility provisions of the public
housing law to expand eligibility to veterans, and their surviving
spouses, who served or are serving in United States Armed Forces from
September 14, 2001 to December 31, 2014. The legislation also
requires public housing authorities to grant preference to eligible
veterans or families of veterans who have a military service related
disability.

SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill amends subparagraph 1 of paragraph b of
subdivision 1 of section 156 of the public housing law, as amended by
chapter 179 of the laws of 2006, by expanding the eligibility
requirements to veterans who served in the armed forces of the United
States for a period of at least six months between the fourteenth day
of September 2011 and the thirty-first day of December 2014.

Section 2 of the bill amends Section 156 of the public housing law by
adding a new subdivision 8 that will require public housing
              

authorities to grant a preference in the selection of tenants to
veterans or families of veterans who have a military service
connected disability provided that such veterans or families of
veterans otherwise qualify for occupancy in such an authority's
projects and provided that the authority has complied with the
provisions of section 960.206 of title 24 of the code of federal
regulations relating to such preferences.

Section 3 provides for this act to take effect on the 120 day after it
becomes law.

JUSTIFICATION:
Under current public housing law, veterans who served during the
period covered by the Viet Nam War (1961-1975) are afforded specific
eligibility into public housing projects at income levels slightly
higher than the income levels set for the general public. This
legislation will extend those eligibility provisions to veterans who
have served or are serving in the armed forces from September 14,
2001 through December 31, 2014 - reflecting the period from the Joint
Resolution authorizing the use of force against those responsible for
the September 11th terrorist attacks through December 31, 2014 which
will hopefully coincide with the time that all United States armed
forces are no longer engaged in active combat duties.

This bill will also mandate that an admission preference be given to
veterans or families of veterans who have a military service
connected disability provided they are otherwise eligible for
admission as tenants to a public housing project. Currently, public
housing authorities are authorized under federal law to implement
various admission preferences including an admission preference for


veterans and veterans' families. However, many public housing
authorities, including the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA),
have chosen not include such preferences in their agency plans that
must be submitted to the federal Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD) for approval.{1}

Given the incredible sacrifice, which is made by our military
personnel serving during a time of war, and which was made during
prior military conflicts, it seems more than appropriate that we
mandate and extend these specific eligibility provisions and
preferences to veterans and their families.

Men and women of the United States military have made, and continue to
willingly make, incredible personal sacrifices on behalf of this
country in terms of their own personal safety, the emotional and
financial well being of their families and their long-term futures.
During the present conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, many active
military personnel arc currently serving their fourth, fifth and even
sixth tour of duty within the past several years. They face prolonged
periods away from their families and deal with daily anxiety about
their families' ability to cope with their absence on a financial as
well as personal level. Many soldiers serving are reservists who were
pulled from their families and established careers and must worry
daily about their family's financial stability and their own future.

Extension of the veterans' eligibility and preference provisions for
public housing will not take these soldiers out of harm's way, or
alleviate the suffering of those who served in prior conflicts, but
it will help to ease their concerns for their families' financial
futures. And just maybe this little bit of solace will help them
endure the difficulties that they face every day in their efforts to
protect us.

PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS FOR STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred and twentieth day after
it shall have become a law.

FOOTNOTE:
{1} However, NYCHA, example, has recently established preferences for
victims of domestic violence and other categories including
"substandard
housing, homelessness, high rent burden, working families and those
unable to work because of age or disability and residents who live
and/or work in the jurisdiction"
among others in its PHA Annual Plan for Fiscal Year
2011. (See http./home2.nyc.gov.html.nycha.html.about agency plan.html)