NY State Senate Bill S843

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

Introduced
In Committee
On Floor Calendar
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
Delivered to Governor
Signed/Vetoed by Governor

Your Voice

Please enter your contact information

First Name *

Last Name *

Email Address *

A valid email address is required.

Home address search or enter your address manually *

Home address is used to determine the senate district in which you reside. Your support or opposition to this bill is then shared immediately with the senator who represents you.

Optional services from the NY State Senate:

Create an account. An account allows you to officially support or oppose key legislation, sign petitions with a single click, and follow issues, committees, and bills that matter to you. When you create an account, you agree to this platform's terms of participation.

Include a custom message for your Senator? (Optional)

Enter a message to your senator. Many New Yorkers use this to share the reasoning behind their support or opposition to the bill. Others might share a personal anecdote about how the bill would affect them or people they care about.

Leave this field blank

Actions

view actions (4)

	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Feb 15, 2022	reported and committed to finance
Jan 05, 2022	referred to social services
Jan 25, 2021	reported and committed to finance
Jan 06, 2021	referred to social services

Votes

view votes

Feb 15, 2022 - Social Services committee Vote

S843

committee

Aye

Nay

Aye with Reservations

Absent

Excused

Abstained

show Social Services committee vote details

Social Services Committee Vote: Feb 15, 2022

aye (5)

aye wr (2)

Serino
Weik

Jan 26, 2021 - Social Services committee Vote

S843

committee

Aye

Nay

Aye with Reservations

Absent

Excused

Abstained

show Social Services committee vote details

Social Services Committee Vote: Jan 26, 2021

aye (5)

aye wr (2)

Serino
Weik

S843 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A1847
Current Committee:: Senate Finance
Law Section:: Social Services Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §131-u, Soc Serv L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: A9672
2019-2020: S5471, A2381

S843 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes certain shelters for victims of domestic violence to be reimbursed for any payment differential for housing a single individual in a room intended for double occupancy.

S843 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

 
BILL NUMBER: S843

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to authorizing
certain shelters to be reimbursed for housing a single individual in a
room intended for double occupancy

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

This bill will provide temporary housing assistance to a single individ-
ual who meets the residential program providers' eligibility require-
ments for victims of domestic violence as defined in section four
hundred fifty nine-a of the social services law, while allowing the
program provider to be reimbursed by New York State for any payment
differential for housing a single individual in a room intended for
double occupancy in order to address the systemwide lack of shelter for
single adults.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

This bill will provide temporary housing assistance to a single individ-
ual who meets the residential program providers' eligibility require-
ments for victims of domestic violence as defined in section four
hundred fifty-nine-a of the social services law, while allowing the
program provider to be reimbursed by New York State for any payment
differential for housing a single individual in a room intended for
double occupancy in order to address the systemwide lack of shelter for
single adults.

 
JUSTIFICATION:.

The domestic violence emergency shelter system was originally created to
provide short-term respite for victims of domestic violence and their
families who were fleeing imminent danger. All across New York State,
but particularly in New York City, domestic violence shelters were
created over several decades to house families rather than single
adults. Non-profit providers who operate these shelters are reimbursed
by the State (OCFS) per person per night.

This reimbursement from the State is supposed to cover the entire cost
of operating those shelters, including rent, utilities, staffing, insur-
ance, and other inflationary factors. Any reduction in this reimburse-
ment severely impacts the ability of the provider to cover the cost of
operating the shelter. As a result, domestic violence emergency shelter
providers have major financial disincentives to "downsize" a
room/apartment in order to accommodate a smaller family size, including
most prominently single adult victims of domestic violence, human traf-
ficking, and sexual assault. As a result, single adult victims of these
and other crimes have a much more difficult time trying to access domes-
tic violence emergency shelters, and instead may be forced to remain in
an unsafe situation. This legislation will require the State to preserve
the full reimbursement to providers who "downsize" a room configured for
a family of two to Accommodate a single adult victim of violence, and
will therefore help increase systemwide capacity for single adults who
otherwise faced serious obstacles to accessing this shelter system.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019: S5471 - Referred to Social Services
2020: S5471 - Committed to Finance

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

TBD

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S843 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    843
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- 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 authorizing
   certain shelters to be reimbursed for housing a single individual in a
   room intended for double occupancy
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section  131-u  of  the social services law is amended by
 adding a new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
   3. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW  TO  THE  CONTRARY,  ANY
 RESIDENTIAL  PROGRAM  FOR  VICTIMS  OF  DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, AS DEFINED IN
 SECTION FOUR HUNDRED FIFTY-NINE-A OF THIS CHAPTER, WHICH PROVIDES TEMPO-
 RARY HOUSING ASSISTANCE TO A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL WHO MEETS SUCH  PROGRAM'S
 NECESSARY  ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS, SHALL BE REIMBURSED FOR ANY PAYMENT
 DIFFERENTIAL FOR HOUSING A SINGLE INDIVIDUAL  IN  A  ROOM  INTENDED  FOR
 DOUBLE OCCUPANCY.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

 
 
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD01466-01-1

Comments

Open Legislation is a forum for New York State legislation. All comments are subject to review and community moderation is encouraged.

Comments deemed off-topic, commercial, campaign-related, self-promotional; or that contain profanity, hate or toxic speech; or that link to sites outside of the nysenate.gov domain are not permitted, and will not be published. Attempts to intimidate and silence contributors or deliberately deceive the public, including excessive or extraneous posting/posts, or coordinated activity, are prohibited and may result in the temporary or permanent banning of the user. Comment moderation is generally performed Monday through Friday. By contributing or voting you agree to the Terms of Participation and verify you are over 13.

The New York State Senate

senate Bill S843

Sponsored By

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

Feb 15, 2022 - Social Services committee Vote

Social Services Committee Vote: Feb 15, 2022

Jan 26, 2021 - Social Services committee Vote

Social Services Committee Vote: Jan 26, 2021

S843 (ACTIVE) - Details

S843 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S843 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S843 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

senate Bill S843

Share this bill

Sponsored By

Andrew Gounardes

Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

Your Voice

Actions

Votes

Feb 15, 2022 - Social Services committee Vote

Social Services Committee Vote: Feb 15, 2022

Jan 26, 2021 - Social Services committee Vote

Social Services Committee Vote: Jan 26, 2021

S843 (ACTIVE) - Details

S843 (ACTIVE) - Summary

S843 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

S843 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments