Senate Bill S7863

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S7863

SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to increas-
ing the amount an eligible applicant may spend for approved administra-
tive costs associated with administering the access to home program

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 of the bill amends Section 1202 of Article 25 of the Private
Housing Finance law to increase the Access to Home administrative fee
from 7.5% to 10% for eligible organizations that implement the program.

Section 2 of the bill sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Access to Home program supports accessibility modifications to the
homes of low-moderate income people with disabilities like seniors and
veterans. These modifications are made by local non-profit housing or
              

community services agencies that receive grants from the Division of
Housing and Community Renewal to perform the work.

In the 2023-24 State Budget, the legislature increased funding for the
Access to Home program from $1 million to $3 million in recognition of
the demand for these services and the rising cost of labor and materi-
als. However, it did not include a corresponding increase in the admin-
istrative fee for the not-for-profit organizations that implement the
accessibility modifications such as wheelchair ramps, bathroom
handrails, widening of hallways to accommodate wheelchairs, etc.

A similar bill (S.9193/A.10271) was signed into law in 2022 that
increased the administrative fee from 7.5 to 10% for non-profits that
implement the RESTORE/HOPE program which provides emergency repairs to
the homes of low to moderate income senior citizens.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.