NY State Senate Bill 2023-S9660

Senate Bill S9660

2023-2024 Legislative Session

Authorizes funding that would include services and expenses intended to result in improved compliance with fair housing laws

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Finance Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
May 17, 2024	print number 9660a
May 17, 2024	amend (t) and recommit to finance
May 16, 2024	referred to finance

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

2023-S9660 - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Finance
Law Section:: Public Housing Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §600, Pub Hous L; amd §1, Chap 53 of 2024

2023-S9660 - Summary

Authorizes funding that would include services and expenses intended to result in improved compliance with fair housing laws such as intake and assessment of cases in which fair housing rights may have been violated and enforcement action.

2023-S9660 - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9660

SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the public housing law and chapter 53 of the laws of
2024, enacting the aid to localities budget, in relation to authorizing
funding that would affirmatively further fair housing including client
intake and enforcement actions not directly tied to fair housing testing

 
PURPOSE:

This bill clarifies that services resulting in affirmatively furthering
fair housing would be eligible services and expenses under fair housing
testing contracts.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends subdivision 2 of section 600 of the public housing.
law to clarify that funding appropriated to agencies obligated to affir-
matively further fair housing (AFFH) shall include any services and
expenses that would further the purpose of AFFH.

Section 2 amends section 1 of chapter 53 of the laws of 2024 to provide
for a new description of the $4 million appropriated to the Division of
Housing and Community Renewal's for fair housing testing.

Section 3 sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 2020, a collaboration among the Office of the Attorney General (OAG),
Enterprise Community Partners, and six federally Qualified Fair Housing
Organizations (QFHOs) gave birth to Eliminating Barriers to Housing New
York (EBHNY), a pilot program funded at $4.5 million over two years
using the limited resources available from legal settlements. The
program enabled the six QFHOs to conduct fair housing and fair lending
testing investigations and enforcement in over 20 counties statewide.
EBHNY proved to be highly successful, with grantees conducting hundreds
of tests, training and educating thousands of individuals on fair hous-
ing laws, and filing dozens of enforcement actions against brokers,
lenders, and housing providers engaged in discriminatory practices. It
was also the state's only systematic effort to combat source of income
discrimination, which remains prevalent statewide although it was
outlawed in 2019.

When EBHNY concluded as a pilot program in 2022, the program was
absorbed into the state's Fair Housing Testing Program administered by
NYS HCR, with $2 million in funding in the FY 2022-2023 budget that was
subsequently increased to $4 million in the FY 2024-2025 budget. The
funding enabled QFHOs to operate as full-service fair housing organiza-
tions across the state to implement a new fair housing testing and
education program. Each organization used funds to launch systemic test-
ing investigations, fair housing enforcement actions, and expand their
education and outreach efforts.

Currently, client intake and enforcement actions not directly tied to
fair housing testing are not eligible for funding under this program,
despite the need for comprehensive fair housing services to combat
discrimination and the non-testing services needed for investigation and
to gather sufficient information to resolve cases, some of which may
ultimately lead to actions directly related to fair housing testing.

This bill would require services performed by QFHOs to affirmatively
further fair housing be considered covered services and expenses under
any funding appropriated to agencies that are obligated to affirmatively
further fair housing. Specifically, this bill would ensure services and
expenses provided to affirmatively further fair housing under HCR's Fair
Housing Testing Program would qualify for this program's funding.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined. Program funding would be subject to amounts appropri-
ated, or otherwise available.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S9660 - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   9660
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 16, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. KAVANAGH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Finance
 
 AN ACT to amend the public housing law and chapter 53  of  the  laws  of
   2024,  enacting the aid to localities budget, in relation to authoriz-
   ing funding that would affirmatively further  fair  housing  including
   client  intake and enforcement actions not directly tied to fair hous-
   ing testing
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivision 2 of section 600 of the public housing law, as
 added by chapter 690 of the laws of 2021, is amended to read as follows:
   2. The commissioner and all covered housing agencies shall  administer
 all such programs and activities related to housing and community devel-
 opment  in  a  manner that affirmatively furthers fair housing and shall
 cooperate with the commissioner to further  such  purpose.  ANY  FUNDING
 APPROPRIATED  TO  ANY  COVERED  HOUSING  AGENCY FOR FAIR HOUSING TESTING
 SHALL INCLUDE ANY SERVICES AND EXPENSES THAT  FURTHER  THE  PURPOSES  OF
 THIS  SECTION INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CLIENT INTAKE AND ENFORCEMENT
 ACTIONS NOT DIRECTLY TIED TO FAIR HOUSING TESTING.
   § 2. Section 1 of chapter 53 of the laws of 2024, enacting the aid  to
 localities budget, is amended by repealing the items  herein  below  set
 forth  in  brackets and by adding to such section the other items under-
 scored in this section:
 
                 DIVISION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL
 
                        AID TO LOCALITIES   2024-25
 
 FAIR HOUSING TESTING
 
   General Fund
   Local Assistance Account - 10000
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15674-01-4
 S. 9660                             2

 
 For  services  and  expenses of fair housing
   testing, INCLUDING BUT NOT BE  LIMITED  TO
   SERVICES AND EXPENSES THAT WOULD RESULT IN
   AFFIRMATIVELY   FURTHERING   FAIR  HOUSING
   PURSUANT  TO  SECTION  600  OF  THE PUBLIC
   HOUSING LAW  SUCH  AS  CLIENT  INTAKE  AND
   ENFORCEMENT  ACTIONS  NOT DIRECTLY TIED TO
   FAIR HOUSING TESTING. Notwithstanding  any
   other  provision of the law to the contra-
   ry,  funds  appropriated  herein  may   be
   suballocated  or transferred to any aid to
   localities, state operations,  or  capital
   appropriation  of  any  state  department,
   agency,  or  public  authority   for   the
   purposes stated herein (31498) ............... 2,000,000
 For  additional funding for the services and
   expenses of fair housing testing,  INCLUD-
   ING  BUT  NOT  BE  LIMITED TO SERVICES AND
   EXPENSES THAT WOULD RESULT IN AFFIRMATIVE-
   LY FURTHERING  FAIR  HOUSING  PURSUANT  TO
   SECTION 600 OF THE PUBLIC HOUSING LAW SUCH
   AS  CLIENT  INTAKE AND ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS
   NOT DIRECTLY TIED TO FAIR HOUSING TESTING.
   Notwithstanding any other provision of the
   law to the  contrary,  funds  appropriated
   herein  may be suballocated or transferred
   to any  aid  to  localities,  state  oper-
   ations,  or  capital  appropriation of any
   state  department,   agency,   or   public
   authority for the purposes stated herein ..... 2,000,000
                                             --------------
 
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S9660A (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Finance
Law Section:: Public Housing Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §600, Pub Hous L; amd §1, Chap 53 of 2024

2023-S9660A (ACTIVE) - Summary

2023-S9660A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S9660A

SPONSOR: KAVANAGH
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend chapter 53 of the laws of  2024, enacting the aid to
localities budget, in relation to authorizing funding that would include
services and expenses intended to result in improved compliance with
fair housing laws

 
PURPOSE:

This bill clarifies that services services and expenses intended to
result in improved compliance with fair housing laws are eligible for
funding under NYS Homes and Community Renewal's fair housing testing
program.

 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:

Section 1 amends section 1 of chapter 53 of the laws of 2024 to specify
that, for the $2 million of additional funding provided in the FY 2024-
2025 enacted budget for fair housing testing, eligible services and

expenses shall include those that are intended to result in improved
compliance with fair housing laws.

Section 2 sets forth the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 2020, a collaboration among the Office of the Attorney General (OAG),
Enterprise Community Partners, and six federally Qualified Fair Housing
Organizations (QFHOs) gave birth to Eliminating Bathers to Housing New
York (EBHNY), a pilot program funded at $4.5 million over two years
using the limited resources available from legal settlements. The
program enabled the six QFHOs to conduct fair housing and fair lending
testing investigations and enforcement in over 20 counties statewide.
EBHNY proved to be highly successful, with grantees conducting hundreds
of tests, training and educating thousands of individuals on fair hous-
ing laws, and filing dozens of enforcement actions against brokers,
lenders, and housing providers engaged in discriminatory practices. It
was also the state's only systematic effort to combat source of income
discrimination, which remains prevalent statewide although it was
outlawed in 2019.

When EBHNY concluded as a pilot program in 2022, the program was
absorbed into the state's Fair Housing Testing Program administered by
NYS HCR, with $2 million in funding in the FY 2022-2023 budget that was
subsequently increased to $4 million in the FY 2024-2025 budget. The
funding enabled QFHOs to operate as full-service fair housing organiza-
tions across the state to implement a new fair housing testing and
education program. Each organization used funds to launch systemic test-
ing investigations, fair housing enforcement actions, and expand their
education and outreach efforts.

Currently, services such as client intake and enforcement actions not
directly tied to fair housing testing are not eligible for funding under
this program, despite the need for comprehensive fair housing services
to combat discrimination and the non-testing services needed for inves-
tigation and to gather sufficient information to resolve cases, some of
which may ultimately lead to actions directly related to fair housing
testing.

This bill would require that, for the $2 million of additional funding
provided in the FY 20242025 enacted budget for fair housing testing,
eligible services and expenses shall include those that are intended to
result in improved compliance with fair housing laws.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

This is a new bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

No additional fiscal impact outside of appropriation in the FY 2024-2025
enacted budget.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2023-S9660A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  9660--A
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               May 16, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sen. KAVANAGH -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to  the  Committee  on  Finance  --  committee
   discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
   to said committee
 
 AN  ACT  to  amend  chapter 53 of the laws of  2024, enacting the aid to
   localities budget, in  relation  to  authorizing  funding  that  would
   include  services  and expenses intended to result in improved compli-
   ance with fair housing laws
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Section 1 of chapter 53 of the laws of 2024, enacting the
 aid to localities budget, is amended by  repealing  the  items    herein
 below    set forth  in  brackets and by adding to such section the other
 items underscored in this section:
 
                 DIVISION OF HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL
 
                        AID TO LOCALITIES   2024-25
 
 FAIR HOUSING TESTING
 
   General Fund
   Local Assistance Account - 10000
 
 For services and expenses  of  fair  housing
   testing.      Notwithstanding   any  other
   provision of  the  law  to  the  contrary,
   funds  appropriated herein may be suballo-
   cated or transferred to any aid to locali-
   ties, state operations, or capital  appro-
   priation  of any state department, agency,
   or public authority for the purposes stat-
   ed herein (31498) ............................ 2,000,000
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD15674-02-4

 S. 9660--A                          2
 
 For additional funding for the services  and
   expenses  of fair housing testing, INCLUD-
   ING  SERVICES  AND  EXPENSES  INTENDED  TO
   RESULT  IN  IMPROVED  COMPLIANCE WITH FAIR
   HOUSING  LAWS,  SUCH AS INTAKE AND ASSESS-
   MENT OF CASES IN WHICH FAIR HOUSING RIGHTS
   MAY HAVE  BEEN  VIOLATED  AND  ENFORCEMENT
   ACTIONS.      Notwithstanding   any  other
   provision of  the  law  to  the  contrary,
   funds  appropriated herein may be suballo-
   cated or transferred to any aid to locali-
   ties, state operations, or capital  appro-
   priation  of any state department, agency,
   or public authority for the purposes stat-
   ed herein .................................... 2,000,000
                                             --------------
 
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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