S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2134
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 15, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. HEVESI -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Social Services
 
 AN ACT in relation to enacting the supportive housing modernization act
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

   Section 1.  Short title. This act shall be known and may be  cited  as
 the "supportive housing modernization act".
   § 2. Legislative intent. Supportive housing is an exponentially impor-
 tant  social service that has evolved over the past four decades. At the
 heart of any supportive housing program, the core is the  same:  helping
 people  at risk of and experiencing homelessness and other related chal-
 lenges through the provision of social services within housing, connect-
 ing residents with essential community-based  services  such  as  mental
 health counseling, substance use treatment, and job training.
   In  1987,  a  program called New York State Supportive Housing Program
 (NYSSHP) was created. It currently  exists  under  the  New  York  State
 Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) and it is the quin-
 tessential example of early supportive housing interventions that demon-
 strated success as a cost-effective solution to homelessness and a model
 for  preserving existing affordable housing stock. As a result, New York
 state developed a succession of new and better-funded supportive housing
 programs to more comprehensively meet tenants' needs,  paying  for  both
 services  and  rental  assistance/operating  costs.  However, NYSSHP has
 continued all these years without any significant change or modification
 to the underlying funding formula -- $2,964 per  year  for  individuals,
 $3,900  for families. Currently, NYSSHP partially funds services in more
 than 20,000 supportive units and is the sole source of  service  funding
 in  approximately  9,000  of  those  units  but the payment structure is
 creating deficits from the service providers.
   On the other hand, the  Empire  State  Supportive  Housing  Initiative
 (ESSHI)  was  created in 2016. ESSHI is an interagency program solicita-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00207-01-5
              

 A. 2134                             2
 
 tion administered by the New York State Office of  Mental  Health  (OMH)
 that  provides  supportive  service and operating funds to sustain newly
 developed permanent supportive housing units. ESSHI funds both  services
 and  operating  costs  at  $25,000 per unit and expanded to ten explicit
 population categories, including frail elderly,  survivors  of  domestic
 violence and veterans.
   Conclusively, both NYSSHP and ESSHI serve the same populations through
 the  provision of the same supportive housing model. However, only ESSHI
 allows the providers to recoup the  necessary  cost  of  providing  both
 excellent  housing and a full complement of wrap-around social services.
 In the last twenty years, one-third of NYSSHP providers have either  had
 to  merge  with  another  agency,  close  their doors, or stop providing
 supportive housing services altogether. Without the option to  modernize
 contracts at ESSHI rates, supportive housing units will be lost.
   Therefore, this legislation does the only rational thing: allowing all
 NYSSHP  providers  the  option  to  modernize their contract rates up to
 ESSHI levels.
   § 3. Notwithstanding any provision of law, rule or regulation  to  the
 contrary,  for  five  years following the effective date of this act any
 entity participating in the New York state  supportive  housing  program
 (NYSSHP)  in good standing with such program may elect to participate in
 a request for proposal to increase their  contract  rates  up  to  ESSHI
 levels.
   §  4.  The office of temporary and disability assistance shall promul-
 gate all rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of  this
 act.
   §  5. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
 ing the date on which it shall have become a law. Effective immediately,
 the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or  regulation  neces-
 sary  for  the  implementation  of  this  act  on its effective date are
 authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.