A 4313: Establishes rental vouchers for working families; provides definitions; allows for families to make an application for rental vouchers at the appropriate social services district or any facilitated enrollment site authorized by the office of temporary and disability assistance; sets forth eligibility requirements.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4313 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY February 4, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. DAVILA, CUNNINGHAM -- read once and referred to the Committee on Social Services AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to establishing rental vouchers for working families The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Article 5 of the social services law is amended by adding 2 a new title 8-A to read as follows: 3 TITLE 8-A 4 RENTAL VOUCHERS FOR WORKING FAMILIES 5 Section 310. Definitions. 6 311. Application. 7 312. Eligibility. 8 313. Rental payments. 9 314. Maintenance of effort. 10 § 310. Definitions. For the purposes of this title: 11 1. The term "family" shall mean a family that includes an individual 12 who has not attained eighteen years of age, or has not attained nineteen 13 years of age and is a full-time student in a secondary school or in the 14 equivalent level of vocational or technical training. 15 2. The term "income" shall mean income from all sources of each member 16 of the household. 17 3. The term "adjusted income" shall mean the amount of income of the 18 members of the family residing in a dwelling unit, after any of the 19 following required income exclusions from annual income: 20 (a) four hundred dollars for any family containing an elderly or disa- 21 bled family member; 22 (b) the amount by which three percent of the annual family income is 23 exceeded by the sum of unreimbursed medical expenses for any elderly or 24 disabled family member or the amount by which three percent of the annu- 25 al family income is exceeded by the sum of unreimbursed reasonable EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07156-01-5 
 A. 4313 2 1 attendant care and auxiliary apparatus expenses for each disabled member 2 of the family to the extent necessary to enable any member of such fami- 3 ly (including such disabled family member) to be employed; 4 (c) any reasonable child care expense incurred necessary to enable a 5 family member to be employed or to further such family member's educa- 6 tion; 7 (d) four hundred eighty dollars for each member of the family residing 8 in the household who is less than eighteen years of age or is attending 9 high school or vocational training on a full-time basis, or who is eigh- 10 teen years of age or older and is a person with a disability; 11 (e) any payment made by a member of the family for the support and 12 maintenance of any child who does not reside in the household, except 13 that the amount excluded under this paragraph may not exceed four 14 hundred eighty dollars for each child for whom such payment is made; 15 (f) any payments made by a member of the family for the support and 16 maintenance of any spouse or former spouse who does not reside in the 17 household, except that the amount excluded under this paragraph shall 18 not exceed the lesser of either the amount that such family member has a 19 legal obligation to pay or five hundred fifty dollars for each individ- 20 ual for whom such payment is made; and 21 (g) the amount of any earned income of a member of the family residing 22 in the household who is not eighteen years of age or older and who is 23 not the head of the household or the spouse of the head of the house- 24 hold. 25 § 311. Application. Application for rental vouchers for working fami- 26 lies may be made at the appropriate social services district or any 27 facilitated enrollment site authorized by the office of temporary and 28 disability assistance to take such applications. 29 § 312. Eligibility. 1. To the extent that funds are available, fami- 30 lies shall be eligible for rental vouchers for working families if: 31 (a) the family income does not exceed two hundred percent of the 32 federal poverty level; 33 (b) the family would meet the mandatory work requirements established 34 in section three hundred thirty-five-b of this article; 35 (c) the family is not in receipt of temporary assistance; 36 (d) the rental obligation for the family is not more than ninety 37 percent of the fair market rent for the local social services district 38 as established by the United States Office of Housing and Urban Develop- 39 ment; and 40 (e) the rental unit for the family is habitable, safe and does not 41 have a record of hazardous conditions. 42 2. Should the employment status of a household member change such that 43 the family no longer meets the mandatory work requirements established 44 in section three hundred thirty-five-b of this article, the household 45 shall be allowed to continue to receive a rental voucher for up to three 46 months while the family attempts to come into compliance with such 47 mandatory work requirements. If, after three months, the family remains 48 out of compliance with such mandatory work requirements, the rental 49 voucher shall no longer be provided to such family and the family shall 50 be referred to alternative assistance programs to meet their basic 51 needs. Provided, however, that the loss of a rental voucher for failure 52 to comply with such mandatory work requirements shall not preclude the 53 family's eligibility for a rental voucher should they meet the mandatory 54 work requirements in the future. 55 3. Families in receipt of a rental voucher shall be required to 56 provide the local social services district with notice of changes in 
 A. 4313 3 1 income or employment status within one month of such change. Families 2 shall be recertified for the rental voucher program at least every six 3 months. Such recertification shall not require a face-to-face inter- 4 view. 5 § 313. Rental payments. Families shall pay as rent for a dwelling unit 6 assisted with a rental voucher the highest of the following amounts: 7 1. thirty percent of the family's monthly adjusted income; or 8 2. ten percent of the family's monthly income. 9 § 314. Maintenance of effort. To the extent allowable under federal 10 law, state funding for rental vouchers for working families shall be 11 utilized to meet the federally mandated maintenance of effort for the 12 temporary assistance for needy families block grant. 13 § 2. This act shall take effect April 1, 2026.