S 7939: Creates an affordable housing insurance relief fund program to provide grants to eligible projects for reasonable and necessary commercial insurance expenses.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 7939 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE May 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. BAILEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development AN ACT to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to creating an affordable housing insurance relief fund program; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon expiration thereof The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The private housing finance law is amended by adding a new 2 article 33 to read as follows: 3 ARTICLE XXXIII 4 AFFORDABLE HOUSING INSURANCE RELIEF FUND PROGRAM 5 Section 1301. Definitions. 6 1302. Affordable housing insurance relief fund program. 7 1303. Program criteria. 8 1304. Funding criteria. 9 1305. Funding. 10 1306. Annual report. 11 1307. Stakeholder advisory group. 12 1308. Disposition upon expiration. 13 § 1301. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following 14 terms shall have the following meanings: 15 1. "Corporation" shall mean the housing trust fund corporation estab- 16 lished in section forty-five-a of this chapter. 17 2. "Program" shall mean the affordable housing insurance relief fund 18 program established under this article. 19 3. "Eligible project" shall mean a proposed, one hundred percent 20 affordable or supportive multifamily rental property subject to a regu- 21 latory agreement with one or more municipal, state, or federal housing 22 agencies. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD11421-05-5 
 S. 7939 2 1 4. "Eligible applicant" shall include for-profit and not-for-profit 2 affordable housing developers that have a regulatory agreement with one 3 or more municipal, state, or federal housing agencies which will be 4 applicable to one hundred percent of the housing units on the property 5 upon completion of the property's development. 6 5. "Commercial insurance expenses" shall mean premiums and related 7 costs paid by eligible applicants for insurance policies that provide 8 coverage for commercial property damage, general liability, excess 9 liability, or umbrella liability risks associated with the operation and 10 maintenance of affordable housing developments. Such policies shall be 11 customarily issued under commercial habitational insurance lines. 12 § 1302. Affordable housing insurance relief fund program. Within 13 amounts appropriated or otherwise available therefor, the housing trust 14 fund corporation shall develop and administer an affordable housing 15 insurance relief fund program which shall provide aid in the form of 16 payments and grants for reasonable and necessary commercial insurance 17 expenses to eligible applicants for the development of affordable hous- 18 ing properties in accordance with this article. 19 § 1303. Program criteria. 1. The corporation shall develop procedures, 20 criteria and requirements for the program related to the competitive 21 application for and award of grants pursuant to this article which shall 22 include, but not be limited to: eligibility, market demand, feasibility 23 and funding criteria; the funding determination process; supervision and 24 evaluation of contracting applicants; reporting, budgeting and record- 25 keeping requirements; provisions for modification and termination of 26 contracts; and such other matters not inconsistent with the purposes and 27 provisions of this article as the corporation shall deem necessary or 28 appropriate. 29 2. The corporation may prioritize awards to eligible projects that 30 demonstrate a material increase in the cost of maintaining required 31 commercial insurance coverage. Such prioritization shall be based on 32 documented evidence of: (a) premium increases exceeding industry bench- 33 marks; (b) loss of carrier availability or reductions in policy coverage 34 limits; or (c) other market-based indicators of insurance cost volatili- 35 ty. For the purposes of this section, all applicants shall be presumed 36 to have obtained commercial insurance coverage sufficient to meet 37 financing or regulatory compliance obligations, and the inability to 38 obtain insurance shall not be construed as a prerequisite to program 39 eligibility. 40 3. The corporation may prioritize eligible projects with demonstrated 41 insurance access barriers, financial vulnerability, or other indicators 42 of critical need. 43 § 1304. Funding criteria. 1. The amount of assistance provided under 44 this program shall not exceed three thousand dollars per income-res- 45 tricted housing unit per calendar year, and shall not exceed two million 46 dollars in total assistance per eligible project per calendar year. The 47 corporation shall establish a methodology to determine appropriate award 48 levels based on factors including, but not limited to: (a) documented 49 increases in commercial insurance premiums relative to a baseline year; 50 (b) the total number of income-restricted units in the project; and (c) 51 the risk classification or loss experience of the development, as appli- 52 cable. 53 2. The corporation shall have the authority to adjust the maximum 54 award amounts set forth in this article, including the per-unit and 55 per-project caps, to account for inflation or significant changes in 56 market conditions. Any such adjustments shall be made in accordance with 
 S. 7939 3 1 a methodology established by the corporation, published in the state 2 register, and reported in the annual report required under section thir- 3 teen hundred six of this article. 4 § 1305. Funding. Subject to appropriations for this program, the 5 corporation in its sole discretion shall authorize all funding decisions 6 and make all award determinations. 7 § 1306. Annual report. The corporation shall, on or before June thir- 8 tieth in each year submit a report to the legislature and the governor 9 on the implementation of this article. Such report shall include, but 10 not be limited to, the number of applications received by the end of the 11 preceding calendar year, the total dollar amount of such applications, 12 and the disposition of such applications; and for each award made to a 13 grantee under this article, a description of such award, the contract 14 amount and cumulative total, and such other information as the corpo- 15 ration deems pertinent. 16 § 1307. Stakeholder advisory group. The corporation may convene a 17 stakeholder advisory group composed of representatives from affordable 18 housing development, insurance markets, nonprofit organizations, tenant 19 advocates, and local governments. The advisory group shall assist in 20 reviewing program implementation, equity considerations, and recommend 21 improvements to support long-term affordability and sustainability. 22 § 1308. Disposition upon expiration. Upon the expiration of this arti- 23 cle, the corporation shall continue to administer and enforce all 24 contracts, awards, and obligations entered into prior to such expiration 25 in accordance with their terms. Any unencumbered funds appropriated for 26 the purposes of this article that remain at the time of expiration shall 27 be returned to the state treasury or reallocated in a manner consistent 28 with legislative intent, as determined by the corporation in consulta- 29 tion with the division of the budget. The expiration of this article 30 shall not impair or affect the rights or obligations of any party under 31 any contract executed pursuant to this article prior to its repeal. 32 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed- 33 ing the date on which it shall have become a law and shall expire and 34 be deemed repealed twenty years after such effective date. Effective 35 immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regu- 36 lation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective 37 date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective 38 date.