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S3979Senate2013-2014 Session

Relates to the payment of shelter allowances by the department of social services in the county of Niagara

Sponsor George D. MaziarzSD-62Affects Local Government
Status
In Senate Committee
Local Government
Impact
Pending
Passage
Pending

Bill progress

Step 2 of 7

In committee · Local Government

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Who cares

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Sponsors

Primary sponsor
George D. Maziarz

Senator · Senate District 62

Chair, Energy And Telecommunications

No co-sponsors yet.

History

  1. Referred to local government
  2. Committed to rules
  3. Advanced to third reading
  4. 2nd report cal.
  5. 1st report cal.239
  6. Print number 3979a
  7. Amend and recommit to local government
  8. Referred to local government

Full text

The text isn't available here yet. Check nysenate.gov.

Sponsor's memo

BILL NUMBER:S3979A REVISED 04/10/13

Title of bill

An act to amend the county law, in relation to the payment of shelter allowances by the department of social services in the county of Niagara

Purpose

To authorize the department of social services in the county of Niagara to make shelter allowance payments for a recipient of public assistance directly to the owner of the housing accommodation or his or her designated agent.

Summary of provisions

Section 1 of the bill adds a new section 853 to the county law relating to shelter allowances in Niagara County. The new section authorizes the Niagara County Legislature to enact a local law to allow the Niagara County department of social services to make shelter allowance payments for a recipient of public assistance directly to the owner of the housing accommodation or his or her designated agent.

Section 2 of the bill is the effective date.

Justification

Recently, the Niagara County Legislature identified the misuse of shelter allowance payments to recipients of public assistance as a growing problem. Specifically, shelter allowance payments axe simply not being used for their intended purpose - to pay for rent. This can lead to instability within the family unit, potentially costly eviction proceedings, and decline within neighborhoods.

To address this situation, the Niagara County Legislature passed a resolution encouraging the state to provide the county social services department with the ability to pay shelter allowances directly to landlords. This legislation does just that. By providing the County Legislature with the authority to enact local laws to allow direct payments to landlords, this legislation will curb the abuse in the current system and help ensure stable housing for families and children. In addition, this legislation will help reduce the number of evictions and property abandonments, and allow the local department of social services to operate more efficiently.

Legislative history

New legislation.

Fiscal implications

None.

Effective date

This act shall take effect immediately.

Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.