Relates to veterans' eligibility for public housing

Section 2 of the bill amends Section 156 of the public housing law by adding a new subdivision 8 that will require public housing authorities to grant a preference in the selection of tenants to veterans or families of veterans who have a military service connected disability provided that such veterans or families of veterans otherwise qualify for occupancy in such an authority's projects and provided that the authority has complied with the provisions of section 960.206 of title 24 of the code of federal regulations relating to such preferences.

Section 3 provides for this act to take effect on the 120 day after it becomes law.

Justification

Under current public housing law, veterans who served during the period covered by the Vietnam War (1961-1975) are afforded specific eligibility into public housing projects at income levels slightly higher than the income levels set for the general public. This legislation will extend those eligibility provisions to veterans who have served or are serving in the armed forces from September 14, 2001 through December 31, 2017 reflecting the period from the Joint Resolution authorizing the use of force against those responsible for the September 11th terrorist attacks through December 31, 2017 which will hopefully coincide with the time that all United States armed forces are no longer engaged in active combat duties.

This bill will also mandate that an admission preference be given to veterans or families of veterans who have a military service connected disability provided they are otherwise eligible for admission as tenants to a public housing project. Currently, public housing authorities are authorized under federal law to implement various admission preferences including an admission preference for veterans and veterans' families. However, many public housing authorities, including the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), have chosen not include such preferences in their agency plans that must be submitted to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for approval. (1)

Given the incredible sacrifice, which is made by our military personnel serving during a time of war, and which was made during prior military conflicts, it seems more than appropriate that we

mandate and extend these specific eligibility provisions and preferences to veterans and their families.

Men and women of the United States military have made, and continue to willingly make, incredible personal sacrifices on behalf of this country in terms of their own personal safety, the emotional and financial well being of their families and their long-term futures. During the present`conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, many active military personnel are currently serving their fourth, fifth and even sixth tour of duty within the past several years. They face prolonged periods away from their families and deal with daily anxiety about their families' ability to cope with their absence on a financial as well as personal level. Many soldiers serving are reservists who were pulled from their families and established careers and must worry daily about their family's financial stability and their own future.

Extension of the veterans' eligibility and preference provisions for public housing will not take these soldiers out of harm's way, or alleviate the suffering of those who served in prior conflicts, but it will help to ease their concerns for their families' financial futures. And just maybe this little bit of solace will help them endure the difficulties that they face every day in their efforts to protect us.

Prior legislative history

2015: S.932 - Passed Senate 2013-14: S1702 - Referred to Housing, Construction And Community Development 2011-12: S.5867 - Referred To Veterans, Homeland Security And Military Affairs

Fiscal implications for state and local governments

To be determined.

Effective date

This act shall take effect on the one hundred and twentieth day after it shall have become a law. FOOTNOTE (1) However, NYCHA, for example, has recently established preferences for victims of domestic violence and other categories including "substandard housing, homelessness, high mat burden, working families and those unable to work because of age or disability and residents who live and/or work in the jurisdiction" among others in its PHA Annual Plan for Fiscal Year 2011. (See http://home2.nyc.gov/html/nycha/html/ahout/agencvplan.shiml)