What's happening
This bill requires homeless housing facilities in New York to configure rooms so that beds are at least six feet apart for social distancing.
Why it matters
Mandates physical redesign. of all newly constructed homeless housing facilities to ensure beds are spaced at least six feet apart, impacting how future shelters are planned and built to prioritize health safety.
Delays return of individuals. those temporarily placed in hotels, motels, or apartments due to COVID-19—until their original shelter meets the new distancing requirements, potentially prolonging alternative housing arrangements and affecting shelter capacity management.
Expands coverage. by defining “homeless housing” broadly, including family shelters, domestic violence shelters, youth shelters, refugee safe houses, and other temporary living arrangements, ensuring these requirements apply across a wide range of facilities.
Links pandemic response to long-term policy. , using COVID-19 as the impetus for permanent changes in shelter design, which may set new standards for public health in congregate living settings beyond the current crisis.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Space Beds in Homeless Shelters
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
1 Co-sponsor
History
- Referred to rules
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Space Beds in Homeless Shelters
In Assembly Committee · Social Services · Sponsor Stacey Pheffer Amato
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
8567
IN SENATE
June 16, 2020
Introduced by Sen. ADDABBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring social distancing room configurations in homeless housing
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The social services law is amended by adding a new article 2-B to read as follows:
ARTICLE 2-B
ADDITIONAL PROVISIONS RELATED TO HOMELESS HOUSING Section 53. Homeless housing; room configuration.
§ 53. Homeless housing; room configuration. 1. On and after the effective date of this section, no homeless housing construction shall include single rooms with beds for homeless individuals placed within six-feet of one another.
2. Any individual placed in a hotel, motel or apartment by a local social service office, municipality, not-for-profit corporation or subsidiary thereof as a result of the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) shall not be permitted to return to a homeless housing until such housing has ensured the appropriate distancing between beds of at least six-feet.
3. For the purpose of this section:
(a) "Homeless housing" shall include, but not be limited to a family shelter, a shelter for adults, a domestic violence shelter, a runaway and homeless youth shelter, a safe house for refugees, any other supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living arrangements or any other location where homeless individuals and families may be residing; and
(b) "Homeless person" shall mean an undomiciled person who is unable to secure permanent and stable housing without special assistance, as determined by the commissioner.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16548-01-0
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring social distancing room configurations in homeless housing
Purpose or general idea of bill
To require social distancing room configurations in homeless housing.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. The social services law is amended by adding a new article 2-B to require that homeless housing configurations not contain beds within six feet of each other, and that any homeless resident that had to be placed in a commercial hotel as a result of their previous resi- dence not being able to space beds further than six feet apart cannot return to their previous shelter that does allow for that space.
Section 2 is the effective date.
Justification
During the COVID-19 pandemic, thousands of New Yorkers in the homeless shelter system are being removed from their shelters and into commercial hotels to ensure that they can maintain social distancing, and limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus. However, this cannot last forever as commercial hotels will return to regular business, and we will have to return these residents back to their shelters. If the residents are sent back to shelters that use dormitory style housing and cannot provide six feet of distance between each bed, then we are putting the residents and the surrounding community at risk of contracting and spreading this illness, and other airborne illnesses. This pandemic raised the issue that dormitory style housing leaves residents vulnerable to contracting illnesses and can cause harm-to-their-communities. These residents must return to shelters that do not utilize dormitory style housing and convert their living spaces to safe spaces that can adhere to social distancing.
Prior legislative history
New Bill.
Fiscal implications for state and local governments
N/A
Effective date
Ninety days after it is signed into law.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.