New York Assembly Bill A00821 Latest Draft

   
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 821 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 8, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. FORREST, SHIMSKY, BORES -- read once and referred to the Committee on Social Services AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to persons author- ized to visit facilities operated by the department of social services or a social services district and homeless projects The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 42 of the social services law is amended by adding 2 a new subdivision 6 to read as follows: 3 6. "Emergency congregate housing" shall mean any location operated by 4 a state agency, city agency, or local municipality or a provider under 5 contract or similar agreement with a state agency, city agency, or local 6 municipality where individuals and families reside for more than nine- 7 ty-six continuous hours and where such individuals and families sleep in 8 a congregate setting with shared facilities, including but not limited 9 to sleeping quarters and bathrooms; provided, however, that emergency 10 congregate housing shall not include any location operated by the 11 department or a provider under contract or similar agreement with the 12 department. 13 § 2. Subdivision 1 of section 42 of the social services law, as 14 amended by chapter 458 of the laws of 1986, is amended to read as 15 follows: 16 1. "Homeless project" shall mean emergency congregate housing or a 17 specific facility, including lands, buildings and improvements acquired, 18 constructed, renovated or rehabilitated and operated by a not-for-profit 19 corporation, charitable organization, wholly owned subsidiary of a not- 20 for-profit corporation or of a charitable organization, public corpo- 21 ration or a municipality to increase the availability of housing for 22 homeless persons, which may include other non-housing services such as 23 but not limited to dining, recreational, sanitary, social, medical and EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD02097-01-5 
 A. 821 2 1 mental health services as may be deemed by the commissioner to be essen- 2 tial to such a project. 3 § 3. The social services law is amended by adding a new section 40-a 4 to read as follows: 5 § 40-a. Persons authorized to visit facilities. Notwithstanding any 6 rule, regulation, or law to the contrary, the following persons shall be 7 authorized to visit at pleasure all facilities operated by the depart- 8 ment or a social services district, including adult care facilities as 9 defined in subdivision twenty-one of section two of this chapter and 10 homeless projects as defined in subdivision one of section forty-two of 11 this chapter: The governor and lieutenant-governor, comptroller and 12 attorney-general, members of the legislature and their accompanying 13 staff as requested by the member of the legislature if the member 14 requests to be so accompanied, members of the elected legislative body 15 of the county in which the facility is located and their accompanying 16 staff as requested by the member of such legislative body if the member 17 requests to be so accompanied, in city council and their accompanying 18 staff as requested by the city council member if the council member 19 requests to be so accompanied, judges of the court of appeals, justices 20 of the supreme court and county judges, district attorneys and every 21 clergyman or minister, as such terms are defined in section two of the 22 religious corporations law, having charge of a congregation in the coun- 23 ty in which such facility is located. 24 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.