Senate committee advances bill to waive recoupment of emergency rent arrears in New York City

Senate Bill 14 58-A, introduced by Senator Kavanaugh and read in the Senate Standing Committee on Social Services, would amend the Social Services Law to remove the requirement that emergency rent arrears paid by social services districts be repaid in municipalities with a population of 5,000,000 or more. The committee moved and reported the bill to the next stage.

Supporters said the change targets New York City and would reduce administrative steps that rarely result in collection. "This is a bill that would, first of all, address only New York City," Senator Kavanaugh said, adding that New York City "has really leaned into paying rent arrears when that is necessary to keep somebody from losing their apartment." Persaud voiced support: "I totally agree with you," she said.

Senator Murray raised concern that the bill applies only to New York City rather than statewide. "The only concern we have is that it's strictly to New York City and not the rest of the state," Murray said, asking whether a statewide waiver would be possible. Kavanaugh said the measure is aimed at reducing friction in a place that already uses emergency payments frequently and that other localities could pursue similar waivers if they chose.

Committee discussion also noted a separate program created with chair support — described in the hearing as a "shelter arrears eviction for installment program" — for which the sponsor said roughly $10,000,000 was placed in the budget in recent years to support rent assistance outside New York City. Kavanaugh and others said those programs are structured differently and are not subject to the recoupment requirement the bill would waive for New York City.

A motion to move the bill was made by Senator Kavanaugh and seconded by Senator Murray; the committee voted to move the bill and reported it to the next step (reported to finance). The committee record does not include a formal roll-call tally in the transcript; the chair announced the bill was moved and reported.

The committee did not adopt an immediate statewide change; sponsors said they would consider broader applications if other localities asked for similar relief. The bill text on the record refers specifically to social services districts in municipalities with a population of 5,000,000 or more.