Bill would let some resident‑ or nonprofit‑owned mobile‑home‑park water systems access longer, cheaper state loans

Legislative Council counsel walked the committee through policy language that would expand the State’s existing advantaged‑loan program to cover eligible mobile‑home‑park community water systems. The change updates statutory definitions to include privately owned, nonprofit or resident‑owned mobile‑home‑park systems that meet registration and occupancy/use thresholds.

Counsel read the statutory possibility verbatim: “A privately owned nonprofit community type system may qualify for a 40 year long term at an interest rate plus fee established by the secretary of natural resources that shall be not more than 3% or less than minus 3% provided that the applicant meets the income level and annual household user cost requirements of a disadvantaged municipality,” he said. The bill also requires at least 80% of residential units be continuously occupied by local residents and at least 80% of the water produced be for residential use.

A committee member asked how many parks this change would actually help, observing many parks are for‑profit and may not meet the nonprofit/resident‑owned or registration requirements. Counsel said the committee can request counts from DHCD and noted the change is aimed at a narrower subset of parks (nonprofit/resident owned and registered) where systemic infrastructure upgrades are otherwise unaffordable for residents.

The bill also exempts eligible mobile‑home‑park systems from a statutory floor that ties annual household user cost to 1% of median household income, allowing these systems to receive the most advantaged terms subject to certification by the secretary. Committee members asked for DHCD/DEC testimony to quantify how many parks would qualify and the likely uptake.