Paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of section 352.3 is amended to read as follows:

(1) (i) An allowance for rent must be made for recipients who are tenants of city, State or federally aided public housing up to the amount actually paid or the following schedule, whichever is less, except when a modified schedule of allowances is approved by this [department] office for a specific housing authority and the modified schedule provides for larger allowances or when the housing authority calculates the rent based on a percentage of household income:

[(i)] (ii) Modified schedule approved. When a modified schedule is approved by this office for a specific housing authority, the allowance for rent must be the amount actually paid up to the approved schedule amount. A housing authority may request, and the office may grant an increase not to exceed 10 percent in a 12-month period until the modified schedule for the housing authority reaches the maximum allowances for the district found in subdivision (a) of this section. Effective August 15, 2009, modified schedules approved by this office shall be void.

[(ii)] (iii) Rent calculated based on a percentage of income. For any household for which the amount of rent is determined by a public housing authority as a percentage of either gross or adjusted gross income, the applicable shelter allowance is the amount so calculated up to the maximum allowance for the given household size found in subdivision (a) of this section.

This proposed rule sets forth the new calculation of shelter allowances for individuals and families receiving public assistance and residing in city, State or federally aided public housing. Recipients of public assistance may be eligible for shelter allowances to be included in their standards of need to help reflect the costs of housing. The amounts of the shelter allowances are governed by the SSL and are set forth in the State regulations. In the past, the Social Services Law (SSL) and the State regulations allowed the maximum shelter allowances for private housing to exceed the maximum shelter allowances for public housing. Public housing authorities were provided a means to help bridge this gap. They could request incremental increases in their tenants' shelter allowances each year. However, not all public housing authorities made these requests.

Chapter 598 of the Laws of 2007 was enacted to help resolve outstanding disparities between maximum shelter allowances for private housing and those for public housing. Chapter 598 added a new paragraph (c) to SSL § 131-a(2) to accelerate the shelter schedules for public housing so that the maximum shelter allowances for public housing could equal the maximum shelter allowances for private housing in a matter of two years. Effective August 15, 2007, the shelter allowances for public housing could equal fifty percent of the maximum shelter allowances for private housing. As of August 15, 2008, the shelter allowances for public housing could equal seventy-five percent of the maximum shelter allowances for private housing. Lastly, as of August 15, 2009, the maximum shelter allowances for public housing would equal the maximum shelter allowances for private housing. Thus, by August 15, 2009, any disparities in the maximum shelter allowances for public housing and private housing would be resolved.

Chapter 598 allowed modified shelter allowance schedules for public housing to remain in place as long as those schedules were greater than fifty percent of the maximum shelter allowance for private housing as of August 15, 2007, and greater than seventy-five percent, as of August 15, 2008. This prevented the public housing authorities which had requested incremental increases in their tenants' shelter allowances from being penalized. However, Chapter 598 provided that by August 15, 2009, the maximum shelter allowances for public housing would equal the maximum shelter allowances for private housing.

The provisions of SSL § 131-a(2)(c), as amended by Chapter 598, are non-discretionary, and the local social services districts (districts) already have begun implementing these statutory changes. The districts have made the first adjustments, effective August 15, 2007, to the maximum shelter allowances for public housing. These proposed amendments are needed to conform the provisions of 18 NYCRR § 352.3(d)(1) to the non-discretionary provisions set forth in SSL § 131-a(2)(c) and to reflect the adjustments which districts already have implemented and those that they will make in the future.

The Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (the Office) anticipates that no person is likely to object to the adoption of this proposed rule. The Office is not exercising any discretion. Instead, it is amending its regulations to reflect nondiscretionary statutory requirements which the districts already have begun to implement.

A Job Impact Statement is not required for the proposed amendments. It is apparent from the nature and the purpose of the proposed amendments that they will not have a substantial adverse impact on jobs and employment opportunities. The proposed amendments will not affect in any real way the jobs of the workers in the local social services districts. The changes reflect the passage of Chapter 598 of the Laws of 2007 which amended the Social Services Law concerning shelter allowances for individuals and families receiving public assistance and residing in city, State or federally aided public housing. Thus the changes will not have any adverse impact on jobs and employment opportunities in the State.