Senate housing committee advances more than a dozen housing bills to the floor and finance panel
Loading...
Summary
The Senate Committee on Housing reported multiple bills Feb. 10, 2026 — ranging from rent increase limits and manufactured-home preservation to eviction protections for medical marijuana patients and first-time homebuyer supports — sending most to the floor or the finance committee with minimal debate.
Albany — The New York State Senate Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development advanced a package of housing measures on Feb. 10, 2026, reporting more than a dozen bills either to the full Senate or to the finance committee for further consideration.
Sen. Brian Kavanaugh (Lower Manhattan), who opened the session, said the committee would focus on bills that had previously moved and needed to be advanced this year. "We have been moving this committee around a little bit because the time that we normally do it has been proven difficult given train delays," Kavanaugh said, explaining scheduling changes and noting the committee's Feb. 25 budget hearing.
The committee reported bills affecting manufactured-home communities, first-time homebuyer programs, tax treatment of grant awards, apprenticeship programs for public housing painters, and new penalties and timelines for certain building and fire-code violations. Several bills had passed the Senate in prior years and were placed on this year's route to the floor or to finance.
A number of items were considered with only brief discussion. On S.3068, a Sanders-sponsored bill to subsidize closing costs for low-income tenants purchasing homes, a committee member asked whether the subsidy would cover people who live with family rather than renting. An unidentified committee staff member responded: "So it is a tenant of public housing or a low income rent subsidized apartment, and it would be incumbent upon the Division of Housing and Community Renewal to provide, you know, more specific criteria." That clarification indicated the program targets renters in subsidized housing and that program rules would be set by DHCR.
Votes and procedural outcomes were largely routine: multiple bills were "reported" to the floor or referred to the finance committee. Several recorded negative votes were noted across different items — the transcript records opposing votes from senators identified as Martins and Walczyk (variants of the name appear in the record) on a small number of measures — but the committee nevertheless advanced the legislation.
Votes at a glance (items recorded in committee): S.228a (amend Real Property Law re: rent increases and manufactured-home parks) — motion to report to the floor carried; recorded negatives: Martins, Walczyk; committee reported the bill. S.956 (Private Housing Finance Law — Affordable Independent Senior Housing Assistance Program) — held at sponsor request for future consideration. S.1157 (New York State First Home Savings Program; tax deduction for deposits) — reported to finance. S.2721 (Mobile and Manufactured Home Replacement Program) — reported to finance. S.3068 (Subsidize closing costs for low-income tenants purchasing homes) — reported to finance; eligibility clarified as targeting tenants in public or subsidized housing; recorded negative: Walczyk. S.3150 (First Home Grant Program; tax exclusion for grant awards) — reported to finance. S.3689 (Prohibit eviction for certified medical marijuana use) — reported to the floor; recorded negatives: Martins, Walczyk. S.3758 (Amend General Business Law re: senior citizens and disabled persons) — reported to the floor; recorded negative: May. S.3819 (Expedited penalties/increased fines for building and fire code violations in NYC) — reported to the floor; small number of negatives recorded in the transcript. S.3835 (Manufactured Home Community Preservation Act) — reported to finance. S.6134 (Public housing painters apprenticeship program) — reported to finance. S.6274 (Preferences for veterans with service-related disabilities under Affordable Homeownership Development Program) — reported to the floor. S.6475 (Establish senior housing task force) — reported to the floor; one recorded 'nay' noted in transcript variants.
What happens next: Most measures advanced to the finance committee for fiscal review or to the full Senate for further consideration. A sponsor requested S.956 be held for a future meeting. The committee adjourned after completing its agenda.
Speakers quoted in this report are drawn from the committee transcript; where a speaker was not named in the record, this article attributes quotes to the generic transcript speaker label used in committee minutes.
