New York A 10259: Establishes the rural housing workforce corps

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A10259 Summary:

BILL NOA10259 

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SAME ASNo Same As

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SPONSORCashman

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COSPNSR

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MLTSPNSR

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Add Art 33 §§1300 - 1306, Priv Hous Fin L

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Establishes the rural housing workforce corps to address rural housing shortages by expanding construction capacity, training a local workforce, and supporting the development of modest, year round housing units in rural New York state.

Go to top A10259 Actions:

BILL NOA10259 

&nbsp

02/12/2026referred to housing

Go to topA10259 Committee&nbspVotes:

Go to topA10259 Floor&nbspVotes:

There are no Assembly votes for this bill in this legislative session.

Go to topA10259 Text:

 STATE OF NEW YORK
 ________________________________________________________________________

 10259

 IN ASSEMBLY

 February 12, 2026
 ___________

 Introduced by M. of A. CASHMAN -- read once and referred to the Commit-
 tee on Housing

 AN ACT to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to estab-
 lishing the rural housing workforce corps to address rural housing
 shortages by expanding construction capacity, training a local work-
 force, and supporting the development of modest, year-round housing
 units in rural New York state; providing for the repeal of such
 provisions upon expiration thereof; and making an appropriation there-
 for

 The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
 bly, do enact as follows:

 1 Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Rural
 2 Housing Workforce Corps Act".
 3 § 2. The Legislature finds that:
 4 1. Rural regions of New York State, including the North Country, face
 5 an acute shortage of safe, affordable, year-round housing, constraining
 6 economic growth, workforce retention, and community stability.
 7 2. Housing shortages in rural areas are driven not only by financing
 8 gaps, but by a lack of construction capacity, skilled labor, and entry
 9 pathways into the building trades.
 10 3. Workforce development programs modeled on national service initi-
 11 atives such as AmeriCorps have demonstrated success in building skills,
 12 fostering civic engagement, and creating career pipelines.
 13 4. Strategic, time limited state investment can expand local housing
 14 capacity while preparing a new generation of skilled trades workers for
 15 permanent employment.
 16 The purpose of this act is to create a small scale, cost efficient
 17 pilot program that mobilizes a trained housing workforce corps to part-
 18 ner with local developers to construct modest housing units in rural
 19 communities.
 20 § 3. The private housing finance law is amended by adding a new arti-
 21 cle 33 to read as follows:
 22 ARTICLE 33
 23 RURAL HOUSING WORKFORCE CORPS

 EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
 [ ] is old law to be omitted.
 LBD14849-01-6

 A. 10259 2

 1 Section 1300. Definitions.
 2 1301. Rural housing workforce corps.
 3 1302. Program design and partnerships.
 4 1303. Housing production role.
 5 1304. Corps members.
 6 1305. Tax incentives.
 7 1306. Reporting and evaluation.
 8 § 1300. Definitions. For the purposes of this article:
 9 1. "Commission" shall mean the New York state commission on national
 10 and community service.
 11 2. "Corps" shall mean the rural housing workforce corps established by
 12 this article.
 13 3. "Corps member" shall mean an individual selected to participate in
 14 the rural housing workforce corps.
 15 4. "Department" shall mean the department of New York state homes and
 16 community renewal.
 17 5. "Participating developer" shall mean a private, nonprofit, munici-
 18 pal, or public benefit entity that provides land control, project spon-
 19 sorship, and local permitting for eligible housing projects.
 20 6. "Rural regions" shall mean a municipality, county, or area desig-
 21 nated as rural by the department pursuant to population density and
 22 housing need.
 23 § 1301. Rural housing workforce corps. 1. The department shall estab-
 24 lish a rural housing workforce corps which shall operate as a pilot
 25 program for two years. The corps shall operate in one or more rural
 26 regions with priority given during the two-year pilot program to rural
 27 regions in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, and St.
 28 Lawrence counties.
 29 2. The co