Increases the maximum aggregate principal amount of the outstanding notes and bonds of the New York city housing development corporation from twenty billion dollars to twenty-two billion dollars.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A11529
SPONSOR: Rules (Hooks) TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to increas-
ing the bonding authority of the New York city housing development
corporation
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section one of this bill would authorize the New York City Housing
Development Corporation ("HDC") to increase the maximum aggregate prin-
cipal amount of its outstanding notes and bonds from $20 billion to $22
billion.
Section two would provide that this bill takes effect immediately.
REASONS FOR SUPPORT:
HDC is the nation's largest municipal housing finance agency and annual-
ly ranks among the nation's top issuers of mortgage revenue bonds for
affordable multi-family housing. HDC is responsible for issuing tax-ex-
empt, taxable, and recycled tax-exempt bonds in order to advance the
City's affordable housing priorities. Since 2003, HDC has financed more
than 210,000 housing units using over $32 billion in bonds and other
debt obligations. HDC bond issuances are crucial to the creation of new
housing that serves some of the most vulnerable New Yorkers, including
our aging seniors, formerly homeless, and lowest-income households; to
preserving the affordability and long-term financial and physical health
of the existing affordable housing stock, including the City's Mitc-
hell-Lama developments; and to investing in much-needed improvements to
the City's aging public housing, while ensuring lasting protections for
residents.
On July 4, 2025, a federal bill was enacted that, as of January 1, 2026,
lowered the threshold of private activity bond financing that a project
needs to qualify for low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC) from 50% to
25% of the aggregate depreciable basis of the building and the land on
which the project is located. This change allows issuers to stretch this
limited federal resource further to finance a greater number of multi-
family projects using the same amount of volume cap. However, because
the cost of such projects has not changed, the new 25% test creates a
funding gap that HDC seeks to fill through the issuance of additional
taxable bonds, which can only occur if HDC's debt limit is increased.
By the end of December 2025, HDC had approximately $19.1 billion of
bonds sold or outstanding. HDC expects to issue approximately $2.7
billion in bonds during calendar year 2026, and anticipates exhausting
its bonding authority by June 2026. Increasing HDC's bonding authority
by $2 billion is necessary to ensure that HDC is able to continue
financing affordable housing in New York City and fulfill its mission to
expand and preserve the City's supply of affordable and public housing
and strengthen the health and vitality of its many communities.
The City has long faced a dire affordable housing crisis, resulting in a
lengthy pipeline of housing projects in need of financing. As the City's
affordable housing needs continue to grow, HDC requires regular
increases to its bonding authority. The $2 billion increase sought this
year will support the creation and preservation of much-needed afforda-
ble rental and homeownership opportunities across the city.
Accordingly, the Mayor urges the earliest possible favorable consider-
ation of this proposal by the Legislature. Respectfully submitted,
ALITHIA RODRIGUEZ-ROLON Legislative Representative
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
11529
IN ASSEMBLY
May 29, 2026
___________
Introduced by COMMITTEE ON RULES -- (at request of M. of A. Hooks) --
read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
AN ACT to amend the private housing finance law, in relation to increas-
ing the bonding authority of the New York city housing development
corporation
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph c of subdivision 1 of section 656 of the private
2 housing finance law, as amended by chapter 360 of the laws of 2025, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 c. No bonds or notes of the corporation shall be issued if upon such
5 issuance the aggregate principal amount of bonds and notes of the corpo-
6 ration then outstanding exceeds the lesser of [twenty] twenty-two
7 billion dollars or such amount as would cause the maximum capital
8 reserve fund requirement to exceed eighty-five million dollars; provided
9 that, in determining such aggregate principal amounts there shall be
10 deducted: (i) all sums then available for the payment of such bonds or
11 notes either at maturity or through the operation of a sinking fund;
12 (ii) the aggregate principal amount of outstanding bonds issued: (a) to
13 refund notes; and (b) to refund bonds, theretofore issued and then
14 outstanding; and (iii) the aggregate principal amount of outstanding
15 notes issued to renew notes theretofore issued and then outstanding. The
16 provisions of the prior sentence notwithstanding, the corporation shall
17 not issue bonds if such issuance shall cause the maximum reserve fund
18 requirement to exceed thirty million dollars unless prior to such issu-
19 ance the senate and assembly shall have adopted a concurrent resolution
20 passed by the votes of a majority of all the members elected to each
21 such house and, subsequent thereto, the governor shall evidence in writ-
22 ing the governor's agreement with such resolution to the chairperson of
23 the corporation, which resolution shall be in full force and effect on
24 the date of issuance of the bonds, permitting the maximum capital
25 reserve fund requirement to equal or exceed the amount of the maximum
26 capital reserve fund requirement which would be effective upon the issu-
27 ance of the bonds in question, but in no event shall the maximum capital
28 reserve fund requirement exceed eighty-five million dollars.
29 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15927-01-6
