6554 states that the Department Of Commerce shall create the position of Director Of Homelessness to be appointed by the governor every four years.
The director shall serve as the department’s and each county executive’s principal advisor on housing and housing-related issues, including, but not limited to, the distribution of document recording fee surcharge funds.
This position replaces the department’s existing boards and task forces on housing and housing related issues within each county. The director must work to create greater levels of interagency coordination and to coordinate state and local agency efforts addressing homelessness. The director will also address county’s needs for housing that are affordable for all. The director will also publish a ten-year homeless housing strategic plan outlining countywide goals and performance measures. For the purpose of this act, county means any county with a population of more than 1.5 million people.
