Senate Bill S3957

                            
                    S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  3957

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              April 7, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  OPPENHEIMER -- read twice and ordered printed, and
  when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing, Construction
  and Community Development

AN ACT to amend the emergency tenant protection act of  nineteen  seven-
  ty-four, in relation to additional qualifications for members of local
  rent guidelines boards

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Subdivision a of section 4 of section 4 of chapter  576  of
the  laws  of  1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of
nineteen seventy-four, as amended by chapter 349 of the laws of 1979, is
amended to read as follows:
  a. In each county wherein any city having a population  of  less  than
one  million  or  any town or village has determined the existence of an
emergency pursuant to section three of this act, there shall be  created
a  rent  guidelines  board  to  consist of nine members appointed by the
commissioner of housing and community renewal upon recommendation of the
county legislature which recommendation shall be made within thirty days
after the first local declaration of an emergency in  such  county;  two
such  members shall be representative of tenants, two shall be represen-
tative of owners of property, and five shall be public members  each  of
whom  shall  have  had at least five years experience in either finance,
economics or housing. One public  member  shall  be  designated  by  the
commissioner to serve as chairman and shall hold no other public office.
No  member,  officer or employee of any municipal rent regulation agency
or the state division of housing and community renewal SHALL SERVE ON  A
RENT  GUIDELINES  BOARD  and  no  person who owns or manages real estate
covered by this law or who is an officer of any owner or  tenant  organ-
ization  shall  serve  AS A PUBLIC MEMBER on a rent guidelines board. NO
PERSON WHO IS ENGAGED IN ANY BUSINESS WHICH INVOLVES  SUBSTANTIAL  DEAL-
INGS WITH REAL ESTATE OR TENANT INTERESTS SHALL SERVE AS A PUBLIC MEMBER
OF A RENT GUIDELINES BOARD. One public member, one member representative
of  tenants  and  one  member representative of owners shall serve for a
term ending two years from January first next  succeeding  the  date  of

              

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD09259-01-9

S. 3957                             2

their  appointment;  one  public  member,  one  member representative of
tenants and one member representative of owners shall  serve  for  terms
ending  three  years  from the January first next succeeding the date of
their  appointment and three public members shall serve for terms ending
four years from  January  first  next  succeeding  the  dates  of  their
appointment. Thereafter, all members shall serve for terms of four years
each.  Members shall continue in office until their successors have been
appointed and qualified. The commissioner shall fill any  vacancy  which
may  occur  by  reason  of  death,  resignation or otherwise in a manner
consistent with the [original appointment] PROVISIONS OF  THIS  SUBDIVI-
SION.    A  member may be removed by the commissioner for cause, but not
without an opportunity to be heard in  person  or  by  counsel,  in  his
defense,  upon  not  less  than  ten  days  notice. Compensation for the
members of the board shall be at the rate of  one  hundred  dollars  per
day, for no more than twenty days a year, except that the chairman shall
be  compensated at the rate of one hundred twenty-five dollars a day for
no more than thirty days a year.  The  board  shall  be  provided  staff
assistance by the division of housing and community renewal. The compen-
sation  of  such members and the costs of staff assistance shall be paid
by the division of housing and community renewal which  shall  be  reim-
bursed  in the manner prescribed in THIS section [four of this act]. The
local legislative body of each city having a population of less than one
million and each town and village in which an emergency has been  deter-
mined  to  exist as herein provided shall be authorized to designate one
person who shall be representative of tenants and one person  who  shall
be  representative  of  owners  of property to serve at its pleasure and
without compensation to advise and assist  the  county  rent  guidelines
board  in matters affecting the adjustment of rents for housing accommo-
dations in such city, town or village as the case may be.
  S 2.  This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to public
members of rent guidelines boards appointed prior to or after the effec-
tive date of this act and members of rent guidelines boards  other  than
public  members appointed after the effective date of this act; provided
that the amendment to section 4 of the emergency tenant  protection  act
of nineteen seventy-four made by section one of this act shall expire on
the same date as such act expires and shall not affect the expiration of
such  act  as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974,
as amended.