S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  3229

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            January 22, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  SCARBOROUGH -- read once and referred to the
  Committee on Governmental Operations

AN ACT directing the comptroller to prepare an audit of certain New York
  city regulatory agencies to assess the impact of  certain  enforcement
  actions on small businesses

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

  Section 1. The New York state deputy comptroller for the city  of  New
York  shall  prepare  or  cause to be prepared an audit of the following
agencies in the city of New York: the department  of  consumer  affairs,
the department of environmental protection, the department of buildings,
the  department  of  health and mental hygiene, the fire department, and
the environmental control board. Such audit shall  be  done  in  collab-
oration  with  the  New  York city comptroller's office. The audit shall
consist of a review of  the  fines,  tickets  and  regulatory  penalties
imposed  by  the  above  named  agencies on small businesses in New York
city.  For the purposes of this act a "small business" shall be  defined
as  having  up  to  100 employees. The audit shall examine the amount of
revenue collected by the above named agencies from small businesses  and
the  change  in such revenue collected from the previous year. The audit
shall also include the number of agency personnel dedicated or added for
enforcement purposes. The efficiency of the enforcement  and  regulatory
actions  should  be  examined  to  determine  the  extent  to which they
fostered or increased compliance with the relevant laws, rules and regu-
lations; whether the actions were of material benefit to  the  consumers
or  the  public    that these businesses served; whether the enforcement
actions were effective in changing improper behavior;  and  whether  the
main  effect  was  to  raise revenue for the city of New York. The audit
should examine the impact of these enforcement actions on the businesses
and on the public.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD08064-01-5

              

A. 3229                             2

  The audit shall separately assess violations that are  clearly  health
or  safety violations from other violations, and examine whether in non-
health or safety violations, improved compliance might  be  achieved  by
offering  a  first-time  "opportunity to cure" in selected situations as
opposed  to  the  immediate  imposition of sanctions or fines. The audit
shall make recommendations for policy  or  legislative  initiatives,  or
changes  in practices, that would improve the quality of service offered
by businesses and received by the public, as  well  as  maintaining  the
viability  of businesses to operate safely, profitably and in compliance
with the laws in the city of New York.
  The audit report shall be submitted on March 31st following  the  year
being  audited  to  the governor, the mayor of the city of New York, the
speaker of the New York state assembly, the speaker of the New York city
council, the temporary president of the senate, the chairs of the senate
and assembly committees on economic development, and  small  businesses,
and  the  chairs  of  the committee on economic development and on small
business in the New York city council.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.