Senate Bill S7978

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

                                  7978

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              June 1, 2016
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sen.  STEWART-COUSINS -- 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 public members of a rent guidelines board

  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]  TWO  years  experience  in  either
finance, economics or housing. THE PUBLIC MEMBERS MAY NOT BE EMPLOYED BY
AN  ORGANIZATION,  LAW FIRM, OR OTHER ENTITY WHICH PREDOMINANTLY REPRES-
ENTS OR ADVISES LANDLORDS OR TENANTS AS PART OF THEIR BUSINESS OR  PRAC-
TICE. 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 and no person who owns or manages  real
estate  covered  by this law or who is an officer of any owner or tenant
organization shall serve on 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 their appointment; one public member, one member
representative of tenants and one member representative of owners  shall

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

                                                           LBD15516-01-6

S. 7978                             2

serve  for terms ending three years from the January first next succeed-
ing 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  succes-
sors  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. 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 compensation of such members and the costs of
staff  assistance shall be paid by the division of housing and community
renewal which shall be reimbursed  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 determined 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 prop-
erty  to  serve  at  its pleasure and without compensation to advise and
assist the county rent guidelines board in matters affecting the adjust-
ment of rents for housing accommodations in such city, town  or  village
as the case may be.
  S  2. This act shall take effect immediately; provided that the amend-
ments 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.