Senate Bill S3403

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   3403
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 29, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  BAILEY -- 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 and the administrative code  of  the  city  of  New  York,  in
   relation to alternates on 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 section 5 of part G of  chapter  36
 of the laws of 2019, 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 AND THREE  ALTERNATES
 appointed  by  the  commissioner  of  housing and community renewal upon
 recommendation of the county legislature, except that a rent  guidelines
 board  created  subsequent  to  the effective date of the chapter of the
 laws of two thousand nineteen that amended this section shall consist of
 nine members appointed by the  commissioner  of  housing  and  community
 renewal  upon recommendations of the local legislative body of each city
 having a population of less than one million or town  or  village  which
 has  determined  the existence of an emergency pursuant to section three
 of this act.  Such recommendation shall be made within thirty days after
 the first local declaration of an emergency in  such  county;  two  such
 members  AND  ONE SUCH ALTERNATE shall be representative of tenants, two
 SUCH MEMBERS AND ONE SUCH ALTERNATE shall be representative of owners of
 property, and five SUCH MEMBERS AND ONE SUCH ALTERNATE shall  be  public
 [members]  REPRESENTATIVES  each  of  whom  shall have had at least five
 years experience in either finance, economics  or  housing.  One  public
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD07537-01-1

 S. 3403                             2
 
 member  shall  be  designated by the commissioner to serve as [chairman]
 CHAIRPERSON 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, THE ALTERNATE  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 AND THE
 ALTERNATE representative of owners shall serve for  terms  ending  three
 years  from the January first next succeeding the date of their appoint-
 ment and three public members AND THE PUBLIC ALTERNATE shall  serve  for
 terms  ending four years from January first next succeeding the dates of
 their appointment.  Thereafter, all members AND ALTERNATES  shall  serve
 for  terms of four years each.  Members AND ALTERNATES 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.  A  member  OR ALTERNATE may be removed by the commissioner
 for cause, but not without an opportunity to be heard in  person  or  by
 counsel,  in  his  OR  HER  defense, upon not less than ten [days] DAYS'
 notice. Compensation for the members AND ALTERNATES 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] CHAIRPERSON 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  ALTERNATES 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 section [four] EIGHT of this act. AN
 ALTERNATE SHALL ONLY PARTICIPATE AS A VOTING MEMBER IN  THE  PROCEEDINGS
 OF  THE  BOARD AND BE PAID WHEN A MEMBER, REPRESENTING THE SAME INTEREST
 AS THE ALTERNATE, IS UNABLE TO FULFILL HIS OR HER DUTIES ON  THE  BOARD.
 ALTERNATES  SHALL  BE PERMITTED TO PARTICIPATE IN ALL PROCEEDINGS OF THE
 BOARD AS NON-VOTING MEMBERS. 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] IS authorized to designate one person who shall be represen-
 tative 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 accommodations in such city, town or
 village as the case may be.
   § 2. Subdivisions a and c of section 26-510 of the administrative code
 of the city of New York are amended to read as follows:
   a. There shall be a rent guidelines board, to consist of nine  members
 AND THREE ALTERNATES, appointed by the mayor. Two members AND ONE ALTER-
 NATE  shall  be representative of tenants, two MEMBERS AND ONE ALTERNATE
 shall be representative of owners of property, and five MEMBERS AND  ONE
 ALTERNATE  shall be public [members] REPRESENTATIVES, 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 mayor to serve  as
 [chairman]  CHAIRPERSON  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

 S. 3403                             3

 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,  AND  ONE ALTERNATE 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, AND ONE  ALTERNATE  representative  of  owners  shall
 serve  for terms ending three years from the January first next succeed-
 ing the date of their appointment; and two public members AND THE PUBLIC
 ALTERNATE shall serve for terms ending four  years  from  January  first
 next  succeeding  the dates of their appointment.  The [chairman] CHAIR-
 PERSON shall serve at the pleasure of the mayor. Thereafter, all members
 AND ALTERNATES shall continue in office until their successors have been
 appointed and qualified. The mayor shall  fill  any  vacancy  which  may
 occur by reason of death, resignation, or otherwise in a manner consist-
 ent  with the original appointment. A member OR ALTERNATE may be removed
 by the mayor for cause, but not without an opportunity to  be  heard  in
 person  or  by  counsel,  in  his or her defense, upon not less than ten
 [days] DAYS' notice. AN ALTERNATE SHALL ONLY  PARTICIPATE  AS  A  VOTING
 MEMBER  IN  THE  PROCEEDINGS  OF  THE  BOARD  AND BE PAID WHEN A MEMBER,
 REPRESENTING THE SAME INTEREST AS THE ALTERNATE, IS  UNABLE  TO  FULFILL
 HIS OR HER DUTIES ON THE BOARD. ALTERNATES SHALL BE PERMITTED TO PARTIC-
 IPATE IN ALL PROCEEDINGS OF THE BOARD AS NON-VOTING MEMBERS.
   c.  Such  members  AND  ALTERNATES  shall be compensated on a per diem
 basis of one hundred dollars per day for no more than twenty-five days a
 year, except that the [chairman] CHAIRPERSON shall be compensated at one
 hundred twenty-five dollars a day for no more than fifty  days  a  year.
 The  [chairman] CHAIRPERSON shall be chief administrative officer of the
 rent guidelines board and among his or her powers and duties he  or  she
 shall  have the authority to employ, assign, and supervise the employees
 of the rent guidelines board and enter  into  contracts  for  consultant
 services.   The department of housing preservation and development shall
 cooperate with the rent guidelines board and may  assign  personnel  and
 perform  such  services in connection with the duties of the rent guide-
 lines board as may reasonably be required by the [chairman] CHAIRPERSON.
   § 3. This act shall take effect immediately provided that  the  amend-
 ment to section 26-510 of the rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred
 sixty-nine made by section two of this act shall expire on the same date
 as  such  law expires and shall not affect the expiration of such law as
 provided under section 26-520 of such law.