Senate Bill S1592

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   1592
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             January 12, 2023
                                ___________
 
 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, in relation to  qualifications  of  public  members  of  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  appointed  by  the
 commissioner of housing and community renewal upon recommendation of the
 county  legislature,  except that a rent guidelines board created subse-
 quent 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  deter-
 mined  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
 shall  be  representative  of  tenants,  two  shall be representative 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,
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04483-01-3
              

 S. 1592                             2
 
 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;
 PROVIDED, FURTHER, HOWEVER, NO PERSON WHO OWNS OR MANAGES MORE THAN FOUR
 RENTAL UNITS WITHIN THE STATE OF NEW YORK SHALL SERVE AS A PUBLIC MEMBER
 ON A RENT GUIDELINES BOARD.   One public member,  one  member  represen-
 tative  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  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.  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.
   § 2. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
 have become a law and shall apply to public members currently serving on
 a rent guidelines board.