Assembly Bill A2274

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2274
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 16, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES, JACKSON -- read once and referred to the
   Committee on Judiciary
 
 AN ACT to amend the executive law and the state finance law, in relation
   to allocating fines imposed on real estate appraisers to the anti-dis-
   crimination in housing fund

   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. The opening paragraph of subdivision 1 of section 160-u  of
 the  executive  law,  as  amended by chapter 397 of the laws of 1991, is
 amended to read as follows:
   The rights of any holder under a state certificate as a  state  certi-
 fied real estate appraiser, or a license as a state licensed real estate
 appraiser,  may  be revoked or suspended, A FINE NOT EXCEEDING TWO THOU-
 SAND DOLLARS MAY BE IMPOSED  ON  ANY  HOLDER  OF  THE  CERTIFICATION  OR
 LICENSE,  PROVIDED  THAT  FIFTY  PERCENT  OF  ALL MONEYS RECEIVED BY THE
 DEPARTMENT OF STATE FOR SUCH FINES SHALL BE PAYABLE TO THE  ANTI-DISCRI-
 MINATION IN HOUSING FUND ESTABLISHED PURSUANT TO SECTION EIGHTY-A OF THE
 STATE  FINANCE LAW, or the holder of the certification or license may be
 otherwise disciplined in accordance with the provisions of this article,
 upon any of the grounds set forth in this section.  The  department  may
 investigate  the  actions  of  a state certified or licensed real estate
 appraiser, and may revoke or suspend the  rights  of  a  certificate  or
 license  holder  IMPOSE  A  FINE  ON A CERTIFICATE OR LICENSE HOLDER, or
 otherwise discipline a state certified or licensed real estate appraiser
 for any of the following acts or omissions:
   § 2. Subdivision 9 of section 160-e of the executive law,  as  amended
 by chapter 397 of the laws of 1991, is amended to read as follows:
   9.  To  suspend  and  revoke  certificates or licenses OR IMPOSE FINES
 pursuant to the disciplinary proceedings provided for in this article.
   § 3. Subdivision 1 of section 160-v of the executive law,  as  amended
 by chapter 241 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD04503-01-5
              

 A. 2274                             2
 
   1.  Before  suspending  or  revoking  any  certification or license OR
 IMPOSING ANY FINES ON A  HOLDER  OF  A  CERTIFICATION  OR  LICENSE,  the
 department  shall  notify  the  state  certified or licensed real estate
 appraiser or licensed real estate appraiser assistant in writing of  any
 charges  made at least twenty days prior to the date set for the hearing
 and shall afford [him or her] THE HOLDER an opportunity to be  heard  in
 person or by counsel.
   §  4.  Subdivision 2 of section 160-w of the executive law, as amended
 by chapter 241 of the laws of 1999, is amended to read as follows:
   2. If the department determined that a  state  certified  or  licensed
 real  estate  appraiser  or  licensed real estate appraiser assistant is
 guilty of a violation of any of the provisions of this article, it shall
 prepare a finding of fact and recommend that such  appraiser  be  repri-
 manded  or that [his or her] THE APPRAISER'S certification or license be
 suspended or revoked OR THAT A FINE BE IMPOSED. The decision  and  order
 of the department shall be final.
   §  5.  Subdivisions  2 and 3 of section 80-a of the state finance law,
 subdivision 2 as added by chapter 687 of the laws of 2021, and  subdivi-
 sion  3  as  amended  by chapter 89 of the laws of  2022, are amended to
 read as follows:
   2. The anti-discrimination in housing fund  shall  consist  of  moneys
 appropriated thereto, moneys transferred from any other fund or sources,
 FIFTY  PERCENT OF ALL FINES AND FORFEITURES COLLECTED PURSUANT TO SUBDI-
 VISION ONE OF SECTION ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-U  OF  THE  EXECUTIVE  LAW,  and
 fifty  percent  of all fines and forfeitures collected pursuant to para-
 graph (a) of subdivision one of section four hundred forty-one-c of  the
 real  property  law. Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the
 state from receiving grants, gifts or bequests for the purposes  of  the
 fund  as  defined  in  this  section  and  depositing them into the fund
 according to law.
   3. The moneys in the anti-discrimination in housing fund shall be kept
 separate from and shall not be commingled with any other moneys  in  the
 custody of the state comptroller. Such moneys shall be made available to
 the  office of the attorney general, for fair housing testing, INCLUDING
 BUT NOT LIMITED TO TESTING REAL ESTATE APPRAISERS, through allocation of
 grants to duly applying county,  city,  town  or  village  human  rights
 commissions,  or other duly applying county, city, town, village or not-
 for-profit entities specializing in the prevention of unlawful discrimi-
 nation in housing, to detect unlawful discrimination in housing.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately.