Senate Bill S4359

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4359
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 4, 2025
                                ___________
 
 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 THIRTY-
 SIX 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 represen-
 tative of owners of property, and five SUCH MEMBERS AND ONE SUCH  ALTER-
 NATE  shall  be public [members] REPRESENTATIVES each of whom shall have
 had at least five years experience in either finance, economics or hous-
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD08424-01-5
              

 S. 4359                             2
 
 ing. One public 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 appoint-
 ment; 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  appointment  and  three  public  members AND THE PUBLIC ALTERNATE
 shall serve for terms ending four years from January first next succeed-
 ing the dates of their appointment.  Thereafter, all members AND  ALTER-
 NATES  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] THEIR 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 assist-
 ance 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
 reimbursed 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 THEIR 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
 representative  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. 4359                             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] THEIR 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
 THEIR DUTIES ON THE BOARD. ALTERNATES SHALL BE PERMITTED TO  PARTICIPATE
 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] THEIR powers and duties [he
 or she] THEY 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  devel-
 opment  shall  cooperate  with  the rent guidelines board and may assign
 personnel and perform such services in connection with the duties of the
 rent guidelines 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.