Senate Bill S5645

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   5645
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                             February 26, 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 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]  CHAIR  and  shall hold no other public office. No
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10277-01-5
              

 S. 5645                             2
 
 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;
 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] THEIR 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] CHAIR 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 divi-
 sion of housing and community renewal. The compensation of such  members
 and the costs of staff assistance shall be paid by the division of hous-
 ing  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 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. Subdivision a of section 26-510 of the administrative code of the
 city of New York is amended to read as follows:
   a. There shall be a rent guidelines board to consist of nine  members,
 appointed  by the mayor. Two 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 experi-
 ence in either finance, economics or housing. One public member shall be
 designated by the mayor to serve as [chairman] CHAIR 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; 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 representative of tenants and  one  member  represen-
 tative  of  owners  shall serve for a term ending two years from January
 first next succeeding the date of their appointment; one public  member,
 S. 5645                             3
 
 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 two public members
 shall serve for terms ending four years from January first next succeed-
 ing  the dates of their appointment. The [chairman] CHAIR shall serve at
 the pleasure of the mayor. Thereafter, all  members  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,  resig-
 nation  or  otherwise  in a manner consistent with the original appoint-
 ment. A member 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 notice.
   §  3.  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;  provided,  however,  that  the  amendments  to
 section  26-510  of  chapter 4 of title 26 of the administrative code of
 the city of New York 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.