Bill Text: NY A06866 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishes the anti-discrimination in housing fund and allocates moneys from fines thereto.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-06-08 - substituted by s945b [A06866 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A06866-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6866

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                     April 13, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  JEAN-PIERRE -- read once and referred to the
          Committee on Judiciary

        AN ACT to amend the real property law and  the  state  finance  law,  in
          relation  to  establishing the anti-discrimination in housing fund and
          allocating moneys from fines thereto

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 1 of section 441-c of the real
     2  property  law, as amended by chapter 131 of the laws of 2020, is amended
     3  to read as follows:
     4    (a) The department of state may revoke the license of  a  real  estate
     5  broker  or  salesman or suspend the same, for such period as the depart-
     6  ment may deem proper, or in lieu thereof may impose a fine not exceeding
     7  [one] two thousand dollars payable to the department of state,  provided
     8  that fifty percent of all moneys received by the department of state for
     9  such  fines  shall be payable to the anti-discrimination in housing fund
    10  established pursuant to section eighty-a of the state finance law, or  a
    11  reprimand  upon  conviction  of  the  licensee  of  a  violation  of any
    12  provision of this article, or for a material misstatement in the  appli-
    13  cation for such license, or if such licensee has been guilty of fraud or
    14  fraudulent practices, or for dishonest or misleading advertising, or has
    15  demonstrated  untrustworthiness  or incompetency to act as a real estate
    16  broker or salesman, or for a violation of article fifteen of the  execu-
    17  tive  law  committed  in  his or her capacity as a real estate broker or
    18  salesman, as the case may be.   In the case  of  a  real  estate  broker
    19  engaged  in  the  business  of  a tenant relocator, untrustworthiness or
    20  incompetency shall include engaging in any course of conduct  including,
    21  but  not  limited  to,  the  interruption or discontinuance of essential
    22  building service, that interferes with or disturbs the  peace,  comfort,
    23  repose and quiet enjoyment of a tenant.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03803-04-1
        A. 6866                             2

     1    §  2. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 80-a to
     2  read as follows:
     3    § 80-a. Anti-discrimination in housing fund. 1. There is hereby estab-
     4  lished  in  the  custody  of  the state comptroller a special fund to be
     5  known as the "anti-discrimination in housing fund".
     6    2. The anti-discrimination in housing fund  shall  consist  of  moneys
     7  appropriated thereto, moneys transferred from any other fund or sources,
     8  and  fifty  percent  of  all fines and forfeitures collected pursuant to
     9  paragraph (a) of subdivision one of section four hundred forty-one-c  of
    10  the  real  property law. Nothing contained in this section shall prevent
    11  the state from receiving grants, gifts or bequests for the  purposes  of
    12  the  fund  as  defined in this section and depositing them into the fund
    13  according to law.
    14    3. The moneys in the anti-discrimination in housing fund shall be kept
    15  separate from and shall not be commingled with any other moneys  in  the
    16  custody of the state comptroller. Such moneys shall be made available to
    17  the  office  of the attorney general, for fair housing testing and allo-
    18  cation of grants to duly applying county, city, town  or  village  human
    19  rights  commissions,  or other duly applying county, city, town, village
    20  or not-for-profit agencies specializing in the  prevention  of  unlawful
    21  discrimination in housing.
    22    4.  The  attorney general shall establish the application criteria for
    23  such not-for-profit agencies for the purposes of the fund as defined  in
    24  this section.
    25    5.  The monies shall be payable from the fund on the audit and warrant
    26  of the comptroller on vouchers approved and certified  by  the  attorney
    27  general.
    28    §  3.  This  act  shall take effect on the sixtieth day after it shall
    29  have become a law.