Bill Text: NY S00196 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended

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Bill Title: Relates to the appointment and qualifications of members of rent boards.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-04-29 - PRINT NUMBER 196A [S00196 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-S00196-Amended.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         196--A
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 7, 2015
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sens. SQUADRON, AVELLA, HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered
          printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Housing,
          Construction and Community Development -- recommitted to the Committee
          on Housing, Construction and Community Development in accordance  with
          Senate  Rule  6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
          reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
        AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the city of New York and  the
          emergency  tenant protection act of nineteen seventy-four, in relation
          to the establishment of rent boards
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1. Subdivision a of section 26-510 of the administrative code
     2  of the city of New York is amended to read as follows:
     3    a. There shall be a rent guidelines board to consist of nine  members,
     4  appointed  by the mayor upon the advice and consent of the city council.
     5  Two members shall be representative of tenants, two shall  be  represen-
     6  tative  of owners of property, and five shall be public members [each of
     7  whom]. Each of the public members shall have had  at  least  five  years
     8  experience  in [either] public service, social services, urban planning,
     9  social sciences, finance, economics or housing. One public member  shall
    10  be designated by the mayor upon the advice and consent of the city coun-
    11  cil  to serve as [chairman] chair and shall hold no other public office.
    12  No member, officer or employee of any municipal rent  regulation  agency
    13  or the state division of housing and community renewal and no person who
    14  owns  or  manages  real  estate covered by this law or who [is] receives
    15  compensation as an officer of any owner  or  tenant  organization  shall
    16  serve  on  a rent guidelines board. One public member, one member repre-
    17  sentative of tenants and one member representative of owners shall serve
    18  for a term ending two years from January first next succeeding the  date
    19  of  their  appointment;  one public member, one member representative of
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD00839-02-6
        S. 196--A                           2
     1  tenants and one member representative of owners shall  serve  for  terms
     2  ending  three  years  from the January first next succeeding the date of
     3  their appointment and two public members shall serve  for  terms  ending
     4  four  years  from  January  first  next  succeeding  the  dates of their
     5  appointment. [The chairman shall serve at the pleasure  of  the  mayor.]
     6  Thereafter,  all members shall continue in office until their successors
     7  have been appointed and qualified. The mayor upon the advice and consent
     8  of the city council shall fill any vacancy which may occur by reason  of
     9  death,  resignation  or  otherwise  in  a  manner  consistent  with  the
    10  [original appointment] provisions of this subdivision. A member  may  be
    11  removed  by  the  mayor  or  city  council for cause, but not without an
    12  opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel, in his or her  defense,
    13  upon  not less than ten days notice. A successor to such member shall be
    14  appointed in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision to serve
    15  the balance of the term of the member who was removed.
    16    § 2. Subdivision a of section 4 of section 4 of  chapter  576  of  the
    17  laws  of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of nine-
    18  teen seventy-four, as amended by chapter 349 of the  laws  of  1979,  is
    19  amended to read as follows:
    20    a.  In  each  county wherein any city having a population of less than
    21  one million or any town or village has determined the  existence  of  an
    22  emergency  pursuant to section three of this act, there shall be created
    23  a rent guidelines board to consist of  nine  members  appointed  by  the
    24  commissioner of housing and community renewal upon recommendation of the
    25  county legislature which recommendation shall be made within thirty days
    26  after  the  first  local declaration of an emergency in such county; two
    27  such members shall be representative of tenants, two shall be  represen-
    28  tative  of owners of property, and five shall be public members [each of
    29  whom]. Each of the public members shall have had  at  least  five  years
    30  experience  in [either] public service, social services, urban planning,
    31  social sciences, finance, economics or housing. One public member  shall
    32  be designated by the commissioner to serve as [chairman] chair and shall
    33  hold  no  other  public  office.  No  member, officer or employee of any
    34  municipal rent regulation agency or the state division  of  housing  and
    35  community  renewal and no person who owns or manages real estate covered
    36  by this law or who is an officer of any  owner  or  tenant  organization
    37  shall  serve  on  a rent guidelines board. One public member, one member
    38  representative of tenants and one member representative of owners  shall
    39  serve for a term ending two years from January first next succeeding the
    40  date  of their appointment; one public member, one member representative
    41  of tenants and one member representative of owners shall serve for terms
    42  ending three years from the January first next succeeding  the  date  of
    43  their  appointment and three public members shall serve for terms ending
    44  four years from  January  first  next  succeeding  the  dates  of  their
    45  appointment.    Thereafter,  all  members  shall serve for terms of four
    46  years each.  Members shall continue in  office  until  their  successors
    47  have  been  appointed  and  qualified.  The  commissioner shall fill any
    48  vacancy which may occur by reason of death, resignation or otherwise  in
    49  a  manner  consistent with the [original appointment] provisions of this
    50  subdivision. A member may be removed by the commissioner for cause,  but
    51  not  without  an opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel, in his
    52  defense, upon not less than ten days notice. A successor to such  member
    53  shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision
    54  to  serve the balance of the term of the member who was removed. Compen-
    55  sation for the members of the board shall be at the rate of one  hundred
    56  dollars  per  day,  for no more than twenty days a year, except that the
        S. 196--A                           3
     1  [chairman] chair shall be compensated at the rate of one  hundred  twen-
     2  ty-five  dollars  a  day  for no more than thirty days a year. The board
     3  shall be provided staff assistance by the division of housing and commu-
     4  nity  renewal.  The  compensation of such members and the costs of staff
     5  assistance shall be paid  by  the  division  of  housing  and  community
     6  renewal  which  shall  be reimbursed in the manner prescribed in section
     7  four of this act. The local legislative body of each city having a popu-
     8  lation of less than one million and each town and village  in  which  an
     9  emergency  has  been  determined  to  exist  as herein provided shall be
    10  authorized to designate  one  person  who  shall  be  representative  of
    11  tenants and one person who shall be representative of owners of property
    12  to  serve  at its pleasure and without compensation to advise and assist
    13  the county rent guidelines board in matters affecting the adjustment  of
    14  rents  for  housing  accommodations in such city, town or village as the
    15  case may be.
    16    § 3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next  succeed-
    17  ing the date upon which it shall have become a law; provided that:
    18    (a)  the amendments to section 26-510 of the rent stabilization law of
    19  nineteen hundred sixty-nine made by section one of this act shall expire
    20  on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect the expiration
    21  of such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law;
    22    (b) the amendments to section 4 of the emergency tenant protection act
    23  of nineteen seventy-four made by section two of this act shall expire on
    24  the same date as such act expires and shall not affect the expiration of
    25  such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974;
    26    (c) the rent boards as reconstituted pursuant to  this  act  shall  be
    27  appointed  and confirmed within forty-five days after the effective date
    28  of this act; and
    29    (d) upon the appointment of a rent board pursuant to the provisions of
    30  this act, any existing predecessor rent board  shall  be  dissolved  and
    31  such predecessor rent board shall have no further authority.