Bill Text: NY S01796 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Introduced

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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) 2017-01-10 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S01796 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S01796-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          1796
                               2017-2018 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                    January 10, 2017
                                       ___________
        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
        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
    20  tenants and one member representative of owners shall  serve  for  terms
    21  ending  three  years  from the January first next succeeding the date of
    22  their appointment and two public members shall serve  for  terms  ending
    23  four  years  from  January  first  next  succeeding  the  dates of their
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01118-01-7
        S. 1796                             2
     1  appointment. [The chairman shall serve at the pleasure  of  the  mayor.]
     2  Thereafter,  all members shall continue in office until their successors
     3  have been appointed and qualified. The mayor upon the advice and consent
     4  of  the city council shall fill any vacancy which may occur by reason of
     5  death,  resignation  or  otherwise  in  a  manner  consistent  with  the
     6  [original  appointment]  provisions of this subdivision. A member may be
     7  removed by the mayor or city council  for  cause,  but  not  without  an
     8  opportunity  to be heard in person or by counsel, in his or her defense,
     9  upon not less than ten days notice. A successor to such member shall  be
    10  appointed in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision to serve
    11  the balance of the term of the member who was removed.
    12    §  2.  Subdivision  a  of section 4 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the
    13  laws of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of  nine-
    14  teen  seventy-four,  as  amended  by chapter 349 of the laws of 1979, is
    15  amended to read as follows:
    16    a. In each county wherein any city having a population  of  less  than
    17  one  million  or  any town or village has determined the existence of an
    18  emergency pursuant to section three of this act, there shall be  created
    19  a  rent  guidelines  board  to  consist of nine members appointed by the
    20  commissioner of housing and community renewal upon recommendation of the
    21  county legislature which recommendation shall be made within thirty days
    22  after the first local declaration of an emergency in  such  county;  two
    23  such  members shall be representative of tenants, two shall be represen-
    24  tative of owners of property, and five shall be public members [each  of
    25  whom].  Each  of  the  public members shall have had at least five years
    26  experience in [either] public service, social services, urban  planning,
    27  social  sciences, finance, economics or housing. One public member shall
    28  be designated by the commissioner to serve as [chairman] chair and shall
    29  hold no other public office. No  member,  officer  or  employee  of  any
    30  municipal  rent  regulation  agency or the state division of housing and
    31  community renewal and no person who owns or manages real estate  covered
    32  by  this  law  or  who is an officer of any owner or tenant organization
    33  shall serve on a rent guidelines board. One public  member,  one  member
    34  representative  of tenants and one member representative of owners shall
    35  serve for a term ending two years from January first next succeeding the
    36  date of their appointment; one public member, one member  representative
    37  of tenants and one member representative of owners shall serve for terms
    38  ending  three  years  from the January first next succeeding the date of
    39  their appointment and three public members shall serve for terms  ending
    40  four  years  from  January  first  next  succeeding  the  dates of their
    41  appointment.   Thereafter, all members shall serve  for  terms  of  four
    42  years  each.    Members  shall continue in office until their successors
    43  have been appointed and  qualified.  The  commissioner  shall  fill  any
    44  vacancy  which may occur by reason of death, resignation or otherwise in
    45  a manner consistent with the [original appointment] provisions  of  this
    46  subdivision.  A member may be removed by the commissioner for cause, but
    47  not without an opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel,  in  his
    48  defense,  upon not less than ten days notice. A successor to such member
    49  shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision
    50  to serve the balance of the term of the member who was removed.  Compen-
    51  sation  for the members of the board shall be at the rate of one hundred
    52  dollars per day, for no more than twenty days a year,  except  that  the
    53  [chairman]  chair  shall be compensated at the rate of one hundred twen-
    54  ty-five dollars a day for no more than thirty days  a  year.  The  board
    55  shall be provided staff assistance by the division of housing and commu-
    56  nity  renewal.  The  compensation of such members and the costs of staff
        S. 1796                             3
     1  assistance shall be paid  by  the  division  of  housing  and  community
     2  renewal  which  shall  be reimbursed in the manner prescribed in section
     3  four of this act. The local legislative body of each city having a popu-
     4  lation  of  less  than one million and each town and village in which an
     5  emergency has been determined to  exist  as  herein  provided  shall  be
     6  authorized  to  designate  one  person  who  shall  be representative of
     7  tenants and one person who shall be representative of owners of property
     8  to serve at its pleasure and without compensation to advise  and  assist
     9  the  county rent guidelines board in matters affecting the adjustment of
    10  rents for housing accommodations in such city, town or  village  as  the
    11  case may be.
    12    §  3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
    13  ing the date upon which it shall have become a law; provided that:
    14    (a) the amendments to section 26-510 of the rent stabilization law  of
    15  nineteen hundred sixty-nine made by section one of this act shall expire
    16  on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect the expiration
    17  of such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law;
    18    (b) the amendments to section 4 of the emergency tenant protection act
    19  of nineteen seventy-four made by section two of this act shall expire on
    20  the same date as such act expires and shall not affect the expiration of
    21  such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974;
    22    (c)  the  rent  boards  as reconstituted pursuant to this act shall be
    23  appointed and confirmed within forty-five days after the effective  date
    24  of this act; and
    25    (d) upon the appointment of a rent board pursuant to the provisions of
    26  this  act,  any  existing  predecessor rent board shall be dissolved and
    27  such predecessor rent board shall have no further authority.