Bill Text: NY S04359 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Provides for the appointment of three alternates on rent guideline boards; one alternate shall represent tenants, one shall represent owners of property and one shall be a public representative; alternates shall be permitted to participate in all proceedings of the board as non-voting members; an alternate shall only participate as a voting member of the board and be paid when a member, representing the same interest as the alternate, is unable to fulfill his or her duties on the board; applies to the city of New York, counties outside the city, towns and villages.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-04 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S04359 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-S04359-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4359 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN SENATE 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: 1 Section 1. Subdivision a of section 4 of section 4 of chapter 576 of 2 the laws of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of 3 nineteen seventy-four, as amended by section 5 of part G of chapter 36 4 of the laws of 2019, is amended to read as follows: 5 a. In each county wherein any city having a population of less than 6 one million or any town or village has determined the existence of an 7 emergency pursuant to section three of this act, there shall be created 8 a rent guidelines board to consist of nine members and three alternates 9 appointed by the commissioner of housing and community renewal upon 10 recommendation of the county legislature, except that a rent guidelines 11 board created subsequent to the effective date of [the] chapter thirty- 12 six of the laws of two thousand nineteen [that amended this section] 13 shall consist of nine members appointed by the commissioner of housing 14 and community renewal upon recommendations of the local legislative body 15 of each city having a population of less than one million or town or 16 village which has determined the existence of an emergency pursuant to 17 section three of this act. Such recommendation shall be made within 18 thirty days after the first local declaration of an emergency in such 19 county; two such members and one such alternate shall be representative 20 of tenants, two such members and one such alternate shall be represen- 21 tative of owners of property, and five such members and one such alter- 22 nate shall be public [members] representatives each of whom shall have 23 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. LBD08424-01-5S. 4359 2 1 ing. One public member shall be designated by the commissioner to serve 2 as [chairman] chairperson and shall hold no other public office. No 3 member, officer or employee of any municipal rent regulation agency or 4 the state division of housing and community renewal and no person who 5 owns or manages real estate covered by this law or who is an officer of 6 any owner or tenant organization shall serve on a rent guidelines board. 7 One public member, one member, the alternate representative of tenants 8 and one member representative of owners shall serve for a term ending 9 two years from January first next succeeding the date of their appoint- 10 ment; one public member, one member representative of tenants, and one 11 member and the alternate representative of owners shall serve for terms 12 ending three years from the January first next succeeding the date of 13 their appointment and three public members and the public alternate 14 shall serve for terms ending four years from January first next succeed- 15 ing the dates of their appointment. Thereafter, all members and alter- 16 nates shall serve for terms of four years each. Members and alternates 17 shall continue in office until their successors have been appointed and 18 qualified. The commissioner shall fill any vacancy which may occur by 19 reason of death, resignation; or otherwise in a manner consistent with 20 the original appointment. A member or alternate may be removed by the 21 commissioner for cause, but not without an opportunity to be heard in 22 person or by counsel, in [his] their defense, upon not less than ten 23 [days] days' notice. Compensation for the members and alternates of the 24 board shall be at the rate of one hundred dollars per day, for no more 25 than twenty days a year, except that the [chairman] chairperson shall be 26 compensated at the rate of one hundred twenty-five dollars a day for no 27 more than thirty days a year. The board shall be provided staff assist- 28 ance by the division of housing and community renewal. The compensation 29 of such members and alternates and the costs of staff assistance shall 30 be paid by the division of housing and community renewal, which shall be 31 reimbursed in the manner prescribed in section [four] eight of this act. 32 An alternate shall only participate as a voting member in the 33 proceedings of the board and be paid when a member, representing the 34 same interest as the alternate, is unable to fulfill their duties on the 35 board. Alternates shall be permitted to participate in all proceedings 36 of the board as non-voting members. The local legislative body of each 37 city having a population of less than one million and each town and 38 village in which an emergency has been determined to exist as herein 39 provided [shall be] is authorized to designate one person who shall be 40 representative of tenants and one person who shall be representative of 41 owners of property to serve at its pleasure and without compensation to 42 advise and assist the county rent guidelines board in matters affecting 43 the adjustment of rents for housing accommodations in such city, town or 44 village as the case may be. 45 § 2. Subdivisions a and c of section 26-510 of the administrative code 46 of the city of New York are amended to read as follows: 47 a. There shall be a rent guidelines board, to consist of nine members 48 and three alternates, appointed by the mayor. Two members and one alter- 49 nate shall be representative of tenants, two members and one alternate 50 shall be representative of owners of property, and five members and one 51 alternate shall be public [members] representatives, each of whom shall 52 have had at least five years experience in either finance, economics, or 53 housing. One public member shall be designated by the mayor to serve as 54 [chairman] chairperson and shall hold no other public office. No 55 member, officer, or employee of any municipal rent regulation agency or 56 the state division of housing and community renewal and no person whoS. 4359 3 1 owns or manages real estate covered by this law or who is an officer of 2 any owner or tenant organization shall serve on a rent guidelines board. 3 One public member, one member, and one alternate representative of 4 tenants and one member representative of owners shall serve for a term 5 ending two years from January first next succeeding the date of their 6 appointment; one public member, one member representative of tenants 7 [and], one member, and one alternate representative of owners shall 8 serve for terms ending three years from the January first next succeed- 9 ing the date of their appointment; and two public members and the public 10 alternate shall serve for terms ending four years from January first 11 next succeeding the dates of their appointment. The [chairman] chair- 12 person shall serve at the pleasure of the mayor. Thereafter, all members 13 and alternates shall continue in office until their successors have been 14 appointed and qualified. The mayor shall fill any vacancy which may 15 occur by reason of death, resignation, or otherwise in a manner consist- 16 ent with the original appointment. A member or alternate may be removed 17 by the mayor for cause, but not without an opportunity to be heard in 18 person or by counsel, in [his or her] their defense, upon not less than 19 ten [days] days' notice. An alternate shall only participate as a voting 20 member in the proceedings of the board and be paid when a member, 21 representing the same interest as the alternate, is unable to fulfill 22 their duties on the board. Alternates shall be permitted to participate 23 in all proceedings of the board as non-voting members. 24 c. Such members and alternates shall be compensated on a per diem 25 basis of one hundred dollars per day for no more than twenty-five days a 26 year, except that the [chairman] chairperson shall be compensated at one 27 hundred twenty-five dollars a day for no more than fifty days a year. 28 The [chairman] chairperson shall be chief administrative officer of the 29 rent guidelines board and among [his or her] their powers and duties [he30or she] they shall have the authority to employ, assign, and supervise 31 the employees of the rent guidelines board and enter into contracts for 32 consultant services. The department of housing preservation and devel- 33 opment shall cooperate with the rent guidelines board and may assign 34 personnel and perform such services in connection with the duties of the 35 rent guidelines board as may reasonably be required by the [chairman] 36 chairperson. 37 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately provided that the amend- 38 ment to section 26-510 of the rent stabilization law of nineteen hundred 39 sixty-nine made by section two of this act shall expire on the same date 40 as such law expires and shall not affect the expiration of such law as 41 provided under section 26-520 of such law.
