Bill Text: NY S07034 | 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 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-03 - REFERRED TO HOUSING, CONSTRUCTION AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [S07034 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S07034-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          7034
                    IN SENATE
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 3, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by Sen. KAVANAGH -- 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
    24  appointment.  [The  chairman  shall serve at the pleasure of the mayor.]
    25  Thereafter, all members shall continue in office until their  successors
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01118-01-7
        S. 7034                             2
     1  have been appointed and qualified. The mayor upon the advice and consent
     2  of  the city council shall fill any vacancy which may occur by reason of
     3  death,  resignation  or  otherwise  in  a  manner  consistent  with  the
     4  [original  appointment]  provisions of this subdivision. A member may be
     5  removed by the mayor or city council  for  cause,  but  not  without  an
     6  opportunity  to be heard in person or by counsel, in his or her defense,
     7  upon not less than ten days notice. A successor to such member shall  be
     8  appointed in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision to serve
     9  the balance of the term of the member who was removed.
    10    §  2.  Subdivision  a  of section 4 of section 4 of chapter 576 of the
    11  laws of 1974, constituting the emergency tenant protection act of  nine-
    12  teen  seventy-four,  as  amended  by chapter 349 of the laws of 1979, is
    13  amended to read as follows:
    14    a. In each county wherein any city having a population  of  less  than
    15  one  million  or  any town or village has determined the existence of an
    16  emergency pursuant to section three of this act, there shall be  created
    17  a  rent  guidelines  board  to  consist of nine members appointed by the
    18  commissioner of housing and community renewal upon recommendation of the
    19  county legislature which recommendation shall be made within thirty days
    20  after the first local declaration of an emergency in  such  county;  two
    21  such  members shall be representative of tenants, two shall be represen-
    22  tative of owners of property, and five shall be public members [each  of
    23  whom].  Each  of  the  public members shall have had at least five years
    24  experience in [either] public service, social services, urban  planning,
    25  social  sciences, finance, economics or housing. One public member shall
    26  be designated by the commissioner to serve as [chairman] chair and shall
    27  hold no other public office. No  member,  officer  or  employee  of  any
    28  municipal  rent  regulation  agency or the state division of housing and
    29  community renewal and no person who owns or manages real estate  covered
    30  by  this  law  or  who is an officer of any owner or tenant organization
    31  shall serve on a rent guidelines board. One public  member,  one  member
    32  representative  of tenants and one member representative of owners shall
    33  serve for a term ending two years from January first next succeeding the
    34  date of their appointment; one public member, one member  representative
    35  of tenants and one member representative of owners shall serve for terms
    36  ending  three  years  from the January first next succeeding the date of
    37  their appointment and three public members shall serve for terms  ending
    38  four  years  from  January  first  next  succeeding  the  dates of their
    39  appointment.   Thereafter, all members shall serve  for  terms  of  four
    40  years  each.    Members  shall continue in office until their successors
    41  have been appointed and  qualified.  The  commissioner  shall  fill  any
    42  vacancy  which may occur by reason of death, resignation or otherwise in
    43  a manner consistent with the [original appointment] provisions  of  this
    44  subdivision.  A member may be removed by the commissioner for cause, but
    45  not without an opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel,  in  his
    46  defense,  upon not less than ten days notice. A successor to such member
    47  shall be appointed in accordance with the provisions of this subdivision
    48  to serve the balance of the term of the member who was removed.  Compen-
    49  sation  for the members of the board shall be at the rate of one hundred
    50  dollars per day, for no more than twenty days a year,  except  that  the
    51  [chairman]  chair  shall be compensated at the rate of one hundred twen-
    52  ty-five dollars a day for no more than thirty days  a  year.  The  board
    53  shall be provided staff assistance by the division of housing and commu-
    54  nity  renewal.  The  compensation of such members and the costs of staff
    55  assistance shall be paid  by  the  division  of  housing  and  community
    56  renewal  which  shall  be reimbursed in the manner prescribed in section
        S. 7034                             3
     1  four of this act. The local legislative body of each city having a popu-
     2  lation of less than one million and each town and village  in  which  an
     3  emergency  has  been  determined  to  exist  as herein provided shall be
     4  authorized  to  designate  one  person  who  shall  be representative of
     5  tenants and one person who shall be representative of owners of property
     6  to serve at its pleasure and without compensation to advise  and  assist
     7  the  county rent guidelines board in matters affecting the adjustment of
     8  rents for housing accommodations in such city, town or  village  as  the
     9  case may be.
    10    §  3. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
    11  ing the date upon which it shall have become a law; provided that:
    12    (a) the amendments to section 26-510 of the rent stabilization law  of
    13  nineteen hundred sixty-nine made by section one of this act shall expire
    14  on the same date as such law expires and shall not affect the expiration
    15  of such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law;
    16    (b) the amendments to section 4 of the emergency tenant protection act
    17  of nineteen seventy-four made by section two of this act shall expire on
    18  the same date as such act expires and shall not affect the expiration of
    19  such act as provided in section 17 of chapter 576 of the laws of 1974;
    20    (c)  the  rent  boards  as reconstituted pursuant to this act shall be
    21  appointed and confirmed within forty-five days after the effective  date
    22  of this act; and
    23    (d) upon the appointment of a rent board pursuant to the provisions of
    24  this  act,  any  existing  predecessor rent board shall be dissolved and
    25  such predecessor rent board shall have no further authority.