Bill Text: NY S07728 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relates to the attorney general entering into contracts with fair housing entities and providing certain reports.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2022-02-24 - SIGNED CHAP.89 [S07728 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-S07728-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7728

                    IN SENATE

                                     January 7, 2022
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. GAUGHRAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

        AN ACT to amend the state finance  law,  in  relation  to  the  attorney
          general entering into contracts with fair housing entities and provid-
          ing certain reports, and to amend a chapter of the laws of 2021 amend-
          ing the real property law and the state finance law relating to estab-
          lishing  the anti-discrimination in housing fund and allocating moneys
          from fines thereto, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S.  945-B
          and A. 6866, in relation to the effectiveness thereof

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

     1    Section 1. Subdivisions 3 and 4 of section 80-a of the  state  finance
     2  law, as added by a chapter of the laws of 2021 amending the real proper-
     3  ty  law and the state finance law relating to establishing the anti-dis-
     4  crimination in housing fund and allocating moneys from fines thereto, as
     5  proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 945-B and A. 6866, are  amended
     6  and a new subdivision 6 is added to read as follows:
     7    3. The moneys in the anti-discrimination in housing fund shall be kept
     8  separate  from  and shall not be commingled with any other moneys in the
     9  custody of the state comptroller. Such moneys shall be made available to
    10  the office of the attorney  general,  for  fair  housing  testing  [and]
    11  through  allocation  of  grants  to  duly applying county, city, town or
    12  village human rights commissions, or other duly applying  county,  city,
    13  town,  village or not-for-profit [agencies] entities specializing in the
    14  prevention of unlawful discrimination in  housing,  to  detect  unlawful
    15  discrimination in housing.
    16    4.  The  attorney general shall establish the application criteria and
    17  qualifications for [such not-for-profit agencies] the entities  for  the
    18  purposes  of  the  fund  as defined in subdivision three of this section
    19  that will conduct testing. The attorney general may enter into contracts
    20  with such qualified  fair  housing  entities  which  may  thereafter  be
    21  renewed, extended or succeeded by new contracts from year to year in the
    22  discretion of the attorney general.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03803-05-2
        S. 7728                             2

     1    6.  No later than the fifteenth day of January of each year the attor-
     2  ney general shall report to the governor, the temporary president of the
     3  senate and the speaker of the assembly on activities undertaken  by  the
     4  attorney general and any grantee pursuant to this section in the preced-
     5  ing  year.  The report shall include, but not be limited to, the current
     6  amount of funds available as well as the amount of money granted to  any
     7  entity  that  will  conduct testing to detect unlawful discrimination in
     8  housing for the purposes identified  in  this  section.  Results,  data,
     9  findings,  and other relevant information existing, collected, detected,
    10  modified or developed by the attorney  general  or  grantee  under  this
    11  section shall be provided in such annual report following the completion
    12  of the obligations in the contract.
    13    §  2.  Section  3  of  a chapter of the laws of 2021 amending the real
    14  property law and the state finance  law  relating  to  establishing  the
    15  anti-discrimination  in  housing  fund  and allocating moneys from fines
    16  thereto, as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 945-B and A.  6866,
    17  is amended to read as follows:
    18    §  3. This act shall take effect on the [sixtieth] thirtieth day after
    19  it shall have become a law.
    20    § 3. This act shall take effect  immediately,  provided  however  that
    21  section  one  of  this act shall take effect on the same date and in the
    22  same manner as a chapter of the laws of 2021 amending the real  property
    23  law  and the state finance law relating to establishing the anti-discri-
    24  mination in housing fund and allocating moneys from  fines  thereto,  as
    25  proposed  in  legislative  bills  numbers  S.  945-B  and A. 6866, takes
    26  effect.