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S05645 Summary:

BILL NOS05645
 
SAME ASNo Same As
 
SPONSORBAILEY
 
COSPNSR
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §4, Emerg Ten Prot Act of 1974; amd §26-510, NYC Ad Cd
 
Prohibits any person who owns or manages more than four rental units within the state from serving as a public member on a rent guidelines board.
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S05645 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          5645
 
                               2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                    IN SENATE
 
                                    February 26, 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 qualifications of public members of 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  appointed  by  the
     9  commissioner of housing and community renewal upon recommendation of the
    10  county  legislature,  except that a rent guidelines board created subse-
    11  quent to the effective date of the chapter of the laws of  two  thousand
    12  nineteen  that  amended  this  section  shall  consist  of  nine members
    13  appointed by the commissioner of  housing  and  community  renewal  upon
    14  recommendations  of  the  local  legislative  body of each city having a
    15  population of less than one million or town or village which has  deter-
    16  mined  the  existence  of an emergency pursuant to section three of this
    17  act.  Such recommendation shall be made within  thirty  days  after  the
    18  first local declaration of an emergency in such county; two such members
    19  shall  be  representative  of  tenants,  two  shall be representative of
    20  owners of property, and five shall be public members each of whom  shall
    21  have  had at least five years experience in either finance, economics or
    22  housing. One public member shall be designated by  the  commissioner  to
    23  serve  as  [chairman]  chair  and  shall hold no other public office. No
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10277-01-5

        S. 5645                             2
 
     1  member, officer or employee of any municipal rent regulation  agency  or
     2  the  state  division  of housing and community renewal and no person who
     3  owns or manages real estate covered by this law or who is an officer  of
     4  any owner or tenant organization shall serve on a rent guidelines board;
     5  provided, further, however, no person who owns or manages more than four
     6  rental units within the state of New York shall serve as a public member
     7  on  a  rent  guidelines board.   One public member, one member represen-
     8  tative of tenants and one member representative of  owners  shall  serve
     9  for  a term ending two years from January first next succeeding the date
    10  of their appointment; one public member, one  member  representative  of
    11  tenants  and  one  member 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 shall serve for terms ending
    14  four years from  January  first  next  succeeding  the  dates  of  their
    15  appointment.    Thereafter,  all  members  shall serve for terms of four
    16  years each.  Members shall continue in  office  until  their  successors
    17  have  been  appointed  and  qualified.  The  commissioner shall fill any
    18  vacancy which may occur by reason of death, resignation or otherwise  in
    19  a  manner  consistent  with  the  original  appointment. A member may be
    20  removed by the commissioner for cause, but not without an opportunity to
    21  be heard in person or by counsel, in [his] their defense, upon not  less
    22  than ten days notice. Compensation for the members of the board shall be
    23  at the rate of one hundred dollars per day, for no more than twenty days
    24  a  year,  except  that  the [chairman] chair shall be compensated at the
    25  rate of one hundred twenty-five dollars a day for no  more  than  thirty
    26  days  a  year. The board shall be provided staff assistance by the divi-
    27  sion of housing and community renewal. The compensation of such  members
    28  and the costs of staff assistance shall be paid by the division of hous-
    29  ing  and  community  renewal  which  shall  be  reimbursed in the manner
    30  prescribed in  this section [four of this act].  The  local  legislative
    31  body  of each city having a population of less than one million and each
    32  town and village in which an emergency has been determined to  exist  as
    33  herein provided shall be authorized to designate one person who shall be
    34  representative  of tenants and one person who shall be representative of
    35  owners of property to serve at its pleasure and without compensation  to
    36  advise  and assist the county rent guidelines board in matters affecting
    37  the adjustment of rents for housing accommodations in such city, town or
    38  village as the case may be.
    39    § 2. Subdivision a of section 26-510 of the administrative code of the
    40  city of New York is amended to read as follows:
    41    a. There shall be a rent guidelines board to consist of nine  members,
    42  appointed  by the mayor. Two members shall be representative of tenants,
    43  two shall be representative of owners of property,  and  five  shall  be
    44  public  members  each of whom shall have had at least five years experi-
    45  ence in either finance, economics or housing. One public member shall be
    46  designated by the mayor to serve as [chairman] chair and shall  hold  no
    47  other  public  office.  No  member, officer or employee of any municipal
    48  rent regulation agency or the state division of  housing  and  community
    49  renewal  and  no  person who owns or manages real estate covered by this
    50  law or who is an officer of any owner or tenant organization shall serve
    51  on a rent guidelines board; provided, further, however,  no  person  who
    52  owns or manages more than four rental units within the state of New York
    53  shall  serve  as  a public member on a rent guidelines board. One public
    54  member, one member representative of tenants and  one  member  represen-
    55  tative  of  owners  shall serve for a term ending two years from January
    56  first next succeeding the date of their appointment; one public  member,

        S. 5645                             3
 
     1  one  member  representative  of tenants and one member representative of
     2  owners shall serve for terms ending three years from the  January  first
     3  next  succeeding  the  date  of their appointment and two public members
     4  shall serve for terms ending four years from January first next succeed-
     5  ing  the dates of their appointment. The [chairman] chair shall serve at
     6  the pleasure of the mayor. Thereafter, all  members  shall  continue  in
     7  office  until  their  successors  have been appointed and qualified. The
     8  mayor shall fill any vacancy which may occur by reason of death,  resig-
     9  nation  or  otherwise  in a manner consistent with the original appoint-
    10  ment. A member may be removed by the mayor for cause, but not without an
    11  opportunity to be heard in person or by counsel, in [his or  her]  their
    12  defense, upon not less than ten days notice.
    13    §  3.  This  act shall take effect on the thirtieth day after it shall
    14  have become a law and shall apply to public members currently serving on
    15  a rent guidelines board;  provided,  however,  that  the  amendments  to
    16  section  26-510  of  chapter 4 of title 26 of the administrative code of
    17  the city of New York made by section two of this act shall expire on the
    18  same date as such law expires and shall not  affect  the  expiration  of
    19  such law as provided under section 26-520 of such law.
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