Senate Housing Committee reports eight bills to the floor, including rent-reduction and tax-credit changes

State Senator Brian Kavanaugh, chair of the New York State Senate Committee on Housing, Construction and Community Development, opened the committee on May 4 and said the Legislature has 32 days left in the session.

The committee considered eight bills and for each the clerk read the title and text. For every item the committee moved to report the measure to the Senate floor and the clerk announced each bill had been reported.

Bills included a measure to require certain out-of-state affordable-housing owners to maintain escrow accounts for affordable rental units in New York State (Senate Bill 62 63); a proposal to transfer the Village of Potsdam Housing Authority to the Village of Canton Housing Authority and repeal related statutory provisions (Senate Bill 89 56); and a bill to permit multiple transfers of low-income housing tax credits (Senate Bill 95 71).

Other measures reported were the City of Buffalo Historic Preservation Receivership Act (Senate Bill 96 77); an amendment to the Public Housing Law clarifying the definition of “family member” (Senate Bill 97 16); changes to marshal filing requirements for eviction service in New York City under the Real Property Actions and Proceedings Law (Senate Bill 99 07); a directive for the Division of Housing and Community Renewal to calculate rent-reduction periods from the date of actual diminution of services (Senate Bill 99 08); and a Krueger bill amending the NYC Administrative Code, the Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974 and the Emergency Housing Rent Control Law to require property owners to dedicate renovated units to the same protected status as before renovation (Senate Bill 99 14).

During the session, the clerk recorded individual votes or reservations for certain bills. For example, on S.9571 permitting multiple transfers of low-income housing tax credits, Senator Jackson moved the bill and Senator Cleary seconded; Senator Walsak was recorded in the negative and Senator Helming registered an AWR. On S.9716 amending the Public Housing Law’s family-member definition, Senators Martin and Walznick were recorded as voting in the negative and Senator May registered an AWR. On S.9908 concerning rent-reduction calculations, Senators Martin, Hellman and Walsak were recorded in the negative. Where the transcript records specific negative votes or AWRs, those remarks are noted here; the clerk announced that the bills were reported to the floor in each case.

Chair Kavanaugh prefaced the meeting by noting the package included measures that had been carried over or previously associated with the late Senator Brad Hoylman Siegel and are now sponsored by new senators. Several bills were described by committee members as previously introduced or passed in earlier sessions and are now carried by different sponsors.

The committee did not take substantive debate on the floor for most measures beyond the readings, motions, and recorded individual negatives or AWRs that the clerk announced; in each case the formal procedural outcome was that the bill was reported to the Senate floor for further consideration. The committee adjourned after the eight bills were called.

The clerk's reading and the chair's opening remarks provide the official record of motions and reported bills; the next step for each measure is consideration by the full Senate and any further action on the floor.