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.
