Bill Text: NY A07931 | 2015-2016 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Relates to designating the county of Queens a cease and desist zone and extending non-solicitation orders to ten year periods; establishes an affirmative defense to violations of non-solicitation orders and cease and desist zones.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-04-18 - print number 7931a [A07931 Detail]

Download: New_York-2015-A07931-Amended.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         7931--A
                               2015-2016 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                      June 1, 2015
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. WEPRIN -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on  Judiciary  -- recommitted to the Committee on Judiciary in accord-
          ance with Assembly Rule  3,  sec.  2  --  committee  discharged,  bill
          amended,  ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
          tee
        AN ACT to amend the real property law, in relation  to  designating  the
          county  of Queens a cease and desist zone and establishing an affirma-
          tive defense to violations of nonsolicitation  orders  and  cease  and
          desist zones
          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. The real property law is amended by adding  a  new  section
     2  442-hh to read as follows:
     3    §  442-hh.  Designating  the county of Queens a cease and desist zone.
     4  Notwithstanding any other law, rule or regulation to the  contrary,  the
     5  county of Queens shall be included on the cease and desist list compiled
     6  by  the  secretary of state pursuant to section four hundred forty-two-h
     7  of this article.
     8    § 2. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 and paragraph (c) of subdivision 3
     9  of section 442-h of the real property law, as amended by chapter 505  of
    10  the laws of 2001, are amended to read as follows:
    11    (a)  If,  after  a  public hearing and a reasonable investigation, the
    12  secretary of state determines that the owners of residential real  prop-
    13  erty  within  a  defined  geographic  area  are  subject  to intense and
    14  repeated solicitations by real estate brokers and salespersons or others
    15  to place their property for sale with such real estate brokers or sales-
    16  persons, or otherwise to sell their property, and  that  such  solicita-
    17  tions  have caused owners to reasonably believe that property values may
    18  decrease because persons of different race, ethnic, social, or religious
    19  backgrounds are moving or are about to move  into  the  neighborhood  or
    20  geographic area, the secretary of state may adopt a rule, to be known as
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD01582-03-5

        A. 7931--A                          2
     1  a nonsolicitation order, directing all real estate brokers, salespersons
     2  and  other  persons regularly engaged in the trade or business of buying
     3  and selling real estate to  refrain  from  soliciting  residential  real
     4  estate  listings  or  otherwise  soliciting the sale of residential real
     5  estate within the subject area. Each area subject to such an order shall
     6  be bounded or otherwise specifically defined in the order. The nonsolic-
     7  itation order shall be subject to  such  terms  and  conditions  as  the
     8  secretary  of  state may determine are, on balance, in the best interest
     9  of the public, including but not limited  to  the  affected  owners  and
    10  licensees.  A  nonsolicitation  order  may  prohibit any or all types of
    11  solicitation directed towards particular home-owners, including but  not
    12  limited  to letters, postcards, telephone calls, door-to-door calls, and
    13  handbills. Every nonsolicitation order shall contain a provision setting
    14  forth the day, month and year that the order shall become effective,  as
    15  well as the day, month and year that the order shall expire. A nonsolic-
    16  itation  order  shall  not  be effective for more than [five] ten years.
    17  However, a nonsolicitation order and the boundaries of the area where it
    18  applies may be re-adopted or amended from time  to  time  in  accordance
    19  with the procedures set forth herein.
    20    (c)  No  rule  establishing a cease and desist zone shall be effective
    21  for longer than [five] ten years. However, the secretary  of  state  may
    22  re-adopt  the  rule to continue the cease and desist zone for additional
    23  periods not to exceed [five] ten years each. Whenever a rule  establish-
    24  ing  a  cease  and  desist  zone  shall  have expired or shall have been
    25  repealed, all owner's statements  filed  with  the  secretary  of  state
    26  pursuant  to  that  rule shall also expire. However, an owner may file a
    27  new statement with the secretary of state  if  a  new  rule  is  adopted
    28  establishing  a  cease  and desist zone containing the owner's property.
    29  Once the boundaries of a cease and desist zone have been established  by
    30  rule of the secretary of state, the boundaries may not be changed except
    31  by  repeal  of the existing rule and adoption of a new rule establishing
    32  the new boundaries.
    33    § 3. Section 442-h of the real property law is amended by adding a new
    34  subdivision 4 to read as follows:
    35    4. In any action alleging a violation of this section, it shall be  an
    36  affirmative defense that the owner of residential real property included
    37  in a nonsolicitation order or cease and desist zone publicized that such
    38  property  was for sale through means including but not limited to adver-
    39  tisements or real estate listings.
    40    § 4. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
    41  have  become  a law and shall apply to all nonsolicitation orders issued
    42  on and after such effective date.
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