§ 32-A — Additional supervision and regulation

§ 32-a. Additional supervision and regulation. The commissioner or the\nsupervising agency, as the case may be, shall:\n 1. Promulgate regulations providing for recognition of duly\nconstituted tenants' associations and cooperators' advisory councils by\nthe commissioner or supervising agency, as the case may be, and\nproviding that a housing company shall meet on a regular basis with\nrepresentatives of such an association or council at the specific\nproject involved to discuss matters relating to the project. A duly\nconstituted cooperators' advisory council shall only be such a council\nin a mutual company project prior to the election of a board of\ndirectors by the tenant-cooperators.\n 2. Require every company to file with him, her or it an annual\noperating budget for each individual project in the manner prescribed by\nthe commissioner or supervising agency.\n 3. Require every company to file with him, her or it semi-annual or\nquarterly financial statements and an annual financial statement. Each\nannual financial statement shall be accompanied by a certificate of the\ncompany's independent certified public accountant. Such financial\nstatements shall be filed at the times and in the manner prescribed by\nthe commissioner or supervising agency.\n 4. Afford tenants access to and an opportunity to acquire copies of\nall operating budgets or financial statements respecting the project in\nwhich such tenants reside, to the extent that such budgets and\nstatements are required by law to be kept by the commissioner or\nsupervising agency.\n 5. Permit any tenant, duly constituted tenants' association, duly\nconstituted cooperators' advisory council or his, hers or its duly\nauthorized representative to audit the books of the company and to have\naccess during normal business hours to the financial records upon which\nthe company's financial statements are based.\n 6. Promulgate regulations relating to managing agents, including\ncriteria for the eligibility for selection and the compensation of\nmanaging agents by companies organized pursuant to this article. Such\nregulations shall provide, among other things, that any contract with a\nmanaging agent entered into after September first, nineteen hundred\nseventy-seven shall be terminable for cause and shall be terminable,\nwith or without cause, at least every twelve months after commencement\nof the term thereof, and that promptly upon termination the managing\nagent shall turn over to the company all project records, rent rolls,\nbills, cancelled checks, bank statements and other papers owned by such\ncompany.\n 7. Require that every company file with him, her or it, within six\nmonths of the effective date of regulations implementing this\nsubdivision and in such format as shall be prescribed by the\ncommissioner or the supervising agency after consultation with the state\nenergy office, an energy audit report which identifies potential\nenergy-saving building improvements, including alterations,\nmodifications and adjustments to the building structure, heating,\ncooling, lighting and ventilation systems; their relative costs;\npotential energy and cost savings; and simple payback periods, which for\nthe purpose of this subdivision shall mean that period of time within\nwhich the estimated cost of such improvements, exclusive of the cost of\ncapital, would be recovered from the savings generated by reduced energy\nconsumption resulting from the improvements. The energy audit shall be\nconducted by a public utility, an engineer or architect licensed by the\nstate, or the managing agent or other representative of the company if\nsuch individual has attended an energy audit training workshop sponsored\nby the commissioner or the state energy office. A copy of the energy\naudit report, required herein, shall be given to any duly constituted\ntenant's association or cooperator's advisory council and a copy shall\nbe available for inspection and copying by any individual tenant who\nrequests it. The commissioner or supervising agency shall also require\nthat every company certify by March thirty-first, nineteen hundred\neighty-four that all compatible conservation measures identified in the\nenergy audit report which have simple payback periods of one year or\nless have been implemented; provided, however, if the commissioner or\nsupervising agency determines within sixty days of the date the energy\naudit report is filed that one or more of such identified conservation\nmeasures cannot be implemented by March thirty-first, nineteen hundred\neighty-four, given the projected rent revenues and other monies\navailable to the company from reserve funds, loans or grants from the\nstate or federal government or any other source, the implementation of\nsuch conservation measures shall be provided for according to a schedule\nprescribed by the commissioner or supervising agency.\n 8. Every tenant or resident, or a person acting on behalf of a tenant\nor resident, shall be permitted to copy, by photographic means, any\ndocument within the scope of this section pertaining to the project in\nwhich such tenant or resident resides. A reasonable fee, subject to a\nmaximum therefor prescribed in regulations, may be charged for such\ncopies.\n * 9. Require that within ten days of the filing of any reports or\nfinancial statements with the commissioner or supervising agency, the\nhousing company shall transmit a copy of said report or financial\nstatement to a duly constituted resident board of directors, and if\nthere be none, to a cooperator's advisory council or a duly constituted\ntenants association representing the project concerned. Where no such\ncouncil or association exists in a project, a notice shall be posted\ninforming the residents of the location on the premises of the project\nwhere a copy of said report or financial statement is available for\ninspection. The notice shall be posted within ten days of filing, in a\nprominent place on the premises of the project concerned.\n * NB There are 2 sb 9's\n * 9. Promulgate regulations to require each tenant use their dwelling\nunit as their primary residence to maintain their right of continued\noccupancy or be subject to eviction in a court of competent jurisdiction\nby a mutual housing company.\n * NB There are 2 sb 9's\n 10. Require every voting member of a board of directors of a mutual\ncompany subject to the provisions of this article, elected or appointed\nfor a term beginning on or after the effective date of this subdivision,\nto complete, within the first year of his or her term and at least once\nevery three years thereafter, a minimum of two hours of training, in\nperson or virtually, as the commissioner or supervising agency, as the\ncase may be, may deem appropriate on the financial oversight,\naccountability and fiduciary responsibilities of a board member; and to\nrequire every voting member of a board of directors of a mutual company\nsubject to the provisions of this article, elected or appointed for a\nterm beginning before the effective date of this subdivision, to\ncomplete such training within one year of the effective date of this\nsubdivision and at least once every three years thereafter.\n 11. Require every voting member of a board of directors of a mutual\ncompany subject to the provisions of this article, elected or appointed\nfor a term beginning on or after the effective date of this subdivision,\nto complete, within the first year of his or her term and at least once\nevery three years thereafter, in addition to the training required by\nsubdivision ten of this section, a training course, in person or\nvirtually, as the commissioner or supervising agency, as the case be,\nmay deem appropriate, to acquaint him or her with the powers, functions\nand duties of a board of directors of a mutual company subject to the\nprovisions of this article, as well as the powers and duties of other\ngoverning and administrative authorities affecting such companies; and\nto require every voting member of a board of directors of a mutual\ncompany subject to the provisions of this article, elected or appointed\nfor a term beginning before the effective date of this subdivision, to\ncomplete such training within one year of the effective date of this\nsubdivision and at least once every three years thereafter.\n 12. Require each member of a board of directors of a mutual company\nsubject to the provisions of this article to demonstrate compliance with\nthe requirements set forth in subdivisions ten and eleven of this\nsection by filing a certificate of completion of such course or courses\non a form to be promulgated by the commissioner. Such form shall be\nfiled with the secretary of the mutual company and maintained by the\nsecretary as a corporate record and distributed annually to the\nshareholders and upon the filing of any director with the mutual company\nof the intention to seek re-election to the position. Sixty days prior\nto any scheduled election of members of the board of directors, the\nsecretary of the mutual company shall furnish the commissioner or the\nsupervising authority, as the case may be, with a list of all incumbent\ndirectors indicating which individuals have submitted certificates\nrequired in this subdivision. Such course or courses shall be provided\nby the commissioner or supervising agency, as the case may be, at no\ncost to the trainee or the board to which the trainee has been elected.\n 13. Develop the curricula used for training required by subdivisions\nten and eleven of this section for which the supervising agency or the\ncommissioner may request and shall receive the cooperation and\nassistance from any departments, divisions, boards, bureaus, commissions\nor agencies of the state and political subdivisions thereof in\ndeveloping such curricula. These curricula may be offered together as a\nsingle course or separately. The training required by this section may\nbe offered by providers approved by the commissioner or supervising\nagency, as the case may be. In approving other providers for these\ntrainings, the commissioner or supervising agency shall consider a\npotential provider's understanding of cooperative homeownership; laws,\nrules and regulations affecting mutual companies subject to the\nprovisions of this article; and the fiduciary responsibilities of the\nboard of a residential cooperative, as well as the experience of the\nprovider in delivering such training.\n 14. Hold such meeting or meetings, in person or virtually as the\ncommissioner or supervisory agency shall deem appropriate, with the\nboard of a mutual company on the financial oversight, accountability and\nfiduciary responsibilities of such board; the powers, functions and\nduties of such board; and the powers and duties of other governing and\nadministrative authorities affecting such company.\n