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2009 NY Att'y Gen. Rep. & Op. 1 (2009)

handle is hein.nyattgen/nysag0130 and id is 1 raw text is: OPINIONS OF THE NEW YORK STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL Opn. No. F 2009-1 Public Officers Law §§ 2, 17, 17(l)(a), 17(2)(a), 17(3)(a); Emergency Ten- ant Protection Act of 1974 §§ 3(a), 4, 4(a), 4(b), 6(a), 6(d), 7(a), 8(a), 10(a), 12(a)(1), 12.a(a), 12-a(f) The members of the Nassau County Rent Guidelines Board are eligible for State-provided defense and indemnification pursuant to Public Officers Law § 17. You have requested our opinion regarding whether mem- bers of the Nassau County Rent Guidelines Board, a local rent guidelines board established pursuant to the Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974, are eligible for State-provided indemnification pursuant to Public Officers Law § 17. For reasons that follow, we answer that question in the affir- mative. 1. Statutory Background A. Emergency Tenant Protection Act of 1974 The Emergency Tenant Protection Act (EPTA) of 1974 (L. 1974, ch. 576, § 4, as amended) established a mechanism for controlling rent increases in municipalities in Nassau, Westchester, and Rockland Counties (hereinafter covered county or covered counties).' The Division of Housing 1. Although EPTA also applies to New York City, our conclusions herein are limited in application to the rent guidelines boards named above, because, unlike them, New York City is also subject to other laws governing rent regulation. AG 10-31-09 1