State & Federal Legislative Developments

State Issues

Governor Cuomo announced a new streamlined application process for New York's rent relief program that relaxes documentation standards for both tenants and landlords and implements a streamlined process for submission of arrears documentation for multi-tenant landlords. The new process went into effect on July 27 with a promise that payments will begin to flow on August 3.  The CFPB has also launched a tool to help consumers find their local rental assistance distributors, which includes information on the seven communities in New York that opted to administer their own programs including the City of Rochester and Monroe County, the City of Yonkers, Onondaga County and the towns of Hempstead, Islip and Oyster Bay on Long Island.

Federal Issues

The House Financial Services Committee approved H.R. 4616, a Libor transition bill that would provide a safe harbor for market participants switching existing Libor-referencing financial contracts over to SOFR for debt instruments like floating-rate corporate bonds whose terms cannot easily be changed because they require all parties to agree. New York State has already enacted a similar bill to address contracts with New York choice of law provisions.