Bill > S07288

This bill relates to the creation of a statewide residential rental registry. The key provisions include: 1. Establishing the Secretary of State as the administrator of the statewide rental registry, which will include an online public database containing information about rental units, such as the number and types of code violations, findings of harassment, and details about owners and managing agents. 2. Requiring owners of rental properties to register their units with the Department of State annually, with penalties for failure to register. Local governments with existing rental registration programs can continue their programs but must submit the required information to the state. 3. Allowing courts to take judicial notice of the information in the state's rental registry database as prima facie evidence in proceedings related to rental unit possession or housing maintenance standards enforcement. 4. Providing a timeline for the implementation of the registry, with registration commencing one year after the effective date and the public database becoming active two years after the effective date.