STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8078 IN SENATE January 24, 2022 ___________ Introduced by Sen. CLEARE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Judiciary AN ACT in relation to enacting the "protect main street act"; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration there- of The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as 2 the "protect main street act". 3 § 2. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, prior to 4 any further proceedings in a commercial eviction matter commenced on or 5 after March 17, 2020, the court shall hold a settlement conference to 6 address subjects related to COVID-19 pandemic concerns and relevant 7 legal defenses, including but not limited to, whether an unanticipated 8 event that could not have been foreseen or guarded against in the lease 9 contract made performance of the subject matter of the contract, in full 10 or in part, objectively impossible. 11 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be 12 deemed repealed one year after such date. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD02776-01-1