STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 22--A 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled) January 4, 2023 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. MAGNARELLI, JACOBSON, STECK, OTIS, JACKSON, SIMON, SILLITTI, McMAHON, HUNTER -- read once and referred to the Committee on Local Governments -- reported and referred to the Commit- tee on Ways and Means -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to requiring the return of all or a part of the financial assistance provided for a project where the project has material shortfalls or material violations and preventing the use of funds, financial incentives, subsidies or tax exemptions for projects already in development The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 11 of section 874 of the general municipal law, 2 as added by chapter 563 of the laws of 2015, is amended and a new subdi- 3 vision 13 is added to read as follows: 4 (11) Each agency shall develop policies for the return of all or a 5 part of the financial assistance provided for the project, including all 6 or part of the amount of any tax exemptions, as specified in the policy, 7 which may include but shall not be limited to material shortfalls in job 8 creation and retention projections or material violations of the terms 9 and conditions of project agreements. The agency shall implement such 10 policies created in accordance with this subdivision to return all or 11 part of the financial assistance provided for any project where the 12 agency's annual assessment of a project shows material shortfalls in job 13 creation and retention projections or material violations of the terms 14 and conditions of project agreements. If such material shortfalls are 15 the direct result of factors beyond the applicant's control, the agency 16 must notify the authority's budget office in writing of the waiver with 17 a comprehensive explanation. All such returned amounts of tax exemptions EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00227-02-3A. 22--A 2 1 shall be redistributed to the appropriate affected tax jurisdiction, 2 unless agreed to otherwise by any local taxing jurisdiction. 3 (13) Except where environmental contamination requiring a significant 4 increase in project costs is discovered during the development of the 5 project or where a municipality has reassessed all or part of the 6 project site resulting in an increase in property taxes of more than 7 fifty percent, no tax exemptions shall be granted to any project if the 8 project is already in development at the time such project applies for 9 the issuance of the tax exemption. 10 § 2. Section 854 of the general municipal law is amended by adding a 11 new subdivision 22 to read as follows: 12 (22) "In development" - shall mean a project for which active 13 construction, including but not limited to erection of building founda- 14 tions or structure, has already commenced. 15 § 3. Section 862 of the general municipal law is amended by adding a 16 new subdivision 3 to read as follows: 17 (3) Except where environmental contamination requiring a significant 18 increase in project costs is discovered during the development of the 19 project or where a municipality has reassessed all or part of the 20 project site resulting in an increase in property taxes of more than 21 fifty percent, no funds, financial incentives or subsidies of the agency 22 shall be used in respect of any project which is already in development 23 at the time such project applies for such funds, financial assistance, 24 incentives or subsidies. 25 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.