Bill Text: NY A04572 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Prohibits the enactment of unfunded mandates for a period of three years; instructs the state comptroller to conduct a report on the annual fiscal impact enacted state legislation has on the revenues and expenses of local municipalities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 27-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to governmental operations [A04572 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A04572-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4572

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 17, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by M. of A. DURSO -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Governmental Operations

        AN ACT to amend the legislative law and the executive law,  in  relation
          to establishing a temporary moratorium on unfunded mandates

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited  as  the  "Mandate
     2  Relief and Permanent Real Property Tax Cap Act".
     3    §  2.   The legislative law is amended by adding a new section 51-a to
     4  read as follows:
     5    § 51-a. Temporary moratorium on unfunded mandates. 1.  Definitions. As
     6  used in this section, the following terms shall have the following mean-
     7  ings:
     8    (a) "Local government" means a county,  city,  town,  village,  school
     9  district, or special district.
    10    (b)  "Net  additional cost" means the cost or costs incurred or antic-
    11  ipated to be incurred within a one year period by a local government  in
    12  performing  or  administering  any  program,  project, or activity after
    13  subtracting therefrom any revenues received or receivable by such  local
    14  government  in relation to such program, project, or activity, including
    15  but not limited to:
    16    (i) fees charged to the recipients of such program, project, or activ-
    17  ity;
    18    (ii) state or federal funds received for  such  program,  project,  or
    19  activity; and
    20    (iii)  an  offsetting  savings resulting from the diminution or elimi-
    21  nation of any  other  program,  project,  or  activity  that  state  law
    22  requires such local government to provide or undertake.
    23    (c) "Unfunded mandate" means:
    24    (i)  any  state  law  that  requires  a local government to provide or
    25  undertake any new program, project or activity that results in an annual

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09036-02-3
        A. 4572                             2

     1  net additional cost to any local government in excess  of  ten  thousand
     2  dollars  or an aggregate annual net additional cost to all local govern-
     3  ments within the state in excess of one million dollars; or
     4    (ii) any state law that requires a local government to provide a high-
     5  er  level  of  service  or  funding  for an existing program, project or
     6  activity that results in an annual net  additional  cost  to  any  local
     7  government  in excess of ten thousand dollars or an aggregate annual net
     8  additional cost to all local governments within the state in  excess  of
     9  one million dollars; or
    10    (iii)  any state law that requires a local government to grant any new
    11  property tax exemption or that broadens the eligibility or increases the
    12  dollar amount of any existing property tax exemption, on  property  that
    13  otherwise  would  have  generated revenue under the current property tax
    14  rate of such local government in excess of ten thousand dollars  in  any
    15  local government or in excess of one million dollars statewide; or
    16    (iv) any state law with a legal requirement that would otherwise like-
    17  ly  have  the effect of raising property taxes in excess of ten thousand
    18  dollars in any local government or in  excess  of  one  million  dollars
    19  statewide.
    20    2.  Moratorium on unfunded mandates. For a three year period beginning
    21  the January next succeeding the effective  date  of  this  section,  and
    22  notwithstanding  any other provision of law, unfunded mandates shall not
    23  be enacted.
    24    3. Exemptions. A state law shall not be considered an unfunded mandate
    25  where such law:
    26    (a) is required by a court order or judgment;
    27    (b) is provided at the option of the local government under a law that
    28  is permissive rather than mandatory;
    29    (c) results from the passage of a home rule message  whereby  a  local
    30  government requests authority to implement the program or service speci-
    31  fied  in the statute, and the statute imposes costs only upon that local
    32  government which  requests  the  authority  to  impose  the  program  or
    33  service;
    34    (d) is required by statute or executive order that implements a feder-
    35  al  law  or  regulation  and  results from costs mandated by the federal
    36  government to be borne at the local level, unless the statute or  execu-
    37  tive  order  results  in  costs  which  exceed the costs mandated by the
    38  federal government;
    39    (e) is imposed on both government and non-government entities  in  the
    40  same or substantially similar circumstances;
    41    (f)  repeals  or  revises  a state law to ease an existing requirement
    42  that a local government provide or  undertake  a  program,  project,  or
    43  activity,  or reapportions the costs of activities between local govern-
    44  ments; or
    45    (g) is necessary to protect against  an  immediate  threat  to  public
    46  health or safety.
    47    § 3. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 50-a to read
    48  as follows:
    49    § 50-a. Report on unfunded mandates. (1) The comptroller, in consulta-
    50  tion with the commissioner of taxation and finance, shall issue a report
    51  on  the annual fiscal impact enacted state legislation has on the reven-
    52  ues and expenses of local municipal corporations in the state.
    53    (2) The report issued by the comptroller shall include, at minimum:
    54    (i) annual expenses of each municipal corporation in the state attrib-
    55  utable to statewide legislation enacted by the state legislature;
        A. 4572                             3

     1    (ii) an analysis of the effect the temporary unfunded mandate  morato-
     2  rium,  established  pursuant  to  section fifty-one-a of the legislative
     3  law, had on local municipal corporation revenues and expenditures; and
     4    (iii)  recommendations  as  to  whether the temporary unfunded mandate
     5  moratorium enacted pursuant to section fifty-one-a  of  the  legislative
     6  law shall be extended, made permanent, or allowed to expire.
     7    (3)  The comptroller shall provide a final copy of the report required
     8  by this section to the legislature no later than the  first  of  January
     9  fourth  succeeding the effective date of this section, and shall publish
    10  a full copy of the report for the public to view  on  the  comptroller's
    11  official website.
    12    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.