Bill Text: NY A06797 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Authorizes municipalities to establish a history, arts, and culture levy to support history, arts, and culture; exempts such levy from the real property tax levy limit.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - referred to local governments [A06797 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-A06797-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          6797

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                       May 8, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by  M.  of A. BARRETT, THIELE, JONES, GLICK, SIMON, BENDETT,
          McDONOUGH, JENSEN -- read once and referred to the Committee on  Local
          Governments

        AN  ACT  to  amend the general municipal law, in relation to authorizing
          municipalities to establish a history, arts, and culture levy

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

     1    Section  1.  The  general  municipal  law  is  amended by adding a new
     2  section 6-w to read as follows:
     3    § 6-w. History, arts, and culture funds.  1. As used in this  section,
     4  the following words and terms shall have the following meanings:
     5    (a)  "History,  arts,  and culture" means creative and cultural activ-
     6  ities, including but not limited to, historic preservation, museum cura-
     7  tion, performing, visual, and fine arts, music, dance,  graphic  design,
     8  film,  digital  media  and video, architecture and urban design, humani-
     9  ties,  literature,  historic  education,  arts  and  culture  education,
    10  crafts, and folk arts.
    11    (b) "Local arts council" means an entity, often referred to as a local
    12  arts agency, arts commission, or cultural affairs office, that:
    13    (i)  is  either  a municipal or county government agency, or a private
    14  entity exempt from  federal  income  taxation  under  paragraph  (3)  of
    15  subsection  (c)  of  section 501 of the federal Internal Revenue Code of
    16  1986 (26 U.S.C. s.501(c)(3)); and
    17    (ii) maintains a mission that generally involves making history, arts,
    18  and culture more accessible to the public, and supporting local artists,
    19  art programming, or local organizations focused on  history,  arts,  and
    20  culture.
    21    (c) "Tax" means a charge imposed upon real property by or on behalf of
    22  a  county, city, town, or village for municipal purposes, but shall have
    23  a different meaning if the context clearly indicates.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD09643-03-3
        A. 6797                             2

     1    2. (a) The governing body of a municipality may, by ordinance,  submit
     2  to  the  voters of the municipality, in a general or special election, a
     3  proposition authorizing an annual levy, in an amount or at a  rate  that
     4  the  governing body deems appropriate, to be established for the purpose
     5  of  supporting history, arts, and culture. Upon approval of the proposi-
     6  tion by a majority of the votes cast by the voters of the  municipality,
     7  the  governing body of the municipality may annually raise by taxation a
     8  sum not to exceed the amount  or  rate  set  forth  in  the  proposition
     9  approved  by the voters for the purposes specified therein. The history,
    10  arts, and culture levy shall become effective in the  next  budget  year
    11  following the year in which the levy has been approved by the voters.
    12    (b)  Amounts raised by the levy imposed pursuant to this section shall
    13  be deposited into a history, arts, and culture trust fund to be  created
    14  by  the  municipality,  and shall be used exclusively for history, arts,
    15  and culture, except that the municipality may deposit such amounts  into
    16  the  current  fund of such municipality for uses not related to history,
    17  arts, and culture if the municipality is in fiscal distress  as  defined
    18  in  paragraph  c  of  subdivision ten of section fifty-four of the state
    19  finance law. Any interest or other income  earned  on  monies  deposited
    20  into  the history, arts, and culture trust fund shall be credited to the
    21  fund to be used for the same purposes as the principal.  A  municipality
    22  may  deposit other funds into the history, arts, and culture trust fund,
    23  as it may, from time to time, deem appropriate.
    24    (c) The governing body of a municipality may, by ordinance, submit  to
    25  the voters of the municipality in a general or special election a propo-
    26  sition  amending,  supplementing, or repealing, a proposition previously
    27  submitted, approved,  and  implemented  as  provided  pursuant  to  this
    28  section.  The  proposition  may  propose to eliminate the annual levy or
    29  change the amount or rate of the annual levy. Upon approval of an  amen-
    30  datory  or  supplementary proposition by a majority of the votes cast by
    31  the voters of the municipality, the governing body of  the  municipality
    32  shall  implement such proposition in the same manner as set forth in the
    33  original proposition.
    34    (d) Upon petition to the governing body of a  municipality  signed  by
    35  the  voters  of  the  municipality  equal  in number to at least fifteen
    36  percent of  the  votes  cast  therein  at  the  last  preceding  general
    37  election,  filed  with  the governing body at least ninety days before a
    38  general or special election, the  governing  body  of  the  municipality
    39  shall submit to the voters of the municipality in the general or special
    40  election  the proposition otherwise authorized pursuant to paragraph (a)
    41  or (c) of this subdivision.
    42    3. A municipality which establishes a history, arts, and culture  levy
    43  pursuant  to  this  section shall designate, either through an ordinance
    44  adopted pursuant to subdivision two of this section, or through a subse-
    45  quent ordinance, a local arts council to which monies from the  history,
    46  arts, and culture trust fund shall be appropriated. The local arts coun-
    47  cil  shall  comply with the conditions for the use of the funding estab-
    48  lished by ordinance.
    49    § 2. Subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (g) of subdivision  2  of  section
    50  3-c  of  the  general  municipal law, as added by section 1 of part A of
    51  chapter 97 of the laws of 2011, is amended and a new subparagraph (v) is
    52  added to read as follows:
    53    (iv) in years in which the normal contribution rate of  the  New  York
    54  state teachers' retirement system, as defined by paragraph a of subdivi-
    55  sion  two  of  section  five  hundred  seventeen  of  the education law,
    56  increases by more than two percentage points from the previous  year,  a
        A. 6797                             3

     1  tax levy necessary for expenditures for the coming fiscal year for local
     2  government  employer  contributions  to  the  New  York  state teachers'
     3  retirement system caused by growth in the normal contribution rate minus
     4  two percentage points[.];
     5    (v)  a tax levy for history, arts, and culture established pursuant to
     6  section six-w of this article.
     7    § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.