STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8082 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY May 31, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. DE LA ROSA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Labor AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to wages and supplements for building service employees employed at certain proper- ties held in the cooperative or condominium form of ownership receiv- ing a tax abatement The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 467-a of the real property tax law 2 is amended by adding three new paragraphs (i), (j) and (k) to read as 3 follows: 4 (i) "Prevailing wage" means the rate of wages and supplemental bene- 5 fits paid in the locality to workers in the same trade or occupation and 6 annually determined by the comptroller in accordance with the provisions 7 of section two hundred thirty-four of the labor law. 8 (j) "Qualified property" means (i) a property with an average unit 9 assessed value of less than or equal to sixty thousand dollars; or (ii) 10 a property with respect to which an applicant has submitted an affidavit 11 certifying that all building service employees employed or to be 12 employed at the property shall receive the applicable prevailing wage 13 for the duration of such property's tax abatement. 14 (k) "Building service employee" means any person who is regularly 15 employed at a building who performs work in connection with the care or 16 maintenance of such building. "Building service employee" includes, but 17 is not limited to, watchman, guard, doorman, building cleaner, porter, 18 handyman, janitor, gardener, groundskeeper, elevator operator and start- 19 er, and window cleaner, but shall not include persons regularly sched- 20 uled to work fewer than eight hours per week in the building. 21 § 2. Paragraphs (f) and (g) of subdivision 2 of section 467-a of the 22 real property tax law, paragraph (f) as amended by chapter 97 of the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD13103-01-9A. 8082 2 1 laws of 2013, paragraph (g) as added by chapter 273 of the laws of 1996, 2 are amended and a new paragraph (i) is added to read as follows: 3 (f) For purposes of this subdivision, a qualified property shall be 4 deemed not to be receiving complete or partial real property tax 5 exemption or tax abatement if the qualified property is, or certain 6 dwelling units therein are, receiving benefits pursuant to section four 7 hundred, four hundred two, four hundred four, four hundred six, four 8 hundred eight, four hundred ten, four hundred ten-a, four hundred 9 twelve, four hundred twelve-a, four hundred sixteen, four hundred eigh- 10 teen, four hundred twenty-a, four hundred twenty-b, four hundred twen- 11 ty-five, four hundred thirty-six, four hundred fifty-eight, four hundred 12 fifty-eight-a, four hundred fifty-nine-c, four hundred sixty-two, four 13 hundred sixty-seven, four hundred sixty-seven-b, four hundred ninety- 14 nine-bbb, or four hundred ninety-nine-bbbb of this article, or if the 15 qualified property is receiving a tax abatement but not a tax exemption 16 pursuant to section four hundred eighty-nine of this article. 17 (g) If the billable assessed value of a qualified property is reduced 18 after the assessment roll becomes final, any abatement already granted 19 pursuant to this section shall be adjusted accordingly. The difference 20 between the original abatement and the adjusted abatement shall be 21 deducted from any credit otherwise due. 22 (i) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, beginning in 23 the fiscal year commencing in calendar year two thousand twenty no 24 dwelling unit in a property other than a qualified property shall be 25 eligible to receive a tax abatement under this section. 26 § 3. Paragraph (d) of subdivision 3 of section 467-a of the real prop- 27 erty tax law, as added by chapter 273 of the laws of 1996, is amended to 28 read as follows: 29 (d) The commissioner of finance shall determine the form of the appli- 30 cation and the information which it shall contain. The information 31 contained in the application shall be provided with respect to the qual- 32 ified property as of the taxable status date for the fiscal year to 33 which the application relates. Such information shall include, but need 34 not be limited to: 35 (i) physical data, such as a description of the qualified property, 36 stating the number of stories, the number of dwelling and non-dwelling 37 units, unit designations with their locations, approximate area of each 38 unit, number of rooms in each unit, common interest of or number of 39 shares allocated to each unit, and the total number of shares in a coop- 40 erative apartment corporation; 41 (ii) the names and social security or tax identification numbers of 42 owners of all units; 43 (iii) the names and social security or tax identification numbers of 44 sponsors owning units; and 45 (iv) the name and address of the person designated by the board of 46 directors or board of managers for receipt of notices issued pursuant to 47 this section. 48 § 4. Subdivisions 4, 7 and 8 of section 467-a of the real property tax 49 law, subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 453 of the laws of 2011, subdi- 50 vision 7 as amended by chapter 4 of the laws of 2013 and subdivision 8 51 as separately amended by sections 11 and 19 of chapter 4 of the laws of 52 2013, are amended to read as follows: 53 4. Except in accordance with proper judicial order or as otherwise 54 provided by law, neither the commissioner of finance, nor any officer or 55 employee of a department of finance of a city having a population of one 56 million or more, nor any person who, pursuant to this subdivision, isA. 8082 3 1 authorized to inspect the application or statements in connection there- 2 with required by this section, shall disclose or make known the contents 3 of any such application or statements. Except as provided in this subdi- 4 vision, the officers charged with the custody of any such application or 5 statements shall not be required to produce them in any action or 6 proceeding in any court or before any administrative tribunal, but any 7 such application or statements may be produced on behalf of the depart- 8 ment of finance. An affidavit certifying that all building service 9 employees employed or to be employed at the qualified property shall 10 receive the applicable prevailing wage may be produced in any action or 11 proceeding in any court or before any administrative tribunal. Such 12 affidavit shall be considered a public record. Nothing in this subdivi- 13 sion shall be construed to prohibit delivery to an owner of a dwelling 14 unit of a qualified property situated in a city having a population of 15 one million or more of a copy of any application or statements pertain- 16 ing to such dwelling unit, upon request and with personally identifying 17 information redacted. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to 18 prohibit the delivery of a certified copy of any such application or 19 statements to the United States of America or any department thereof, 20 the state of New York or any department thereof, or a city having a 21 population of one million or more or any department thereof, provided 22 any such application or statements are required for official business; 23 nor to prohibit the inspection for official business of any such appli- 24 cation or statements by the tax commission of a city having a population 25 of one million or more, or by the corporation counsel or other legal 26 representative of a city having a population of one million or more, or 27 by any person engaged or retained by the department of finance on an 28 independent contract basis; nor to prohibit the publication of statis- 29 tics so classified as to prevent the identification of any particular 30 application or statements. The foregoing provisions of this subdivision 31 prohibiting disclosure of the contents of applications or statements 32 shall not apply to physical data relating to the qualified property 33 described therein. 34 7. The commissioner of finance shall be authorized to promulgate rules 35 necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section. Notwithstanding 36 any other provision of law to the contrary, such rules may include, but 37 need not be limited to, denial, termination or revocation of any abate- 38 ment pursuant to this section if building service workers are not paid 39 the prevailing wage or if any dwelling unit in a qualified property held 40 in the condominium form of ownership or a qualified property held in the 41 cooperative form of ownership has real property taxes, water and sewer 42 charges, payments in lieu of taxes or other municipal charges due and 43 owing, unless such real property taxes, water and sewer charges, 44 payments in lieu of taxes or other municipal charges are currently being 45 paid in timely installments pursuant to a written agreement with the 46 department of finance or other appropriate agency. 47 8. Except to the extent that the owner of a dwelling unit of a quali- 48 fied property situated in a city having a population of one million or 49 more may request a redacted copy of any application or statements 50 pertaining to such dwelling unit, as provided in subdivision four of 51 this section, the information contained in applications or statements in 52 connection therewith filed with the commissioner of finance pursuant to 53 subdivision three, three-a, three-b, three-c, three-d or three-e of this 54 section shall not be subject to disclosure under article six of the 55 public officers law. 56 § 5. This act shall take effect immediately.