STATE OF NEW YORK
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4082
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
February 27, 2019
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Introduced by Sen. SEWARD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to eligibility of
privately owned forest land for a real property tax exemption
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (e) of subdivision 1 of section 480-a of the real
2 property tax law, as amended by chapter 428 of the laws of 1987, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 (e) "Eligible tract" shall mean a tract of privately owned forest land
5 of at least [fifty] twenty-five contiguous acres, exclusive of any
6 portion thereof not devoted to the production of forest crops, timber,
7 pulp, biomass, low-grade wood products, wildlife, fruits or mushrooms.
8 Lands divided by federal, state, county or town roads, easements or
9 rights-of-way, or energy transmission corridors or similar facilities
10 will be considered contiguous for purposes of this section, unless
11 vehicular access for forest management purposes is precluded. Lands from
12 which a merchantable forest crop has been cut or removed within three
13 years prior to the time of application for certification under this
14 section will be ineligible unless such cutting or removal was accom-
15 plished under a forest management [program] plan designed to provide for
16 the continuing production of merchantable forest crops.
17 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05962-03-9