Bill Text: NY S04452 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Authorizes funds in the case of certain tax certiorari challenges or agreed upon settlements; authorizes the board of education to establish a tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-06-29 - PRINT NUMBER 4452B [S04452 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-S04452-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 4452--B 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN SENATE March 11, 2019 ___________ Introduced by Sen. GAUGHRAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Education in accordance with Senate Rule 6, sec. 8 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit- tee AN ACT authorizing funds in the case of certain tax certiorari chal- lenges or agreed upon settlements; and to amend the education law, in relation to authorizing a board of education to establish a tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. 1. Contingent upon available funding, and not to exceed 2 $69,000,000, moneys shall be available for a local government entity, 3 which for the purposes of this section shall mean a county, city, town, 4 village, school district, special district, school district public 5 library or municipal public library where, on or after April 1, 2019, a 6 successful tax certiorari challenge or an agreed upon settlement that 7 has resulted in either a reduction in the real property tax collections 8 or payments in lieu of taxes of at least twenty percent, or in regard to 9 a settlement agreement a reduction in real property taxes or payments in 10 lieu of taxes of at least twenty percent in the aggregate over the term 11 of the settlement agreement, or that has resulted in a real property tax 12 levy increase of over twenty percent of a local government entity. Such 13 moneys attributable to a successful tax certiorari challenge, or an 14 agreed upon settlement, shall be paid annually on a first come, first 15 serve basis by the New York state urban development corporation to such 16 local government entity within reasonable time upon confirmation from 17 the state office of real property tax services or the local industrial 18 development authority established pursuant to the local industrial EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD10714-05-0S. 4452--B 2 1 development agency pursuant to article eighteen-A of the general munici- 2 pal law that such tax certiorari judgment, or an agreed upon settlement, 3 has resulted in a reduction in the real property tax collections or 4 payment in lieu of taxes, provided, however, that the urban development 5 corporation shall not provide assistance to such local government entity 6 for more than fifteen years in the case of a tax certiorari judgment or 7 agreed upon settlement, and shall award payments reflecting the loss of 8 revenues due to the tax certiorari judgment or an agreed upon settlement 9 as follows: 10 (a) for award year one, a maximum potential award of no more than 11 eighty percent of loss of revenues; 12 (b) for award year two, a maximum potential award of no more than 13 seventy percent of loss of revenues; 14 (c) for award year three, a maximum potential award of no more than 15 sixty percent of loss of revenues; 16 (d) for award year four, a maximum potential award of no more than 17 fifty percent of loss of revenues; 18 (e) for award year five, a maximum potential award of no more than 19 forty percent of loss of revenues; 20 (f) for award year six, a maximum potential award of no more than 21 thirty percent of loss of revenues; and 22 (g) for award years seven through fifteen, a maximum potential award 23 of no more than twenty percent of loss of revenues. 24 2. A local government entity shall be eligible for only one payment of 25 funds hereunder per year. A local government entity may seek assistance 26 under the tax certiorari mitigation fund once a final judgment or 27 settlement agreement in a tax certiorari proceeding has been filed or 28 executed. The date of submission of a local government entity's applica- 29 tion for assistance shall establish the order in which assistance is 30 paid to program applicants, except that in no event shall assistance be 31 paid to a local government entity until such time that a final judgment 32 or settlement agreement in a tax certiorari proceeding has been filed or 33 executed. For purposes of this section, any local government entity 34 seeking assistance under the tax certiorari mitigation fund must submit 35 an attestation to the department of public service that a final judgment 36 or settlement agreement in a tax certiorari proceeding has been filed or 37 executed. 38 3. For a facility with a tax certiorari judgment or settlement, the 39 appropriate agency shall submit such attestation to the urban develop- 40 ment corporation upon receipt of the determination of the amount of such 41 annual payment which shall be determined by the president of the urban 42 development corporation based on the amount of the differential between 43 the annual real property taxes and payments in lieu of taxes imposed 44 upon the facility, exclusive of interest and penalties, and the annual 45 reduction on real property taxes or payments in lieu of taxes during the 46 term of a settlement agreement from a tax certiorari proceeding. The 47 total amount awarded from this program shall not exceed $69,000,000. 48 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3654 to read 49 as follows: 50 § 3654. Tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund. (a) Definitions. As 51 used in this section: 52 (i) "Board of education" or "board" shall mean the board of education 53 of any school district impacted by a tax certiorari action; 54 (ii) "Tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund" or "fund" shall mean 55 the tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund established pursuant to 56 this section; andS. 4452--B 3 1 (iii) "School district" or "district" shall mean any other school 2 district that is impacted by a tax certiorari action. 3 (b) The board of education is hereby authorized to establish a tax 4 certiorari stabilization reserve fund to lessen or prevent increases in 5 the school district's real property tax levy resulting from decreases in 6 revenue due to a tax certiorari settlement or judgment provided, howev- 7 er, that no such fund shall be established unless approved by a majority 8 vote of the voters present and voting on a separate ballot proposition 9 therefor at either a special district meeting which the board of educa- 10 tion may call for such purpose or at the annual district meeting and 11 election, to be noticed and conducted in either case in accordance with 12 article forty-one of this chapter. Such separate proposition shall set 13 forth the maximum allowable balance to be deposited and held in the tax 14 certiorari stabilization reserve fund. Moneys shall be paid into and 15 withdrawn from the fund and the fund shall be administered as follows: 16 (i) The board of education is hereby authorized to receive payments 17 into its tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund from any available 18 funds. 19 (ii) Moneys may be withdrawn from the tax certiorari stabilization 20 reserve fund for any fiscal year to be expended for any lawful purpose 21 to lessen or prevent increases in the district's tax levy. Withdrawals 22 from the fund shall be disclosed in a manner consistent with the 23 required disclosures of similar reserve funds held by the district, 24 including disclosures of similar reserve funds held by the district, 25 including disclosures required by the property tax report card prepared 26 by the district pursuant to the provisions of subdivision seven of 27 section seventeen hundred sixteen of this chapter; and deposits and 28 withdrawals made in each fiscal year shall be subject to the district's 29 annual budget approval process. 30 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.