STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6758 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 14, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. GRIFFO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government AN ACT to establish an energy system tax stabilization reserve fund in the Copenhagen Central School District to lessen or prevent increases in the school district's real property tax levy The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Legislative findings. The legislature hereby finds that the 2 private development and ownership of wind energy systems located within 3 the Copenhagen Central School District may result in instability in the 4 real property tax base and the budgets of the district due to the uncer- 5 tainty with the assessments of such wind energy systems and the vari- 6 ability of payments in lieu of taxes prior to and after the payments in 7 lieu of taxes terminate. 8 § 2. Definitions. As used in this act: 9 (a) "Board of education" or "board" means the board of education of 10 the Copenhagen Central School District. 11 (b) "Energy system tax stabilization reserve fund" or "fund" means the 12 energy system tax stabilization fund established pursuant to this act. 13 (c) "Payments in lieu of taxes" or "payments" means payments in lieu 14 of taxes receivable by the school district pursuant to contracts entered 15 into in accordance with section 487 of the real property tax law or 16 subdivision 15 of section 858 of the general municipal law on any wind 17 farm energy system located wholly or partially within the Copenhagen 18 Central School District. 19 (d) "School district" or "district" means the Copenhagen Central 20 School District. 21 (e) "Wind energy systems" shall be defined as in section 487 of the 22 real property tax law and shall include the land upon which the system 23 is located, any equipment used in such generation, and equipment leading 24 from the system to the interconnection with the transmission system. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD11364-01-1S. 6758 2 1 § 3. The board of education is hereby authorized to establish an ener- 2 gy system tax stabilization reserve fund to lessen or prevent increases 3 in the school district's real property tax levy resulting from decreases 4 in revenue due to changes in or termination of the payments in lieu of 5 taxes receivable by the school district; provided, however, that no such 6 fund shall be established unless approved by a majority vote of the 7 voters present and voting on a separate ballot proposition therefor at 8 either a special district meeting which the board of education may call 9 for such purpose or at the annual district meeting and election, to be 10 noticed and conducted in either case in accordance with article 41 of 11 the education law. Such separate proposition shall set forth the maxi- 12 mum allowable balance to be deposited and held in the energy system 13 stabilization reserve fund. Moneys shall be paid into and withdrawn from 14 the fund and the fund shall be administered as follows: 15 (a) The board of education is hereby authorized to make payments into 16 the energy system tax stabilization reserve fund with funds from 17 payments in lieu of taxes, as defined in subdivision (c) of section two 18 of this act which accrued prior to the establishment of the energy 19 system tax stabilization reserve fund in an amount not to exceed the 20 balance over any maximum allowable balance in such unassigned fund 21 balance and from any reserve funds authorized or required by law in 22 amounts which the board of education shall determine are not reasonably 23 necessary for the purpose of such fund or funds and which accrued prior 24 to the establishment of the energy system tax stabilization reserve fund 25 provided that no such payment from any unassigned fund balance or any 26 reserve fund shall cause the balance of the fund to exceed the amount 27 approved in the ballot proposal described above. 28 (b) For any school district fiscal year commencing after the effective 29 date of this act and after the establishment of the energy system 30 stabilization reserve fund, the board of education may determine that 31 there shall be paid into the fund all or any portion of the amount by 32 which the payments in lieu of taxes receivable by the school district 33 for such fiscal year is greater than the amount of payments received by 34 the school district for the preceding fiscal year provided that no such 35 payment into the reserve fund shall cause the balance of the fund to 36 exceed the amount approved in the ballot proposal described above. 37 (c) Moneys may be withdrawn from the energy system tax stabilization 38 reserve fund for any fiscal year to be expended for any lawful purpose. 39 Withdrawals from the fund shall be disclosed in a manner consistent with 40 the required disclosures of similar reserve funds held by the district, 41 including disclosures required by the property tax report card prepared 42 by the district pursuant to the provisions of subdivision 7 of section 43 1716 of the education law; and deposits and withdrawals made in each 44 fiscal year shall be subject to the district's annual budget approval 45 process. 46 (d) The moneys in the energy system stabilization reserve fund shall 47 be deposited, invested and accounted for in the manner provided for in 48 subdivisions 2 and 6 of section 3651 and section 3652 of the education 49 law. 50 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.