Clarifies the definition of veteran to include career members of the armed forces for purposes of the veterans alternative tax exemption by considering individuals who meet certain conditions to have been discharged or released from active military service of the United States despite the fact that no discharge may have been issued.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A3381A
SPONSOR: Woerner
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation to clarifying the
definition of veteran to include career members of the armed forces for
purposes of the veterans alternative tax exemption
 
PURPOSE:
To clarify the definition of veteran to include career members of the
armed forces for purposes of the veterans alternative tax exemption
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: amends Paragraph (e) of subdivision 1 of section 458-a of the
real property tax law to clarify the definition of a veteran to ensure
that career members of our military be eligible for the veterans alter-
native tax exemptions
Section 2: establishes the effective date
 
JUSTIFICATION:
When the portion of the New York State RPTL establishing a veterans
alternative tax exemption was written, if a member of the military
completed a tour of duty, and then re-enlisted for another tour, they
received a "DD214 form." The state requires this document to show that a
person is in fact a military veteran, eligible for the tax exemption.
The military no longer issues a DD214 form to members of the military
who complete a tour of duty and then re-enlist for another tour.Because
this document is no longer provided, career members of the military are
unable to claim the exemption, making them less likely to purchase homes
in New York State. This bill updates the law to reflect current prac-
tices in the military, to create an incentive to keep career members of
the military in New York State.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A.6055A of 2022: Passed Assembly
S.4365A of 2022: Referred to Veterans, Homeland Security and Military
Affairs
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3381--A
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 2, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. WOERNER, McMAHON, THIELE, D. ROSENTHAL, SIMPSON,
MIKULIN, DURSO, COLTON, SILLITTI, SAYEGH, McDONALD, SIMON -- read once
and referred to the Committee on Real Property Taxation -- committee
discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
to said committee
AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to clarifying the
definition of veteran to include career members of the armed forces
for purposes of the veterans alternative 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 458-a of the real
2 property tax law, as amended by section 83 of part PP of chapter 56 of
3 the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
4 (e) "Veteran" means a person (i) who served in the active military,
5 naval, or air service during a period of war, or who was a recipient of
6 the armed forces expeditionary medal, navy expeditionary medal, marine
7 corps expeditionary medal, or global war on terrorism expeditionary
8 medal, and who (1) was discharged or released therefrom under honorable
9 conditions, or (2) has a qualifying condition, as defined in section one
10 of the veterans' services law, and has received a discharge other than
11 bad conduct or dishonorable from such service, or (3) is a discharged
12 LGBT veteran, as defined in section one of the veterans' services law,
13 and has received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from
14 such service, (ii) who was employed by the War Shipping Administration
15 or Office of Defense Transportation or their agents as a merchant seaman
16 documented by the United States Coast Guard or Department of Commerce,
17 or as a civil servant employed by the United States Army Transport
18 Service (later redesignated as the United States Army Transportation
19 Corps, Water Division) or the Naval Transportation Service; and who
20 served satisfactorily as a crew member during the period of armed
21 conflict, December seventh, nineteen hundred forty-one, to August
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06348-02-3
A. 3381--A 2
1 fifteenth, nineteen hundred forty-five, aboard merchant vessels in
2 oceangoing, i.e., foreign, intercoastal, or coastwise service as such
3 terms are defined under federal law (46 USCA 10301 & 10501) and further
4 to include "near foreign" voyages between the United States and Canada,
5 Mexico, or the West Indies via ocean routes, or public vessels in ocean-
6 going service or foreign waters and who has received a Certificate of
7 Release or Discharge from Active Duty and a discharge certificate, or an
8 Honorable Service Certificate/Report of Casualty, from the department of
9 defense, (iii) who served as a United States civilian employed by the
10 American Field Service and served overseas under United States Armies
11 and United States Army Groups in world war II during the period of armed
12 conflict, December seventh, nineteen hundred forty-one through May
13 eighth, nineteen hundred forty-five, and who (1) was discharged or
14 released therefrom under honorable conditions, or (2) has a qualifying
15 condition, as defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and
16 has received a discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from
17 such service, or (3) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section
18 one of the veterans' services law, and has received a discharge other
19 than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service, (iv) who served as a
20 United States civilian Flight Crew and Aviation Ground Support Employee
21 of Pan American World Airways or one of its subsidiaries or its affil-
22 iates and served overseas as a result of Pan American's contract with
23 Air Transport Command or Naval Air Transport Service during the period
24 of armed conflict, December fourteenth, nineteen hundred forty-one
25 through August fourteenth, nineteen hundred forty-five, and who (1) was
26 discharged or released therefrom under honorable conditions, or (2) has
27 a qualifying condition, as defined in section one of the veterans'
28 services law, and has received a discharge other than bad conduct or
29 dishonorable from such service, or (3) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as
30 defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and has received a
31 discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service, [or]
32 (v) notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, who are
33 members of the reserve components of the armed forces of the United
34 States who (1) received an honorable discharge or release therefrom
35 under honorable conditions, or (2) has a qualifying condition, as
36 defined in section one of the veterans' services law, and has received a
37 discharge other than bad conduct or dishonorable from such service, or
38 (3) is a discharged LGBT veteran, as defined in section one of the
39 veterans' services law, and has received a discharge other than bad
40 conduct or dishonorable from such service, but are still members of the
41 reserve components of the armed forces of the United States provided
42 that such members meet all other qualifications under the provisions of
43 this section, or (vi) who shall be considered to have been discharged or
44 released from active military service of the United States under honor-
45 able conditions if: (1) the individual served in the active military
46 service of the United States for the period of time such individual was
47 obligated to serve at the time of entry into service; (2) the indi-
48 vidual was not discharged or released from such service at the time of
49 completing such period of obligation due to an intervening enlistment
50 or reenlistment; (3) the individual would have been eligible for a
51 discharge or release under conditions other than dishonorable at such
52 time except for such intervening enlistment or reenlistment; and (4) the
53 individual served in the active military service of the United States
54 for a period of at least ten years, provided that such individual meets
55 all other qualifications under the provisions of this section.
56 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.