Establishes local labor requirements as part of the approval to receive a real property tax business investment exception; requires eighty-five percent of workers hired by a contractor or developer for a project to be from the same county or an adjoining county or, in certain circumstances, the state of New York.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
3461
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 31, 2023
___________
Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- 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 establishing
local labor requirements as part of the approval to receive a real
property tax business investment exemption
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 485-b of the real
2 property tax law, as amended by chapter 305 of the laws of 1994, is
3 amended to read as follows:
4 (b) No such exemption shall be granted unless:
5 (1) such construction, alteration, installation or improvement was
6 commenced subsequent to the first day of January, nineteen hundred
7 seventy-six or such later date as may be specified by local law or
8 resolution;
9 (2) the cost of such construction, alteration, installation or
10 improvement exceeds the sum of ten thousand dollars or such greater
11 amount as may be specified by local law or resolution; [and]
12 (3) such construction, alteration, installation or improvement is
13 completed as may be evidenced by a certificate of occupancy or other
14 appropriate documentation as provided by the owner;
15 (4) such construction, alteration, installation or improvement meets
16 the local labor requirements set forth pursuant to subdivision two-a of
17 this section; and
18 (5) such construction, alteration, installation or improvement is
19 performed by a developer, contractor, or subcontractor who has appren-
20 ticeship agreements appropriate for the type and scope of work to be
21 performed, that have been registered with, and approved by, the commis-
22 sioner of labor pursuant to the requirements found in article twenty-
23 three of the labor law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD07048-01-3
S. 3461 2
1 § 2. Section 485-b of the real property tax law is amended by adding a
2 new subdivision 2-a to read as follows:
3 2-a. (a) For purposes of this subdivision:
4 (i) "local labor" shall mean workers who reside within the same county
5 or an adjoining county.
6 (ii) "state labor" shall mean workers who reside in the state of New
7 York.
8 (b) Any real property constructed, altered, installed or improved for
9 the purpose of commercial, business or industrial activity shall be
10 exempt from taxation and special ad valorem levies only if eighty-five
11 percent or more of the workforce hired by the contractor or developer
12 who is overseeing such construction, alteration, installation or
13 improvement project are from the local labor market or, if after making
14 a good faith effort such contractor or developer cannot hire enough of
15 their workforce to satisfy the requirements of this subdivision, from
16 the state labor market.
17 (c) The eighty-five percent requirement set forth by paragraph (b) of
18 this subdivision shall be by contractor and in total at the time of
19 completion of such project. A contractor or developer shall be required
20 to keep daily log sheets of all field workers, commencing on the date of
21 application for a real property tax exemption pursuant to this section.
22 Any work performed after an application for such real property tax
23 exemption shall be included in the determination of overall compliance
24 with the requirements set forth in this subdivision. The commissioner
25 shall require every contractor or developer to submit supporting
26 documentation that the requirements of this section have been met when
27 applying for an exemption pursuant to this section.
28 (d) (i) An exemption may be granted pursuant to this section for the
29 following reasons even if the local labor requirements set forth pursu-
30 ant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision are not met:
31 (1) the installation of specialized equipment is required by the
32 manufacturer to be installed by only approved installers;
33 (2) specialized construction is required, and no local or state
34 contractors or local or state construction workers have the required
35 skills, certifications or training to perform such work;
36 (3) there are significant cost differentials in bid prices whereby the
37 use of local or state labor significantly increases the subcontract or
38 contract of a particular trade or work scope by at least twenty percent;
39 (4) no local or state labor is available for the project; or
40 (5) the contractor or developer requires key or core persons such as
41 supervisors, foreman or construction workers to have special skills that
42 are not available in the local or state labor market.
43 (ii) A request for an exemption from local labor requirements set
44 forth pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision shall be submitted
45 to the department prior to any work being commenced.
46 (e) In addition to the local labor requirements set forth pursuant to
47 this section, every contractor or developer shall make reasonable
48 efforts to utilize vendors, material suppliers and professional services
49 from New York state. Real property owners and contractors shall be
50 required to keep records of such local vendors, material suppliers and
51 professional services whom they have solicited and with whom they have
52 contracted with or awarded. The department shall have the authority to
53 request these additional materials as necessary.
54 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
