NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10689
SPONSOR: Rules (Galef) TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation
to a residential reassessment exemption in a town with a population of
not less than thirty-seven thousand persons and not more than thirty-
eight thousand persons located in a county of not less than nine hundred
thirty thousand persons and not more than one million two hundred thou-
sand persons, based upon the latest U.S. census
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
The purpose of this legislation is to help mitigate the effects of the
town-wide revaluation in the Town of Ossining, Westchester County by
authorizing the Town to adopt a two-year phase-in of assessment
increases for certain residential properties.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 of the bill adds a new section § 485-s to the Real Property
Tax Law to provide that a town with a population of not less than 37,000
persons and not more than 38,000 persons located in a county of not less
than 930,000 persons and not more than 1,200,000 persons, based upon the
latest U.S. census, may adopt by local law, after a public hearing, a
residential reassessment exemption. If the town adopts the reassessment
exemption, the exemption would also apply in the same manner and to the
same extent to each village, county, special district or school district
that levies taxes on the assessment roll prepared by the town.
The bill further provides that to qualify for the exemption a property
must (1) be a one, two, or three family residential property, provided
that in an approved assessing unit dwelling units held in condominium
form of ownership that are classified in the homestead tax class would
also be eligible; (2) be eligible to receive the STAR exemption or the
owner or owners must be eligible to receive the personal income tax
school tax relief (STAR) credit for the property; (3) have a Certificate
of Occupancy or a temporary Certificate of Occupancy; and (4) not have
any delinquent taxes.
The town may also require that the property not have any building code
violations, and may limit the exemption to properties that experience an
increase in assessed value that exceeds a set value threshold.
The exemption would be for a period of two years to the extent of 66% of
the increase in the equalized assessed value in the first year of the
reassessment, and 44% of the increase in the equalized assessed value of
the property in the second year. The exemption would not apply to any
increase in the assessed value of a property due to physical improve-
ments or the removal or reduction of an exemption on the property. The
exemption would be granted only upon application by the owner or owners
of the property. In the event that the property transfers ownership or
otherwise ceases to meet the eligibility requirements, the exemption
would be discontinued.
Section 2 establishes special provisions for the 2016 assessment roll
due to the fact that the Town will need to implement the exemption later
in the assessment cycle than is authorized by State and local law.
Section 3 is the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
New York State does not require assessing units to conduct cyclical
reassessments. As a result, reassessment activity is inconsistence
across the State. In many instances assessments are out of date and do
not accurately reflect the actual value of properties, causing some
taxpayers to pay too much in taxes and others to pay too little.
The Town of Ossining, in an effort to bring current the value of proper-
ties in the Town, recently completed a town-wide reassessment of its
properties. The properties in the Town had not been reassessed for many
years. Updating this out of date assessment roll caused some property
owners to experience a large increase in property taxes. Although these
increases may be in the interest of fairness, they can be jarring, espe-
cially for residential homeowners and create significant financial hard-
ship. This legislation will help mitigate the impacts of these increases
by allowing the Town to adopt a local law, after a public hearing, to
phase-in the increased assessments that some residents will experience.
This legislation will allow these homeowners to prepare financially for
their increased tax liabilities.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the State.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
