Establishes an energy system tax stabilization reserve fund in the Lowville Central School District to lessen or prevent increases in the school district's real property tax levy resulting from decreases in revenue due to changes in or termination of the payments in lieu of taxes receivable by the school district.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10016--B
IN ASSEMBLY
May 5, 2016
___________
Introduced by M. of A. BLANKENBUSH -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Education -- reported and referred to the Committee on
Ways and Means -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- again
reported from said committee with amendments, ordered reprinted as
amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to establish an energy system tax stabilization reserve fund in
the Lowville 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 Lowville 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 Lowville 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 Lowville
18 Central School District.
19 (d) "School district" or "district" means the Lowville Central School
20 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
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14731-05-6
A. 10016--B 2
1 is located, any equipment used in such generation, and equipment leading
2 from the system to the interconnection with the transmission system.
3 § 3. The board of education is hereby authorized to establish an ener-
4 gy system tax stabilization reserve fund to lessen or prevent increases
5 in the school district's real property tax levy resulting from decreases
6 in revenue due to changes in or termination of the payments in lieu of
7 taxes receivable by the school district provided, however, that no such
8 fund shall be established unless approved by a majority vote of the
9 voters present and voting on a separate ballot proposition therefor at
10 either a special district meeting which the board of education may call
11 for such purpose or at the annual district meeting and election, to be
12 noticed and conducted in either case in accordance with article 41 of
13 the education law. Such separate proposition shall set forth the maxi-
14 mum allowable balance to be deposited and held in the energy system
15 stabilization reserve fund. Moneys shall be paid into and withdrawn from
16 the fund and the fund shall be administered as follows:
17 (a) The board of education is hereby authorized to make payments into
18 the energy system tax stabilization reserve fund with funds from
19 payments in lieu of taxes, as defined in subdivision (c) of section two
20 of this act which accrued prior to the establishment of the energy
21 system tax stabilization reserve fund in an amount not to exceed the
22 balance over any maximum allowable balance in such unassigned fund
23 balance and from any reserve funds authorized or required by law in
24 amounts which the board of education shall determine are not reasonably
25 necessary for the purpose of such fund or funds and which accrued prior
26 to the establishment of the energy system tax stabilization reserve fund
27 provided that no such payment from any unassigned fund balance or any
28 reserve fund shall cause the balance of the fund to exceed the amount
29 approved in the ballot proposal described above.
30 (b) For any school district fiscal year commencing after the effective
31 date of this act and after the establishment of the energy system
32 stabilization reserve fund, the board of education may determine that
33 there shall be paid into the fund all or any portion of the amount by
34 which the payments in lieu of taxes receivable by the school district
35 for such fiscal year is greater than the amount of payments received by
36 the school district for the preceding fiscal year provided that no such
37 payment into the reserve fund shall cause the balance of the fund to
38 exceed the amount approved in the ballot proposal described above.
39 (c) Moneys may be withdrawn from the energy system tax stabilization
40 reserve fund for any fiscal year to be expended for any lawful purpose.
41 Withdrawals from the fund shall be disclosed in a manner consistent with
42 the required disclosures of similar reserve funds held by the district,
43 including disclosures required by the property tax report card prepared
44 by the district pursuant to the provisions of subdivision 7 of section
45 1716 of the education law; and deposits and withdrawals made in each
46 fiscal year shall be subject to the district's annual budget approval
47 process.
48 (d) The moneys in the energy system stabilization reserve fund shall
49 be deposited, invested and accounted for in the manner provided for in
50 subdivisions 2 and 6 of section 3651 and section 3652 of the education
51 law.
52 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
