Authorizes municipalities to establish a history, arts, and culture levy to support history, arts, and culture; exempts such levy from the real property tax levy limit.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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2553
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 21, 2025
___________
Introduced by Sen. COONEY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to authorizing
municipalities to establish a history, arts, and culture levy
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The general municipal law is amended by adding a new
2 section 6-w to read as follows:
3 § 6-w. History, arts, and culture funds. 1. As used in this section,
4 the following words and terms shall have the following meanings:
5 (a) "History, arts, and culture" means creative and cultural activ-
6 ities, including but not limited to, historic preservation, museum cura-
7 tion, performing, visual, and fine arts, music, dance, graphic design,
8 film, digital media and video, architecture and urban design, humani-
9 ties, literature, historic education, arts and culture education,
10 crafts, and folk arts.
11 (b) "Local arts council" means an entity, often referred to as a local
12 arts agency, arts commission, or cultural affairs office, that:
13 (i) is either a municipal or county government agency, or a private
14 entity exempt from federal income taxation under paragraph (3) of
15 subsection (c) of section 501 of the federal Internal Revenue Code of
16 1986 (26 U.S.C. s.501(c)(3)); and
17 (ii) maintains a mission that generally involves making history, arts,
18 and culture more accessible to the public, and supporting local artists,
19 art programming, or local organizations focused on history, arts, and
20 culture.
21 (c) "Tax" means a charge imposed upon real property by or on behalf of
22 a county, city, town, or village for municipal purposes, but shall have
23 a different meaning if the context clearly indicates.
24 2. (a) The governing body of a municipality may, by ordinance, submit
25 to the voters of the municipality, in a general or special election, a
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04509-01-5
S. 2553 2
1 proposition authorizing an annual levy, in an amount or at a rate that
2 the governing body deems appropriate, to be established for the purpose
3 of supporting history, arts, and culture. Upon approval of the proposi-
4 tion by a majority of the votes cast by the voters of the municipality,
5 the governing body of the municipality may annually raise by taxation a
6 sum not to exceed the amount or rate set forth in the proposition
7 approved by the voters for the purposes specified therein. The history,
8 arts, and culture levy shall become effective in the next budget year
9 following the year in which the levy has been approved by the voters.
10 (b) Amounts raised by the levy imposed pursuant to this section shall
11 be deposited into a history, arts, and culture trust fund to be created
12 by the municipality, and shall be used exclusively for history, arts,
13 and culture, except that the municipality may deposit such amounts into
14 the current fund of such municipality for uses not related to history,
15 arts, and culture if the municipality is in fiscal distress as defined
16 in paragraph c of subdivision ten of section fifty-four of the state
17 finance law. Any interest or other income earned on monies deposited
18 into the history, arts, and culture trust fund shall be credited to the
19 fund to be used for the same purposes as the principal. A municipality
20 may deposit other funds into the history, arts, and culture trust fund,
21 as it may, from time to time, deem appropriate.
22 (c) The governing body of a municipality may, by ordinance, submit to
23 the voters of the municipality in a general or special election a propo-
24 sition amending, supplementing, or repealing, a proposition previously
25 submitted, approved, and implemented as provided pursuant to this
26 section. The proposition may propose to eliminate the annual levy or
27 change the amount or rate of the annual levy. Upon approval of an amen-
28 datory or supplementary proposition by a majority of the votes cast by
29 the voters of the municipality, the governing body of the municipality
30 shall implement such proposition in the same manner as set forth in the
31 original proposition.
32 (d) Upon petition to the governing body of a municipality signed by
33 the voters of the municipality equal in number to at least fifteen
34 percent of the votes cast therein at the last preceding general
35 election, filed with the governing body at least ninety days before a
36 general or special election, the governing body of the municipality
37 shall submit to the voters of the municipality in the general or special
38 election the proposition otherwise authorized pursuant to paragraph (a)
39 or (c) of this subdivision.
40 3. A municipality which establishes a history, arts, and culture levy
41 pursuant to this section shall designate, either through an ordinance
42 adopted pursuant to subdivision two of this section, or through a subse-
43 quent ordinance, a local arts council to which monies from the history,
44 arts, and culture trust fund shall be appropriated. The local arts coun-
45 cil shall comply with the conditions for the use of the funding estab-
46 lished by ordinance.
47 § 2. Subparagraph (iv) of paragraph (g) of subdivision 2 of section
48 3-c of the general municipal law, as added by section 1 of part A of
49 chapter 97 of the laws of 2011, is amended and a new subparagraph (v) is
50 added to read as follows:
51 (iv) in years in which the normal contribution rate of the New York
52 state teachers' retirement system, as defined by paragraph a of subdivi-
53 sion two of section five hundred seventeen of the education law,
54 increases by more than two percentage points from the previous year, a
55 tax levy necessary for expenditures for the coming fiscal year for local
56 government employer contributions to the New York state teachers'
S. 2553 3
1 retirement system caused by growth in the normal contribution rate minus
2 two percentage points[.];
3 (v) a tax levy for history, arts, and culture established pursuant to
4 section six-w of this article.
5 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
