Authorizes funds in the case of certain tax certiorari challenges or agreed upon settlements; authorizes the board of education to establish a tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7243--A
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
April 18, 2019
___________
Introduced by M. of A. STERN, LAVINE, M. L. MILLER -- read once and
referred to the Committee on Education -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT authorizing funds in the case of certain tax certiorari chal-
lenges or agreed upon settlements; and to amend the education law, in
relation to authorizing a board of education to establish a tax
certiorari stabilization reserve fund
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. 1. Contingent upon available funding, and not to exceed
2 $69,000,000, moneys shall be available for a local government entity,
3 which for the purposes of this section shall mean a county, city, town,
4 village, school district, special district, school district public
5 library or municipal public library where, on or after April 1, 2019, a
6 successful tax certiorari challenge or an agreed upon settlement that
7 has resulted in either a reduction in the real property tax collections
8 or payments in lieu of taxes of at least twenty percent, or in regard to
9 a settlement agreement a reduction in real property taxes or payments in
10 lieu of taxes of at least twenty percent in the aggregate over the term
11 of the settlement agreement, or that has resulted in a real property tax
12 levy increase of over twenty percent of a local government entity. Such
13 moneys attributable to a successful tax certiorari challenge, or an
14 agreed upon settlement, shall be paid annually on a first come, first
15 serve basis by the New York state urban development corporation to such
16 local government entity within reasonable time upon confirmation from
17 the state office of real property tax services or the local industrial
18 development authority established pursuant to the local industrial
19 development agency pursuant to article eighteen-A of the general munici-
20 pal law that such tax certiorari judgment, or an agreed upon settlement,
21 has resulted in a reduction in the real property tax collections or
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10714-06-0
A. 7243--A 2
1 payment in lieu of taxes, provided, however, that the urban development
2 corporation shall not provide assistance to such local government entity
3 for more than fifteen years in the case of a tax certiorari judgment or
4 agreed upon settlement, and shall award payments reflecting the loss of
5 revenues due to the tax certiorari judgment or an agreed upon settlement
6 as follows:
7 (a) for award year one, a maximum potential award of no more than
8 eighty percent of loss of revenues;
9 (b) for award year two, a maximum potential award of no more than
10 seventy percent of loss of revenues;
11 (c) for award year three, a maximum potential award of no more than
12 sixty percent of loss of revenues;
13 (d) for award year four, a maximum potential award of no more than
14 fifty percent of loss of revenues;
15 (e) for award year five, a maximum potential award of no more than
16 forty percent of loss of revenues;
17 (f) for award year six, a maximum potential award of no more than
18 thirty percent of loss of revenues; and
19 (g) for award years seven through fifteen, a maximum potential award
20 of no more than twenty percent of loss of revenues.
21 2. A local government entity shall be eligible for only one payment of
22 funds hereunder per year. A local government entity may seek assistance
23 under the tax certiorari mitigation fund once a final judgment or
24 settlement agreement in a tax certiorari proceeding has been filed or
25 executed. The date of submission of a local government entity's applica-
26 tion for assistance shall establish the order in which assistance is
27 paid to program applicants, except that in no event shall assistance be
28 paid to a local government entity until such time that a final judgment
29 or settlement agreement in a tax certiorari proceeding has been filed or
30 executed. For purposes of this section, any local government entity
31 seeking assistance under the tax certiorari mitigation fund must submit
32 an attestation to the department of public service that a final judgment
33 or settlement agreement in a tax certiorari proceeding has been filed or
34 executed.
35 3. For a facility with a tax certiorari judgment or settlement, the
36 appropriate agency shall submit such attestation to the urban develop-
37 ment corporation upon receipt of the determination of the amount of such
38 annual payment which shall be determined by the president of the urban
39 development corporation based on the amount of the differential between
40 the annual real property taxes and payments in lieu of taxes imposed
41 upon the facility, exclusive of interest and penalties, and the annual
42 reduction on real property taxes or payments in lieu of taxes during the
43 term of a settlement agreement from a tax certiorari proceeding. The
44 total amount awarded from this program shall not exceed $69,000,000.
45 § 2. The education law is amended by adding a new section 3654 to read
46 as follows:
47 § 3654. Tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund. (a) Definitions. As
48 used in this section:
49 (i) "Board of education" or "board" shall mean the board of education
50 of any school district impacted by a tax certiorari action;
51 (ii) "Tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund" or "fund" shall mean
52 the tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund established pursuant to
53 this section; and
54 (iii) "School district" or "district" shall mean any other school
55 district that is impacted by a tax certiorari action.
A. 7243--A 3
1 (b) The board of education is hereby authorized to establish a tax
2 certiorari stabilization reserve fund to lessen or prevent increases in
3 the school district's real property tax levy resulting from decreases in
4 revenue due to a tax certiorari settlement or judgment provided, howev-
5 er, that no such fund shall be established unless approved by a majority
6 vote of the voters present and voting on a separate ballot proposition
7 therefor at either a special district meeting which the board of educa-
8 tion may call for such purpose or at the annual district meeting and
9 election, to be noticed and conducted in either case in accordance with
10 article forty-one of this chapter. Such separate proposition shall set
11 forth the maximum allowable balance to be deposited and held in the tax
12 certiorari stabilization reserve fund. Moneys shall be paid into and
13 withdrawn from the fund and the fund shall be administered as follows:
14 (i) The board of education is hereby authorized to receive payments
15 into its tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund from any available
16 funds.
17 (ii) Moneys may be withdrawn from the tax certiorari stabilization
18 reserve fund for any fiscal year to be expended for any lawful purpose
19 to lessen or prevent increases in the district's tax levy. Withdrawals
20 from the fund shall be disclosed in a manner consistent with the
21 required disclosures of similar reserve funds held by the district,
22 including disclosures of similar reserve funds held by the district,
23 including disclosures required by the property tax report card prepared
24 by the district pursuant to the provisions of subdivision seven of
25 section seventeen hundred sixteen of this chapter; and deposits and
26 withdrawals made in each fiscal year shall be subject to the district's
27 annual budget approval process.
28 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
