NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A5200
SPONSOR: Solages TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general municipal law, in relation to preventing the
use of funds, financial incentives, subsidies or tax exemptions for
project occupants which are not public
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL::
This bill would prohibit industrial development agencies (IDAs) from
giving financial assistance to projects where the project occupant is
kept secret from the public. Taxpayers should know which companies their
money is going to support.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS::
Section 1: Adds a new subdivision to section 862 of the general munici-
pal law stating that IDAs may not give financial incentives or subsidies
to a project in which the project occupant is not publicly disclosed at
the time of the required public hearing for the project.
Section 2: Adds a new subdivision to section 874 of the general munici-
pal law stating that IDAs may not grant tax exemptions to a project in
which the project occupant is not publicly disclosed at the time of the
required public hearing for the project.
Section 3: Effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Each year, local industrial development agencies grant millions of
dollars of financial assistance in the form of tax incentives, payment
in lieu of taxes (PILOT) agreements,. and others, to projects seeking
assistance. Sometimes, these incentives are given out with out any way
for the public to know what company is receiving them.
For example, in the Town of Montgomery in Orange County, the local IDA
is offering incentives to developers of a 1-million square foot ware-
house. Although the developers have indicated they will pass the bene-
fits of the incentives to the future occupant of the warehouse, they are
refusing to identify which company that will be even though they admit
that the occupant is known to them.
New Yorkers have a right to know what companies are getting publicly-
funded incentives or sales tax exemptions. This bill would prohibit IDAs
from giving incentives or exemptions to a project unless the occupant of
the project is publicly known.
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY::
2019-20: print number A7256; referred to local governments
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS::
None.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5200
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
February 12, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SOLAGES -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Local Governments
AN ACT to amend the general municipal law, in relation to preventing the
use of funds, financial incentives, subsidies or tax exemptions for
project occupants which are not public
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 862 of the general municipal law is amended by
2 adding a new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
3 (3) No funds, financial incentives or subsidies of the agency shall be
4 used in respect of any project in which the project occupant as defined
5 in section eighteen hundred one of the public authorities law is not
6 publicly disclosed at the time of the public hearing for the project
7 required by subdivision two of section eight hundred fifty-nine-a of
8 this title.
9 § 2. Section 874 of the general municipal law is amended by adding a
10 new subdivision 13 to read as follows:
11 (13) No tax exemptions shall be granted to any project if the project
12 occupant as defined in section eighteen hundred one of the public
13 authorities law is not publicly disclosed at the time of the public
14 hearing for the project required by subdivision two of section eight
15 hundred fifty-nine-a of this title.
16 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD05814-01-1
