December 15, 2004

The Honorable Sheldon Silver
Speaker of the Assembly
Room 932 - Legislative Office Building
Albany, New York 12248

Dear Speaker Silver:

I am pleased to submit the 2004 Annual Report of the Assembly Standing Committee on Real Property Taxation. This was a busy year for the Committee, with a wide range of challenging issues and diverse legislation to consider.

This year, as in the past, the Committee was immersed in budget negotiations. The two key 2004 budget issues of particular interest to the Real Property Taxation Committee were: increasing the real property recording fee; and the Governor’s proposal to implement a personal income tax credit to homeowners in school districts that adhere to a state-mandated spending cap. I am pleased that with your leadership and the assistance of Dean Fuleihan we were successful in implementing the Committee position on each of these budget issues. The revenues generated by the real property transfer recording fees will aid in sustaining the costs of services the Office of Real Property Services provides to local taxing jurisdictions. The proposed STAR income tax credit with its attached state-mandated caps was successfully rejected; thereby allowing school districts to maintain the control they require to address the educational needs of students and their parents.

In 2004 the Committee met thirteen times and acted on over 220 bills. We reviewed and reported proposed legislation in a variety of areas including, general administration, exemption administration, and jurisdiction specific (local) legislation. In addition to our daily legislative responsibilities, the Committee worked closely with the New York State Office of Real Property Services (NYS ORPS) to promote informed and responsible legislation. Other notable issues that the Committee embarked on this year were in relation to:

• Statement of Disclosure for Assessors
• Improving Assessing Practices for Condominiums and Cooperatives
• Incentives to Promote Economic Development & Housing in NYC

In 2005, the Committee will focus on assessment procedures - particularly in New York City - examining current exemption practices in relation to economic and residential development, ascertain a means by which to codify a statewide volunteer fire-fighters/ambulance exemption, and continue to explore viable options to reduce cash-flow problems that are related to real property tax delinquencies and delayed State STAR reimbursement.

I have greatly enjoyed working with the Real Property Tax Committee members. Their knowledge and enthusiasm was instrumental in making this a pleasant and productive year. I look forward to another productive year.

2004 STANDING COMMITTEE ON

REAL PROPERTY TAXATION

Brian M. Mc Laughlin, CHAIRPERSON

MEMBERS of the COMMITTEE

1. GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE

   1. Financial Disclosure

   2. Base Proportions

   3. Assessment Procedures - Correction of Errors

2. DEPARTMENTAL BILLS

3. SCHOOL TAX RELIEF PROGRAM

4. ADMINISTRATIVE EXEMPTIONS

   1. Volunteer Firefighter(s) & Ambulance Worker(s)

   2. Albany Port District Commission

   3. State Land

   4. Railroad Ceiling - Transitional Adjustment

   5. Residential Investment

      1. City of Syracuse

      2. RESCUE

      3. City of Rome

      4. City of Jamestown

   6. Non-profit(s)

5. NEW YORK CITY & NASSAU COUNTY

   1. New York City

      1. NYC Tax Abatement for Condominiums and Cooperatives

      2. NYC Development & Rehabilitation

   2. Nassau County

      1. Implementation of the Re-Assessment

      2. Zones of Assessment

6. GOVENOR’S VETOS

7. 2005 OUTLOOK

APPENDICES

1. Appendix A: 2004 Summary
2. Appendix B: Real Property Bills Enacted
3. Appendix C: Real Property Bills That Passed the Assembly ONLY
4. Appendix D: Vetoed Real Property Tax Bills

A. FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE

Assembly Bill A. 10844 (Chapter 85) streamlines the financial disclosure requirements for certain assessors.

This legislation was developed to address concerns expressed by the assessing community but balanced by the public’s need to know. The Assembly, Senate, and elements of the assessing community worked hard to negotiate and strike a balance between providing sufficient public assess to information needed to reasonably prevent improprieties and abuses by assessors without fostering abusive and needlessly intrusive statutory mandates on those serving as assessors for local government.

With the enactment of this legislation only larger assessing units those will a population of 50,000 or more, as well as municipalities that have opted to adhere to the Real Property Tax Laws governing Article 18 will be required to file the a financial disclosure form. All other assessors, except those earning less than $20,000 in the aggregate, will be required to file an annual statement of disclosure. (Assessors earning less than $20,000 in said profession are exempt). The annual statement of disclosure is an abbreviated format of the financial disclosure form and is much less intrusive than the financial disclosure form. Primarily, the statement of disclosure form has 8 basic questions. The eight questions pertain to the following:

• real property owned by the assessor in the assessing unit and contiguous municipalities;
• places of employment other than the municipality;
• corporate interest of 5% or more in which the assessor is employed or holds office;
• self employment with gross income of $2000 or more;
• professional licenses held with general description of practice
• gifts received of over $50 (excluding immediate family)
• personal debts in excess of $1000 (excluding credit cards/loans); and
• monies owed to the assessor in excess of $1000 (excluding relatives).

Historical Note: In 2003, Chapter 548 was enacted that required all assessors to file a financial disclosure starting in 2004. The intent of the legislation was to provide the public with enough information about an assessor as to ensure that they were not abusing their position.

B. BASE PROPORTIONS

Assembly Bill A. 11749 (Chapter 502) extends the provisions of Chapter 150 of the Laws of 2003 which authorized a 2% annual cap/limitation on the fluctuation of the base proportion for municipalities which have adopted the Homestead/Non-Homestead (pursuant to RPTL §1903) in Suffolk County (i.e. Town of Islip). For the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 assessment rolls, the maximum allowable adjustment in the base proportion for such taxing jurisdiction(s) will be 2% per year.

This legislation is needed to transition residential homeowners from the negative impact caused by a substantial shift in their real property assessments. Such a shift would generate an unprecedented sudden and substantial increase on residential property taxes included in the Homestead Class.

C. ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES - Correction of Errors

Assembly bill A. 10388 (Chapter 652) clarifies that a taxpayer receiving a corrected real property tax bill will not incur any additional interest if said tax obligation is paid within eight days of the date of mailing of the corrected tax bill. In instances where the warrant date is farther out than the eight day period that date will be the applicable date for the interest free period.

This legislation is designed to make the collection process more consumer friendly by clarifying exactly when interest will be attached to a tax bill. It is another means by which to make the real property assessment and taxation process transparent.

II. DEPARTMENTAL BILLS

As a general rule, the New York State Office of Real Property Services (ORPS) will regularly submit legislation (a/k/a departmental bills) that they believe will enhance and/or streamline the assessing process in New York State. This year the Legislature working closely with the staff at ORPS, passed four departmental bills that we believe will enhance the administrative process for assessing units throughout New York State. Below is a brief summary of these bills:

Assembly Bill A. 10835 (Chapter 733) amends Sections 301, 302, 489-c, & 489-cc of the Real Property Tax Law (RPTL) by relating to the date in which property is valued (to include special franchise properties and railroad "ceilings" properties), changing the valuation date from January 1 to July 1. It is believed that by setting the valuation date back to July, it will allow for more accurate data collection and thus more accurate assessment rolls.

Assembly Bill A. 10836 (Chapter 685) amends Section 1218 of the RPTL relating to apportionment of county, school, village, and special franchises where a judicial proceeding has directed that the State equalization rate be adjusted. Basically, this bill clarifies that when an equalization rate is revised as a result of a court order, the affected taxing jurisdictions must recalculate the levy and re-apportion the taxes accordingly - to include the taxing liabilities of special franchises.

Assembly Bill A. 10838 (Chapter 655) amends Section 1573 of the RPTL establishing that Annual Aid (currently referenced as annual reassessment aid) awarded to assessing units for maintenance of the real property tax administration will remain at $5 per parcel (next year it is slated to be reduced to $3 per parcel). In addition this bill would sunset Triennial Aid ($5 per parcel once every three years under lesser assessment standards) in 2008 vs. the scheduled sunset of 2009 and clarifies that if Triennial Aid is received by a taxing jurisdiction, they cannot receive annual aid.

Assembly Bill A. 10839 (Chapter 654) streamlines the process for apportioning taxes where two or more assessing units in a county are at the same level of assessment. Basically, when the State Board has issued the same equalization rate for two (or more) assessing units in a county, the county can combine the units and apportion the taxes accordingly; thereby, eliminating the need for individual calculation and certification.

III. SCHOOL TAX RELIEF (STAR) PROGRAM

Assembly Bill A. 9418 (Chapter 469) amends Chapter 484 of the Laws of 2002. This legislation clarifies that the cooperative apartment corporation must inform the eligible tenant-stockholder in writing of the full value of the STAR exemption and provides the calculation detailing the manner in which the applicable STAR credit was determined for said tenant-stockholder. This statute specifies that the cooperative apartment corporation must credit the tenant-stockholder within the assessment cycle in which the benefit was issued. The cooperative apartment corporation must apply the STAR credit in one of three ways during the current assessment cycle, they are:

• A full credit against the fees and charges of any single month;
• A proportional credit over six months, or;
• A proportional credit over twelve months.

This legislation was needed to alleviate any confusion and ensure cooperative apartment homeowners, especially senior homeowners, that they are receiving the STAR benefit to which they are entitled and which is required by law.

IV. ADMINISTRATIVE EXEMPTIONS:

A. VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTER(S) AND AMBULANCE WORKER(S) EXEMPTION

1. Assembly Bills A. 7250 (Chapter 395), A. 7443 (Chapter 464), A. 9684 (Chapter 341), A. 10815 (Chapter 705), and A. 11355 (Chapter 708) extend the authorization to permit (after adoption by the local taxing jurisdiction and/or school district, where applicable) a partial real property tax exemption for members of incorporated volunteer fire companies, fire departments, and incorporated volunteer ambulance services in Lewis, Cattaraugus, Oneida, Schenectady, and Schoharie Counties. The volunteer firefighter/ambulance worker exemption allows a 10% reduction on the assessed value on the volunteers’ primary residence, not to exceed $3000 times the latest state equalization rate. The partial real property tax exemption applies to city, village, town, part town, special district or county taxes and except for Oneida County, school taxes. [(refer to RPTL §§466-c & 466-e), &

With the adoption of above referenced legislation, taxing jurisdictions in 19 counties are now permitted to adopt local legislation that will provide volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers a partial reduction on the assessed value of the volunteer’s primary residence. The 19 counties are: Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Columbia, Dutchess, Erie, Lewis, Nassau, Niagara, Oneida, Orleans, Oswego, Putnam, Rockland, Schenectady, Schoharie, Steuben, Suffolk, Westchester, and Wyoming.

2. Assembly Bills A. 9333 (Chapter 9), A. 9657 (Chapter 399), and A. 10213 (Chapter 719) amend the partial real property tax exemption afforded volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers (refer to RTPL §§466-c & 466-d) in Suffolk Westchester and Nassau Counties by eliminating the cap. The cap has proven to be too restrictive in these counties and does not provide eligible volunteers with the intended tax savings (many volunteers saw a savings of less than ten dollars). With the enactment of this legislation, volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers that qualify will realize a full 10% reduction on the assessed value of their primary residence for real property taxation purposes.

3. Assembly bill A. 10038B (Chapter 648) clarifies that the partial real property tax exemption afforded eligible volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers in Suffolk County also encompasses such volunteers who own cooperative residential apartments. This legislation also stipulates the manner in which the apartment owner will be credited for said exemption by the cooperative corporation.

The original bill does not preclude (refer to A. 10672A) cooperative apartment units from the exemption. Nonetheless, assessors throughout Suffolk County were questioning whether such residential ownership qualified the owner/volunteer for the partial exemption. Therefore, to eliminate any confusion both on eligibility and implementation, as well as to substantiate the original intent of the volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers partial exemption, it was deemed appropriate to amend the original statute. (Refer to L. 2002, c. 450).

B. ALBANY PORT DISTRICT COMMISSION

Assembly Bill A. 6256B (Chapter 188) authorizes the Assessor of the City of Albany to accept a retro-active tax exemption application pursuant to Real Property Tax Law Section 404 for the 2002 assessment roll from the Albany Port District Commission.

The Albany Port District Commission was created to improve marine transportation in New York State in 1925. As such the Commission has been treated as an agency of the State and thus exempt from real property taxation. In 2002 the Albany Port District Commission acquired three additional parcels. Acquisition of these properties transpired after the taxable status date. As the assessor did not have the authority to make them tax exempt after the taxable status date, the property was assessed at full value and taxed accordingly. This legislation merely allows the 2002 tax roll to accurately reflect the exempt status of said properties while authorizing the tax collection unit to cancel taxes, fines, penalties, or interest that transpired as a result of the taxable status.

C. STATE LAND

Assembly Bill A. 6329 (Chapter 364) subjects all State land in Putman County that is acquired for public use, to taxation, exclusive of improvements. The State land becomes subject to taxation in January of 2007.

As a general rule land owned by the State of New York is exempt from taxation (refer to RPTL §404). However, exceptions are granted in situations where it can be determined that such an exemption places a substantial hardship on the community/county. In Putnam County, the justification stems from the fact that the State owns over a hundred parcels encompassing over ten-thousand acres that is dedicated for public use (i.e. parks, recreational areas). The value of these parcels in estimated to be between $1.2 million and $1.5 million.

D. RAILROAD CEILING - TRANSITIONAL ADJUSTMENT

Assembly Bill A. 9494B (Chapter 412) extends the railroad transitional aid pursuant to RPTL §489-w to municipalities and school districts within Orange and Rockland that had a sudden loss of real property tax revenue as a result of acquisition, lease, or sublease of these properties by a Public Authority. In order for these properties to be eligible for State transitional aid the acquisition, lease, or sublease of said railroad properties must have taken place in 2003.

This legislation will rectify an unfair situation by providing a means by which Port Jervis Line municipalities and school districts can temporarily access the transitional aid that would otherwise been available if the MNR - a public authority - had not subleased the Port Jervis Rail Line in 2003.

Historical Note: Chapter 698 of the Laws of 2002 enacted the New York State Rail Infrastructure Investment Act of 2002. This law amended the Real Property Tax Law to reduce the tax burden on rail property throughout New York State and provide a temporary transitional aid to municipalities and school districts to offset revenue losses. During the calculation of the total transitional aid payable for the 10 years of state assistance provided under the law, the Port Jervis Line was included in this statewide calculation, as it was leased and operated by Norfolk Southern Railroad, and would have been eligible for railroad tax ceiling reductions. However, the transitional adjustment aid authorized under the Rail Infrastructure Investment Act is no longer available on the Port Jervis Line as a result of the sublease by MNR.

E. RESIDENTIAL INVESTMENT EXEMPTION

1. CITY OF SYRACUSE

Assembly Bill A. 2414 (Chapter 550) authorizes the City of Syracuse and its school district to enact a local law or resolution establishing an exemption for the value of capital improvements made to residential real property that are one-family units. The provisions within this legislation provide an exemption from taxation of up to forty thousand dollars in increased assessed value due the reconstruction, alteration or improvement of the home.

This legislation was crafted in direct response to locally elected officials in Syracuse seeking to stabilize neighborhoods in jeopardy of severe deterioration. It was felt that by eliminating this assessment increase against those homeowners who invested in and upgraded their home, substantial improvement in the housing stock of that City could be realized. The Committee will be monitoring the impact of this measure on the quality of neighborhoods within the City of Syracuse to ascertain whether it can be replicated in other communities in our State, especially distressed upstate cities.

2. RESCUE

Assembly Bill A. 7260 (Chapter 632) extends the residential-commercial urban exemption (RESCUE) program statewide. Specifically, it would authorize all cities, towns and villages (except cities over 1 million - NYC) to adopt a real property tax exemption program that could provide a 12 year declining tax exemption for property converted from non-residential to mixed use property. Prior to this legislation, only the City of Buffalo was authorized to adopt such a program which was patterned after an existing program in New York City applicable to lower Manhattan.

The scheduled exemption is as follows:

3. CITY OF ROME

Assembly Bill A. 10389 (Chapter 354) authorizes the City of Rome to grant a partial residential investment exemption. Specifically, this legislation add a new subsection - RPTL §485-i that would create a temporary partial real property tax exemption from city and ad valorem tax levies for the new construction of owner occupied dwellings that are built within the city limits. The exemption is only available to new construction that exceeds $70,000 and sets the maximum allowable increase in assessed value at $350,000.00. The exemption will be in effect for 10 years. For the first year the real property owner will realize a 50% reduction on the increased assessed value of the property and every year thereafter the exemption will decrease by 5%.

Similarly, the Committee will also be monitoring the impact of this new exemption on the housing stock within the City of Rome to ascertain whether it would be beneficial to similarly situated communities in upstate New York. If it assists in stabilizing and rebuilding existing deteriorating neighborhoods, then there may be an interest in expanding this exemption program state wide.

4. CITY OF JAMESTOWN

Assembly Bill A. 11025 (Chapter 689) expands on Chapter 470 of the Laws of 2002, which provided a residential investment exemption from municipal taxation. This legislation parallels those provision and authorizes an investment exemption for owner occupied residential units that are situated within the city's school districts and authorizes the exemption for school taxation purposes. The exemption will be in effect for 10 years. For the first year the real property owner will realize a 50% reduction on the increased assessed value of the property and every year thereafter the exemption will decrease by 5%.

F. Non-profit Exemptions

Assessors in several taxing jurisdictions were authorized to accept retroactive non-profit tax exemption applications on specific properties (45 in all) owned by nonprofit organizations to include volunteer firefighter associations, historical societies and properties owned by municipal entities. In most cases, the entity acquired the property after the taxable status date, although in some instances the entity had title but failed to file the required annual renewal exemption application by the taxable status date. The following is a list, by chapter number, organization name, and taxing jurisdiction, of those entities that have been granted legislative authority to grant the retroactive non-profit status and to adjust the tax roll(s) accordingly.

V. NEW YORK CITY AND NASSAU COUNTY

A. NYC:

1. NYC TAX ABATEMENT FOR CONDOMINIUMS AND COOPERATIVES

Assembly Bill A. 9610 (Chapter 97) extends, for an additional three years, the temporary partial tax abatement program for residential cooperatives and condominiums for Class two properties (cooperative and condominium) in New York City. This extender will sunset in June of 2008.

The Cooperative and Condominium Abatement Program had been established in 1996 to provide tax relief to Class two property owners. The abatement provides a tax reduction of 17.5% on the assessed value cooperatives and condominiums where the value of the individual units are assessed in excess of $15,000 and a 25% tax reduction on said structures where the units are assessed at $15,000 or less. This reduction is believed to offset the difference in tax rates between the class one and two residential units.

As the abatement process was designed to be a temporary solution to the divisive nature of the assessment process between class one and two properties in New York City, this bill includes a provision that requires the City to devise a viable plan of action that will address and correct the inequities in the assessing process of Class two properties in NYC.

2. NYC - COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND REHABILITATION

a). Assembly Bill A. 10998 (Chapter 448) establishes stricter eligibility parameters for the real property tax exemption provided under RPTL §421-b to include housing units that are constructed, reconstructed, or converted with the assistance of a governmentally assisted project or in a qualified census tract (applies to NYC only).

The purpose of the legislation is to better define the exemption so as to limit unintended abuses while creating a means by which to encourage construction, rehabilitation, or conversion of an existing building so as to continue the creation of affordable housing in New York City. Specifically, this legislation is designed to disqualify owners from receiving a tax incentive (exemption) where a structurally sound private dwelling is fully demolished and removed from the lot and where a new - often ostentatious - private home is built on said lot.

In addition, the provisions within this legislation are designed to extend the 421-b tax exemption benefits to property owners who convert, construct or rehabilitate a multiple dwellings in a governmentally assisted project where such multiple dwellings (a) contain not more than four dwelling units, (b) has been constructed, reconstructed or converted on real property that has been acquired by the federal government as the result of the foreclosure of a federally insured mortgage loan and conveyed by the federal government to an owner approved by the local housing agency for the purpose of rehabilitation in accordance with an agreement between the real property owner and the federal government.

b). Assembly Bill 11289 & A. 11788 (Chapters 522 and 526), add provisions to the real property tax exemption afforded pursuant to RPTL §420-c that will help to preserve the existing low-income housing units tax credits as buildings age and current tax exemptions expire. In addition, this legislation tightens the eligibility requirements to ensure that the 420-c benefits are only available to legitimate non-profit groups that create or preserve affordable housing through the federal low-in-come housing tax credit program.

c). Assembly Bill A. 11402 (Chapter 744) is designed to significantly reduce the processing time of a 421-a real property tax exemption application and establishes that the maximum fee for the 421-a application process must coincide with the current fee structure used by the New York City Department of Housing and Preservation.

Specifically, this legislation authorizes the local housing agency to use certifications by architects or engineers - no longer requiring a separate certification by the City. However, to maintain the integrity of certification process, within the provisions of this legislation, penalties will be applied to any licensed architect or engineer that falsifies and/or issues a fraudulent certificate. The penalties include monetary fees and loss of future privileges.

Historical Note: The 421-a real property tax exemption has provided tax benefits for the construction of new residential buildings in the City of New York since 1971. The exemption benefits under RPTL Section 421-a are available for up to twenty-five years depending upon the location of the multiple dwelling. It provides a period of full exemption over the prior assessed valuation followed by a phase-in to full taxation.

B. Nassau County:

1. Implementation of the Re-Assessment

As noted in the 2003 annual report, the Committee has been monitoring the implementation of Nassau’s first county wide re-assessment since 1938. The re-evaluation continues to cause great concern as it continues to impact the tax obligations of homeowners and businesses throughout the County. This year, Assemblymen Weisenberg, with input and assistance from the County’s assessing unit, local municipal officers, and the Office of Real Property Services, introduced and passed three significant bills A. 9801, A. 11030, & A. 10158 that are geared toward providing a manageable means by which to complete the implementation of the re-evaluation data. Specifically:

a). Assembly bill A. 9801(Chapter 43) extends the 2% cap on the base proportion for an additional year. This legislation was needed to limit the negative fiscal impact that the re-evaluation would have caused to residential property owners. In 2003(refer to L. 2003, c. 43), it was believed that a one year cap would be sufficient. However, due to the economic environment throughout Nassau County, it is believed that the base proportions growth rate needs to be limited for an additional year (2004 assessment roll) to avoid massive tax shifts that would most certainly have a substantial negative impact on residential homeowners.

b). In Nassau County there are three assessing jurisdictions that are covered by the Homestead/Non-Homestead provisions of RPTL §1903; they are: the City of Long Beach, the City of Glen Cove, and the Village of Lake Success. In order to divert an immediate negative fiscal impact to homeowners in these three municipalities, Assembly bi1l A. 11030 (Chapter 92) was enacted to limit the maximum class growth rate to 1% for the 2004 assessment roll. This should allow local officials and homeowners enough time to prepare for the forthcoming shifts in their assessment.

c). Assembly Bill A. 10158 (Chapter 33) is specific to the Long Beach City School District. It authorizes the Long Beach City Schools District to roll back the proportional distribution of the 2004 tax levy to mirror that of 2003 tax roll.

This legislation addresses a unique situation with the Long Beach School District. This school district had adopted (a local option) a statute that created two tax classes pursuant to RPTL §1803-b. Under this provision tax class one remained the intact, but tax classes two, three and four were consolidated or bundled together and acted as one tax class for school assessment and taxation purposes. Another unique feature to this statute is that there are no provisions to limit the class growth.

As a result of this rarely used provision, a disparity occurred in the tax distributed when the reassessment data was implemented. Specifically, cooperatives and condominiums homeowners, as well as small businesses were significantly impacted with greater tax liabilities than class one property owners. After discovering the disparity, the school district immediately un-bundled the classes and requested assistance from the State.

Specifically, A.10158 authorizes Nassau County to reallocate the 2003-2004 tax levy for tax classes two, three and four for taxpayers in Long Beach School District. The redistribution of the tax levy for these three classes must be consistent with the allocation of school taxes for the 2002-2003 tax levy. Furthermore, the bill specifies that such reallocation of the Long Beach School District’s 2003-2004 school tax levy will not affect the tax levy for class one properties. And it further stipulates that any credit or increase in the tax liability that occurred as a result of this legislation will not be subject to interest - provided the 2004-2005 tax payments are remitted by the appropriate due date.

2. Zones of Assessment

Assembly Bill A. 11424 (Chapter 413) adds the term "zones of assessment" to the definition of "tax" in RPTL §1801 and establishes that such zones of assessments will be subject to the base proportion adjustments as set forth in RPTL §1803.

This legislation is a technical amendment to clarify that the term zone of assessment will have the same meaning as set forth in Title 10-D, Article 5 of the Public Authorities Law (refer to Chapter 685 of the Laws of 2003). In addition, Chapter 413 clarifies that the zones of assessment that were created with the Nassau County Sewer and Storm Water Finance Authority will be governed by the same parameters set forth in RPTL §1803. This legislation was necessary to ensure that the base proportion is sustained within an acceptable amount of growth and to keep the assessment and tax levy at a reasonable level to protect the taxpayers from undue hardship.

VI. VETOES

This year Governor Pataki vetoed two legislative bills that passed through the Real Property Taxation Committee. They are Assembly Bill A. 2214 (veto #230) and A. 9495 (veto #227). Both of these bills were in reference to payment options. These bills were designed to assist property owners in meeting their tax obligations.

Assembly bill A. 2214 would have authorized municipalities to adopt local legislation allowing the tax collection officers to receive tax payments on or after the first of December of the year preceding the year in which such taxes are levied.

Assembly bill A. 9495 would have authorized municipalities to adopt local legislation requiring the collection officer to accept partial payments and to apply said payments in whatever manner the tax-payer had directed - either for current or past due real property tax obligations. The tax payer could direct the payment to be applied to the interest & penalties or the original levy.

The Committee will review the Governor’s veto messages and we will work with the sponsors of the bills as well as with the Office of Real Property Tax to determine if a viable solution can be obtained, one that will provide taxpayers with a substantive payment alternative.

VII. OUTLOOK FOR 2005

As the Committee heads into 2005 Legislative Session, our immediate focus will be examining the New York City’s Department of Finances real property taxation practices, to include assessment practices, the viability of residential exemptions, as well as determine if additional oversight of the City’s real property assessment & taxation divisions is needed.

In addition to the City’s issues, we will continue to review the plausibility of revising the manner in which municipalities are authorized to handle delinquent real property taxes, take a closer look at administration of aid to municipalities (to include reimbursement for STAR), and work towards developing legislation that will codify the volunteer firefighters/ambulance workers partial real property tax exemptions. And as in the past, we will continue to work with State and municipal agencies, members of the assessing community, as well as fellow legislators to identify problems areas and to work together to find viable solutions that will create a real property assessment and taxation process that is both transparent and equitable.

APPENDIX A

2004 SUMMARY OF ACTION ON ALL BILLS REFERRED TO THE REAL PROPERTY TAXATION COMMITTEE

APPENDIX B

ASSEMBLY REAL PROPERTY TAXATION BILLS THAT BECAME LAW IN 2004

APPENDIX C

2004 REAL PROPERTY TAXATION LEGISLATION

PASSED THE ASSEMBLY ONLY

APPENDIX D

2004 REAL PROPERTY TAXATION LEGISLATION

VETOED