S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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    S. 2121                                                  A. 2294

                       2013-2014 Regular Sessions

                      S E N A T E - A S S E M B L Y

                            January 11, 2013
                               ___________

IN  SENATE  --  Introduced  by Sens. BOYLE, FLANAGAN, FUSCHILLO, HANNON,
  LAVALLE, MARCELLINO, MARTINS -- read twice and  ordered  printed,  and
  when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government

IN  ASSEMBLY  --  Introduced  by  M.  of A. SWEENEY, WEISENBERG, JAFFEE,
  GALEF,  HENNESSY,  ENGLEBRIGHT,  LAVINE,  THIELE,  PAULIN,  ZEBROWSKI,
  ABINANTI,  SKOUFIS,  BUCHWALD,  TITONE,  SCARBOROUGH, KELLNER, JACOBS,
  MAISEL, SKARTADOS, STEVENSON -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A.  CLARK,
  LIFTON, MILLMAN -- read once and referred to  the  Committee  on  Real
  Property Taxation

AN  ACT  to  enact the "Hurricane Sandy assessment relief act"; to amend
  the local finance law,  in  relation  to  certain  real  property  tax
  refunds and credits

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the  "Hurricane
Sandy assessment relief act".
  S  2.  Definitions.  For the purposes of this act, the following terms
shall have the following meanings:
  1. "Eligible  county"  shall  mean  those  counties  which  have  been
included  in  the  federal disaster declarations for Hurricane Sandy but
shall not apply to a city with a population of one million or more.
  2. "Catastrophically impacted property" shall mean a property which is
located in an eligible municipality and which lost fifty percent or more
of its value as a result of Hurricane Sandy.
  3. "Eligible municipality" shall  mean  a  municipal  corporation,  as
defined  by  subdivision 10 of section 102 of the real property tax law,
which is either:  (a) an eligible county; or (b) a city,  town,  village
or school district that is wholly or partly contained within an eligible
county.

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD06483-03-3

              

S. 2121                             2                            A. 2294

  4. "Impacted assessment roll" shall mean a final assessment roll which
satisfies both of the following conditions: (a) the roll is based upon a
taxable  status  date occurring prior to October 28, 2012; and (b) taxes
levied upon that roll by or on behalf of  a  participating  municipality
are payable without interest on or after October 28, 2012.
  5.  "Participating  municipality"  shall  mean  an  eligible municipal
corporation that has chosen to provide assessment relief  to  owners  of
catastrophically  impacted  properties pursuant to section three of this
act.
  6. "Hurricane Sandy" shall mean the storms,  rains,  or  floods  which
occurred  within an eligible county during the period beginning on Octo-
ber 29, 2012 and ending November 3, 2012.
  S  3.  Local  option.  An  eligible  municipality  may  exercise   the
provisions  of  this act if its governing body shall, by the forty-fifth
day following the date upon which this act is approved by the  governor,
pass a local law or in the case of a school district a resolution adopt-
ing the provisions of this act.
  S  4. Assessment relief for Hurricane Sandy victims. (a) Notwithstand-
ing any provision of law to the contrary, where property was catastroph-
ically impacted by Hurricane Sandy and is located within a participating
municipality, assessment relief shall be granted as follows:
  i. If the property lost at least fifty but less than sixty percent  of
its  value  due  to  Hurricane  Sandy, the taxable assessed value of the
property shall be reduced by fifty-five  percent  for  purposes  of  the
participating municipality on the impacted assessment roll.
  ii.  If the property lost at least sixty but less than seventy percent
of its value due to Hurricane Sandy, the taxable assessed value  of  the
property  shall  be  reduced  by  sixty-five percent for purposes of the
participating municipality on the impacted assessment roll.
  iii. If the property lost  at  least  seventy  but  less  than  eighty
percent  of its value due to Hurricane Sandy, the taxable assessed value
of the property shall be reduced by seventy-five percent for purposes of
the participating municipality on the impacted assessment roll.
  iv. If the property lost at least eighty but less than ninety  percent
of  its  value due to Hurricane Sandy, the taxable assessed value of the
property shall be reduced by eighty-five percent  for  purposes  of  the
participating municipality on the impacted assessment roll.
  v.  If  the  property  lost  at least ninety but less than one hundred
percent of its value due to Hurricane Sandy, the taxable assessed  value
of  the property shall be reduced by ninety-five percent for purposes of
the participating municipality on the impacted assessment roll.
  vi. If the property lost all of its value due to Hurricane Sandy,  the
taxable  assessed  value  of  the  property shall be reduced to zero for
purposes of the participating municipality on  the  impacted  assessment
roll.
  vii. The percentage loss in value for this purpose shall be determined
by the assessor in the manner provided by this act, subject to review by
the  board  of  assessment  review  or the assessment review commission,
whichever is applicable.
  viii. No reduction in taxable assessed value shall be granted pursuant
to this act except as specified above. No reduction in taxable  assessed
value  shall  be  granted  pursuant  to this section for purposes of any
county, city, town, village or school district which has not adopted the
provisions of this act.
  (b) To receive such relief pursuant to this act,  the  property  owner
shall  submit  a  written  request  to  the  assessor within ninety days

S. 2121                             3                            A. 2294

following the date upon which this act is approved by the governor. Such
request need not be in a particular form but shall describe  in  reason-
able detail the damage caused to the property by Hurricane Sandy and the
condition  of the property following the hurricane and shall be accompa-
nied by supporting documentation if available.
  (c) Upon receiving such a request, the assessor shall make  a  finding
as  to  whether the property lost at least half of its value as a result
of Hurricane Sandy, and if so, shall classify  the  percentage  loss  of
value within one of the following ranges:
  i. At least fifty percent but less than sixty percent,
  ii. At least sixty percent but less than seventy percent,
  iii. At least seventy percent but less than eighty percent,
  iv. At least eighty percent but less than ninety percent,
  v. At least ninety percent but less than one hundred percent, or
  vi. one hundred percent.
  (d)  The  assessor  shall  mail  written notice of such finding to the
property owner and the participating municipality.  Where  the  assessor
finds  that  the loss in value is less than fifty percent, or classifies
the loss within a lower  range  than  the  property  owner  believes  is
warranted,  the  property  owner  may file a complaint with the board of
assessment review or the  assessment  review  commission,  whichever  is
applicable.  Such  board shall reconvene upon ten days written notice to
the property owner and assessor to hear the  appeal  and  determine  the
matter, and shall mail written notice of its determination to the asses-
sor and property owner. The provisions of article 5 of the real property
tax law shall govern the review process to the extent practicable.
  (e) Where property has lost at least fifty percent of its value due to
Hurricane  Sandy,  the  taxable  assessed  value  of the property on the
impacted assessment roll shall be reduced by the appropriate  percentage
specified  in  subdivision  (a)  of  this  section,  provided  that  any
exemptions which the property may be  receiving  shall  be  adjusted  as
necessary  to  account for such reduction in the taxable assessed value.
To the extent the taxable assessed  value  of  the  property  originally
appearing  on such roll exceeds the amount to which it should be reduced
pursuant to this act, the excess shall be considered an error in  essen-
tial fact as defined by section 550 of the real property tax law. If the
error  appears  on  a  tax  roll, the tax roll shall be corrected in the
manner provided by section 554 of the real property tax law or a  refund
or  credit  of  taxes shall be granted in the manner provided by section
556 or 556-b of the real property tax law. If the  error  appears  on  a
final  assessment roll but not on a tax roll, such final assessment roll
shall be corrected in the manner provided by section  553  of  the  real
property tax law.
  (f)  The rights contained in this act shall not otherwise diminish any
other legally available right of any property owner  or  party  who  may
otherwise  lawfully  challenge  the  valuation or assessment of any real
property or improvements thereon. All remaining rights hereby remain and
shall be available to the party to whom such rights would  otherwise  be
available notwithstanding this act.
  S  5.  School  districts  held  harmless. Each school district that is
wholly or partially contained within an eligible county, as  defined  in
subdivision  one  of  section two of this act, shall be held harmless by
the state for any reduction in state aid that would have  been  paid  as
tax  savings  pursuant  to  section  1306-a of the real property tax law
incurred due to the provisions of this act.

S. 2121                             4                            A. 2294

  S 6. The director of the office of  real  property  tax  services,  or
other chief administrative official of that office within the department
of  taxation  and finance is authorized to develop a guidance memorandum
for use by assessing units. Such guidance memorandum shall  assist  with
the  implementation of this act and shall be deemed to be binding on all
assessing units in counties which implement the provisions of this act.
  The guidance memorandum shall have no force  or  effect  or  serve  as
authority  for any other act of assessing units or of the interpretation
or implementation of the laws of the state of New York  except  as  they
relate to the specific implementation of this act.
  S  7.  Suffolk  county  financing  of refunds and credits. Payments by
Suffolk county for refunds or  credits  pursuant  to  this  act  may  be
financed  pursuant  to  the  local  finance  law in the same manner, and
subject to the same conditions, as amounts authorized under section 3 of
the Suffolk County Tax Act to be charged by Suffolk county to  towns  or
special districts or by towns to school districts may be financed pursu-
ant to the local finance law. The period of probable usefulness for such
payments is hereby determined to be ten years.
  S  8. Paragraph a of section 11.00 of the local finance law is amended
by adding a new subdivision 33-b to read as follows:
  33-B. REAL PROPERTY TAX REFUNDS AND CREDITS. PAYMENTS  OF  REFUNDS  OR
CREDITS  FOR REAL PROPERTY TAX, SEWER AND WATER RENTS, RATES AND CHARGES
AND ALL OTHER REAL PROPERTY TAXES TO BE MADE BY A  MUNICIPALITY,  SCHOOL
DISTRICT OR DISTRICT CORPORATION AS A RESULT OF HURRICANE SANDY OF 2012,
TEN YEARS.
  S  9.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
have been in full force and effect on and after October 28, 2012.