Provides for automatic renewal for agricultural assessments; provides that application for agricultural assessment shall be valid without annual filing as long as the applicant maintains and can prove eligibility; requires reapplication if additional parcels are added and notification if land is reduced.

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S5159-2011 Actions

• Jun 21, 2012: COMMITTED TO RULES
• Mar 29, 2012: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• Mar 28, 2012: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• Mar 27, 2012: 1ST REPORT CAL.454
• Jan 4, 2012: REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE
• Jan 4, 2012: returned to senate
• Jan 4, 2012: died in assembly
• Jun 16, 2011: referred to ways and means
• Jun 16, 2011: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• Jun 16, 2011: PASSED SENATE
• May 17, 2011: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• May 16, 2011: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• May 11, 2011: 1ST REPORT CAL.619
• May 3, 2011: REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE

S5159-2011 Meetings

Agriculture: Mar 27, 2012, Agriculture: May 11, 2011

S5159-2011 Calendars

Active List: Apr 25, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 28, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 29, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Mar 30, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Apr 17, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Apr 18, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Apr 19, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Apr 25, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Apr 26, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Apr 30, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 1, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 2, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 7, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 8, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 9, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 14, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 15, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 16, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 16, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 17, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 18, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 21, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 22, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 23, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 23, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 24, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 25, 2011 , Floor Calendar: May 30, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 31, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 1, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 2, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 4, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 5, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 6, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 6, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 7, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 11, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 12, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 13, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 13, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 14, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 14, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 15, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 16, 2011 , Floor Calendar: Jun 18, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 19, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 20, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 21, 2012

S5159-2011 Votes

S5159-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S5159

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to providing for
automatic renewal for agricultural assessments

PURPOSE:
To allow for automatic renewal of agricultural assessments provided
there are no changes in farmland eligibility or acreage.

SUMMARY:
Section 305 of Agriculture and Markets Law is amended to allow for
automatic renewal of agricultural assessment provided that parcel
eligibility is maintained and parcel acreage has not been altered in any
way. Applicants must retain appropriate eligibility records for
submission upon request by local assessor. If there are any changes in
acreage or ownership of the parcel receiving the assessment, new
application for agricultural assessment must be made for the revised
parcel.

JUSTIFICATION:
This bill allows farmland to automatically receive an agricultural
assessment after the first year's application has been filed and
accepted, provided that the property continues to meet all eligibility
requirements and no changes have been, made to the property as listed in
the original application.

Farming is a land intensive business which makes property taxes on
farmland a substantial expense, particularly in high pressure
development areas. To preserve New York's family farms, local food
infrastructure and working green spaces, agricultural assessment was
established to allow land used for agriculture to be assessed for real
property tax purposes based on its agricultural value as opposed to its
market value. Currently, landowners must file an application with their
local assessor annually by the taxable status date to receive an
agricultural assessment. Eligible land must meet specific gross sales
and acreage eligibility requirements.

HISTORY: New bill.

FISCAL IMPACT: To be determined.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

S5159-2011 Text

                      S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
  ________________________________________________________________________

                                    5159

                         2011-2012 Regular Sessions

                              I N  SENATE

                                 May 3, 2011
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sen. RITCHIE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
    printed to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture

  AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to  provid-
    ing for automatic renewal for agricultural assessments

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


    Section 1. Paragraph a of subdivision 1 of section 305 of the agricul-
  ture and markets law, as amended by chapter 514 of the laws of 2007  and
  as  further amended by subdivision (d) of section 1 of part W of chapter
  56 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:

    a.  Any owner of land used in agricultural production within an  agri-
  cultural  district  shall  be  eligible  for  an agricultural assessment
  pursuant to this section. If an applicant rents land  from  another  for
  use in conjunction with the applicant's land for the production for sale
  of crops, livestock or livestock products, the gross sales value of such
  products  produced on such rented land shall be added to the gross sales
  value of such products  produced  on  the  land  of  the  applicant  for
  purposes  of  determining  eligibility for an agricultural assessment on
  the land of the applicant. Such assessment shall be granted only upon an
  [annual] application by the owner of such land on a form  prescribed  by
  the  commissioner  of  taxation and finance.   SUCH APPLICATION SHALL BE
  VALID WITHOUT AN ANNUAL FILING SO LONG AS THE APPLICANT MAINTAINS ELIGI-
  BILITY FOR AN AGRICULTURAL ASSESSMENT AND CAN SUBMIT  RECORDS  TO  PROVE
  SUCH  ELIGIBILITY  AT  THE  REQUEST  OF THE ASSESSOR AT ANY TIME. IN THE
  EVENT THAT THE APPLICANT ADDS OTHER  PARCELS  OF  LAND  TO  THE  INITIAL
  APPLICATION,  THE  APPLICANT MUST APPLY FOR THE ASSESSMENT AGAIN FOR THE
  NEW ACREAGE. IN THE EVENT THAT THE APPLICANT  SELLS  OR  CEASES  LEASING
  LAND  THAT  IS RECEIVING THE AGRICULTURAL ASSESSMENT, THE APPLICANT MUST
  NOTIFY THE ASSESSOR WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF THE SALE OF THE LAND OR  LAPSE
  OF  THE LEASE. The applicant shall furnish to the assessor such informa-
  tion as the commissioner of taxation and finance shall require,  includ-

   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD10922-01-1

 S. 5159                             2

  ing  classification  information  prepared  for  the applicant's land or
  water bodies used in agricultural  production  by  the  soil  and  water
  conservation  district  office within the county, and information demon-
  strating the eligibility for agricultural assessment of any land used in
  conjunction  with rented land as specified in paragraph b of subdivision
  four of section three hundred one  of  this  article.  Such  application
  shall  be filed with the assessor of the assessing unit on or before the
  appropriate taxable status date; provided, however, that (i) in the year
  of a revaluation or update of assessments, as those terms are defined in
  section one hundred two of the real property tax  law,  the  application
  may  be filed with the assessor no later than the thirtieth day prior to
  the day by which the tentative assessment roll is required to  be  filed
  by  law; or (ii) an application for such an assessment may be filed with
  the assessor of the assessing unit after the appropriate taxable  status
  date  but  not later than the last date on which a petition with respect
  to complaints of assessment may be filed, where failure to file a timely
  application resulted from: (a) a death of the applicant's spouse, child,
  parent, brother or sister, (b) an illness of the  applicant  or  of  the
  applicant's  spouse,  child,  parent,  brother or sister, which actually
  prevents the applicant from filing on a timely basis, as certified by  a
  licensed physician, or (c) the occurrence of a natural disaster, includ-
  ing, but not limited to, a flood, or the destruction of such applicant's
  residence,  barn  or  other farm building by wind, fire or flood. If the
  assessor is satisfied that the applicant is entitled to an  agricultural
  assessment,  the  assessor  shall  approve  the application and the land
  shall be assessed pursuant to this section. Not less than ten days prior
  to the date for hearing  complaints  in  relation  to  assessments,  the
  assessor  shall mail to each applicant, who has included with the appli-
  cation at least one self-addressed, pre-paid envelope, a notice  of  the
  approval  or  denial  of the application. Such notice shall be on a form
  prescribed by the commissioner of taxation and finance which shall indi-
  cate the manner in which the total assessed value is  apportioned  among
  the  various portions of the property subject to agricultural assessment
  and those other portions of the property not eligible  for  agricultural
  assessment  as  determined  for  the  tentative  assessment roll and the
  latest final assessment roll. Failure to mail any such notice or failure
  of the owner to receive the same shall not prevent the levy,  collection
  and enforcement of the payment of the taxes on such real property.
    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.