Decreases the allowable base percentage change in agriculture assessment value from ten percent to two percent of the preceding year.

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S6609-2011 Actions

• Jun 18, 2012: referred to agriculture
• Jun 18, 2012: DELIVERED TO ASSEMBLY
• Jun 18, 2012: PASSED SENATE
• Mar 29, 2012: ADVANCED TO THIRD READING
• Mar 28, 2012: 2ND REPORT CAL.
• Mar 27, 2012: 1ST REPORT CAL.456
• Mar 2, 2012: REFERRED TO AGRICULTURE

S6609-2011 Meetings

Agriculture: Mar 27, 2012

S6609-2011 Calendars

Active List: Jun 18, 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, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 21, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 22, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 23, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 30, 2012 , Floor Calendar: May 31, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 4, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 5, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 6, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 11, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 12, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 13, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 14, 2012 , Floor Calendar: Jun 18, 2012

S6609-2011 Votes

S6609-2011 Memo

BILL NUMBER:S6609

TITLE OF BILL:
An act
to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to agricultural
assessment values

PURPOSE:
This bill amends the agriculture and markets law in relation to
agricultural assessments by reducing the cap on the amount of change
that may occur in the value of the base agricultural assessment value
from ten percent to two percent of the value of the preceding year.

SUMMARY:
Section one amends the agriculture and markets law, section 304-a (g)
by reducing the cap in the amount of change in the base agricultural
assessment value for any given year from ten percent to two percent
of the base agricultural assessment value of the preceding year.

Section two provides the effective date.

JUSTIFICATION:
Farmers have been seeing alarming increases in their property taxes
for farmland because of increases in their farmland assessments or
"agricultural assessments". New York established its agricultural
assessment program to keep rising property assessments, particularly
in high pressure development areas, from forcing farmers out of
business and eroding acres of open, working green space from the
State's landscape.

Agricultural assessments have been increasing because the 'base rate"
per farm acre utilized in the assessment formula - or the starting
point for assessing farm land - has been rising. Even under a 2%
property tax cap, farmland property taxes can still see significant
increases even when the local municipal tax rate stays low. While the
tax rate may not increase, the higher assessed values will be the
factor that drives farmland property taxes higher until they reach
unsustainable levels.

Currently, there is a 10% cap in place which is mitigating extreme and
forceful increases in base rate values, but this is only a minor
moderation. Agricultural assessments have and are
projected to continue to increase above the 10% cap for the
foreseeable future and will force many farm families to reconsider
their ability to operate in New York State.

As a land-intensive business, New York has one of the highest property
tax burdens in the nation which puts the State at a distinct
disadvantage with other states. The average property tax per farm
acre of $26.21 is far higher than the national average of $6.75 per
farm acre and even higher than California which is $25.18 per farm
acre. A 2% tax cap on annual agricultural assessment increases will
keep New York's family farms on their land and maintain the
nutritious, high quality local food network that the State's
consumers expect.


HISTORY:
New bill.

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to State.

EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.

S6609-2011 Text

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

                                    6609

                              I N  SENATE

                                March 2, 2012
                                 ___________

  Introduced  by  Sens.  RITCHIE,  GRIFFO, YOUNG -- read twice and ordered
    printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Agricul-
    ture

  AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to agricul-
    tural assessment values

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


    Section  1. Paragraph g of subdivision 4 of section 304-a of the agri-
  culture and markets law, as added by chapter 68 of the laws of 2007,  is
  amended to read as follows:

    g.  Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contra-
  ry, in no event shall the change in  the  base  agricultural  assessment
  value  for  any given year exceed [ten] TWO percent of the base agricul-
  tural assessment value of the preceding year.
    S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.







   EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                        [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                             LBD14442-01-2