NY State Senate Bill 2015-S8021

Senate Bill S8021

2015-2016 Legislative Session

Authorizes cities having a population of between 250,000 and 300,000 to establish a senior citizen longtime resident real property tax exemption

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 06, 2016	referred to rules

2015-S8021 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10570
Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: Real Property Tax Law
Laws Affected:: Add §467-j, RPT L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2017-2018: S6864, S6934, A2279
2019-2020: S1065
2021-2022: S1688
2023-2024: S198

2015-S8021 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Authorizes cities having a population of between 250,000 and 300,000 to establish a senior citizen longtime resident real property tax exemption.

2015-S8021 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S8021              Revised 06/06/16

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation to establishing
a senior citizen longtime resident exemption in certain cities

 PURPOSE :

Authorizes cities having a population of between 250,000 and 300,000
to establishing a senior citizen longtime resident real property tax
exemption

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 of the bill amends the real property tax law by adding a new
section 467-j.

Section 2 of the bill provides the effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

When a neighborhood is determined to be gentrifying, a potential
byproduct is the displacement of long-time residents. Higher mortgages
and rents may be cited as a reason for that displacement.

Over the past few years, several major U.S. cities have initiated
plans to reduce or freeze property tax assessments for long-time
homeowners in certain gentrifying neighborhoods. In doing so, the
cities aim to protect low- and middle-income homeowners unable to
afford an increase in property taxes, and thereby slow the churning of
these neighborhoods.

Last year, to assess the extent to which gentrification has reshaped
urban communities, Governing analyzed Census tract data for the
nation's 50 largest cities. One of its findings from its examinations
of these neighborhoods concluded that nearly 20 percent of
neighborhoods with lower incomes and home values have experienced
gentrification since 2000, compared to only 9 percent during the
1990s.

Cities across the state of New York are experiencing resurgence in
recent years. The City of Buffalo is one example. The growth of the
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus has accelerated exponentially over the
last several years, with nine major institutions and more than 40
public and private companies expanding in the city of Buffalo.

This expansion has facilitated the investment of over 750 million
dollars into a development covering over 120 acres and employing well
over 12,000 employees. With new development, come new residents. This
growth, however economically beneficial can have some negative
consequences upon the adjacent Fruit Belt community. This neighborhood
is of singular importance due to its rich history as one of the City's
oldest neighborhoods developed in the decades before the Civil War. As
such, some of the housing stock has been in families for generations.

The purpose of this legislation is to protect the some of the most
vulnerable of our New Yorkers, its seniors by establishing a longtime
resident real property tax exemption. This will allow senior residents
to enjoy the revitalization of their communities without taxing them
out of it.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

This is a new bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.

2015-S8021 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

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

                                  8021

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              June 6, 2016
                               ___________

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

AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to establishing a
  senior citizen longtime resident exemption in certain cities

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

  Section  1.  The  real  property  tax  law  is amended by adding a new
section 467-j to read as follows:
  S 467-J. SENIOR CITIZEN LONGTIME RESIDENT EXEMPTION. 1. ESTABLISHMENT.
ANY CITY WITH A POPULATION GREATER THAN TWO HUNDRED FIFTY  THOUSAND  AND
LESS  THAN THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND, AS DETERMINED BY THE LATEST DECENNIAL
FEDERAL CENSUS, AFTER CONDUCTING A PUBLIC HEARING, MAY ADOPT A LOCAL LAW
TO GRANT A SENIOR CITIZEN LONGTIME RESIDENT EXEMPTION PURSUANT  TO  THIS
SECTION.  ONCE A CITY HAS ENACTED A LOCAL LAW ADOPTING THE PROVISIONS OF
THIS SECTION, THE COUNTY GOVERNMENT IN WHICH SUCH CITY  IS  LOCATED  MAY
ALSO  ENACT  A  LOCAL  LAW TO PROVIDE AN EXEMPTION IN THE SAME MANNER AS
SUCH CITY.
  2. ELIGIBILITY. A. NO EXEMPTION SHALL NOT BE GRANTED PURSUANT TO  THIS
SECTION UNLESS:
  (1)  THE PROPERTY IS A ONE-, TWO- OR THREE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY
LOCATED WITHIN A UNITED STATES CENSUS TRACT THAT HAS A MEDIAN INCOME NOT
EXCEEDING SIXTEEN THOUSAND FIFTY-SIX DOLLARS ACCORDING TO THE TWO  THOU-
SAND  TEN  DECENNIAL  CENSUS.  A  CITY  ADOPTING  THE PROVISIONS OF THIS
SECTION MAY BY LOCAL LAW FURTHER LIMIT THE EXEMPTION TO  SPECIFIC  AREAS
WITHIN  SUCH CITY EXPERIENCING AN INCREASE IN PROPERTY VALUES DUE TO NEW
DEVELOPMENT OCCURRING THEREIN, WHICH PUT SENIOR CITIZEN  LONGTIME  RESI-
DENTS AT RISK OF DISPLACEMENT;
  (2) THE PROPERTY SERVES AS THE PRIMARY RESIDENCE OF ONE OR MORE OF THE
OWNERS;
  (3)  ALL  OF THE OWNERS ARE AT LEAST SIXTY-FIVE YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER,
OR IN THE CASE OF PROPERTY OWNED BY HUSBAND AND WIFE OR BY SIBLINGS, ONE
OF THE OWNERS IS AT LEAST SIXTY-FIVE YEARS OF AGE,  AS  OF  THE  TAXABLE
STATUS  DATE. AT THE OPTION OF THE CITY, WHICH SHALL BE SPECIFIED IN THE
LOCAL LAW ADOPTING THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION, ANY PERSON  OTHERWISE

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

                                                           LBD15627-01-6

S. 8021                             2

QUALIFYING  UNDER  THIS  SECTION SHALL NOT BE DENIED THE EXEMPTION UNDER
THIS SECTION IF HE OR SHE BECOMES SIXTY-FIVE  YEARS  OF  AGE  AFTER  THE
APPROPRIATE  TAXABLE  STATUS DATE AND ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST
OF THE SAME YEAR;
  (4)  ONE  OR  MORE OF THE OWNERS HAS OWNED AND RESIDED IN THE PROPERTY
FOR NO FEWER THAN TWENTY-FIVE CONSECUTIVE YEARS; AND
  (5) THE TOTAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME DOES NOT EXCEED THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS
FOR THE LATEST PRECEDING INCOME TAX YEAR PRIOR TO THE DATE  OF  APPLICA-
TION FOR SUCH DEFERMENT. THE TERM "INCOME" AS USED IN THIS SECTION SHALL
MEAN  THE  "ADJUSTED  GROSS  INCOME"  FOR FEDERAL INCOME TAX PURPOSES AS
REPORTED ON THE APPLICANT'S FEDERAL OR STATE INCOME TAX RETURN  FOR  THE
APPLICABLE  INCOME  TAX  YEAR,  SUBJECT  TO ANY SUBSEQUENT AMENDMENTS OR
REVISIONS, REDUCED BY DISTRIBUTIONS, TO THE EXTENT INCLUDED  IN  FEDERAL
ADJUSTED  GROSS  INCOME,  RECEIVED FROM AN INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNT
AND AN INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ANNUITY; PROVIDED THAT IF  NO  SUCH  RETURN
WAS  FILED  FOR  THE APPLICABLE INCOME TAX YEAR, "INCOME" SHALL MEAN THE
ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN SO REPORTED IF SUCH A  RETURN
HAD BEEN FILED.
  3.  CALCULATION  OF EXEMPTION. A. EXCEPT AS PROVIDED IN PARAGRAPH B OF
THIS SUBDIVISION, A SENIOR CITIZEN LONGTIME  RESIDENT  SHALL  BE  EXEMPT
FROM  TAXATION AND SPECIAL AD VALOREM LEVIES FOR EVERY YEAR IN WHICH THE
PROPERTY'S CURRENT ASSESSMENT EXCEEDS THE  "BASE  ASSESSMENT."  FOR  THE
PURPOSES  OF  THIS SECTION THE "BASE ASSESSMENT" SHALL BE THE ASSESSMENT
THAT APPEARED ON THE ASSESSMENT ROLL  IMMEDIATELY  PRECEDING  THE  FIRST
YEAR  IN  WHICH  AN  EXEMPTION WAS GRANTED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION. THE
ASSESSOR SHALL ANNUALLY CALCULATE THE EXEMPTION BY SUBTRACTING THE "BASE
ASSESSMENT" FROM THE CURRENT YEAR'S ASSESSMENT.
  B. NOTWITHSTANDING THE PROVISIONS OF PARAGRAPH A OF THIS  SUBDIVISION,
NO  EXEMPTION  SHALL  BE  ALLOWED  TO  THE  EXTENT  THAT  THE ASSESSMENT
INCREASED DUE TO ONE OR MORE OF THE FOLLOWING EVENTS:
  (1) A PHYSICAL IMPROVEMENT MADE TO THE PROPERTY;
  (2) A REMOVAL OR REDUCTION OF AN EXEMPTION ON THE ELIGIBLE  TAXPAYER'S
PRIMARY  RESIDENCE,  INCLUDING  A  REDUCTION  OF  THE STAR EXEMPT AMOUNT
CALCULATED  PURSUANT  TO  SUBDIVISION  TWO  OF  SECTION   FOUR   HUNDRED
TWENTY-FIVE OF THIS TITLE; OR
  (3)  A  REVALUATION THAT CAUSED THE ASSESSMENT OF THE ELIGIBLE TAXPAY-
ER'S PRIMARY RESIDENCE TO INCREASE BY A PERCENTAGE THAT IS LESS THAN  OR
EQUAL  TO  THE APPLICABLE CHANGE IN LEVEL OF ASSESSMENT. AS USED IN THIS
SECTION, THE TERMS "REVALUATION" AND "CHANGE  IN  LEVEL  OF  ASSESSMENT"
SHALL  HAVE  THE  SAME MEANINGS AS SET FORTH IN SECTIONS ONE HUNDRED TWO
AND TWELVE HUNDRED TWENTY OF THIS CHAPTER, RESPECTIVELY.
  4. APPLICATION FOR SUCH EXEMPTION SHALL BE MADE  ANNUALLY  ON  A  FORM
PRESCRIBED  BY  THE  COMMISSIONER. SUCH APPLICATION SHALL BE MADE TO THE
CITY ASSESSOR ON OR BEFORE THE TAXABLE STATUS DATE. NO  APPLICATION  FOR
SUCH  EXEMPTION  SHALL  BE  GRANTED  UNLESS  THE ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA OF
SUBDIVISION TWO OF THIS SECTION ARE MET.
  5. IN THE EVENT THAT A PROPERTY GRANTED AN EXEMPTION PURSUANT TO  THIS
SECTION  TRANSFERS OWNERSHIP OR OTHERWISE CEASES TO MEET THE ELIGIBILITY
REQUIREMENTS OF THE EXEMPTION IN SUBDIVISION TWO OF  THIS  SECTION,  THE
EXEMPTION  GRANTED  PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHALL BE DISCONTINUED. UPON
DETERMINING THAT AN EXEMPTION GRANTED PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION SHOULD BE
DISCONTINUED, THE ASSESSOR SHALL MAIL A NOTICE SO STATING TO  THE  OWNER
OR OWNERS THEREOF AT THE TIME AND IN THE MANNER PROVIDED BY SECTION FIVE
HUNDRED TEN OF THIS CHAPTER.
  6.  THE CITY ASSESSOR SHALL, ON OR BEFORE DECEMBER FIRST, MAIL TO EACH
PERSON WHO WAS GRANTED AN EXEMPTION PURSUANT TO  THIS  SECTION  FOR  THE

S. 8021                             3

CURRENT  CITY  FISCAL  YEAR,  AN APPLICATION FORM FOR AN EXEMPTION AND A
NOTICE THAT SUCH APPLICATION MUST BE FILED NO  LATER  THAN  THE  TAXABLE
STATUS DATE IN ORDER FOR THE EXEMPTION TO BE GRANTED OR CONTINUED. FAIL-
URE  TO  MAIL ANY SUCH APPLICATION FORM OR NOTICE OR THE FAILURE OF SUCH
PERSON OR PERSONS TO RECEIVE  THE  SAME  SHALL  NOT  PREVENT  THE  LEVY,
COLLECTION AND ENFORCEMENT OF THE PAYMENT OF THE TAXES ON PROPERTY OWNED
BY SUCH PERSON OR PERSONS.
  S 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

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