S T A T E O F N E W Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________
10746
I N A S S E M B L Y
April 19, 2010
___________
Introduced by M. of A. ALESSI -- read once and referred to the Committee
on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the public lands law and the state finance law, in
relation to disposition of proceeds from the sale of public lands and
personal property of the state for the purpose of reducing state-spon-
sored debt
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. Subdivision a of section 21 of the public lands law, as
amended by chapter 706 of the laws of 1977, is amended to read as
follows:
a. The commissioner of general services is authorized, in his
discretion, to sell and convey at public or private sale, upon such
terms and conditions as he may deem proper, all the right, title and
interest of the state in and to certain strips of abandoned canal lands
or Onondaga salt springs reservation land, which strips adjoin the old
beds of the Erie canal and Oswego canal and side-cut canals, which beds
were heretofore conveyed by the people of the state of New York and in
which said strips of land there remains a right, title or interest in
the people of the state of New York. Any such private sale, if made,
shall be to the state's grantee or to the successor to the title or
interest of the beds so previously granted by the state and shall be for
a consideration not less than the appraised value of the said right,
title or interest. ALL MONEYS CONSTITUTING THE PROCEEDS OF ANY SUCH
DISPOSITION OF SUCH STATE-OWNED REAL PROPERTY SHALL BE PAID, FIRST TO
REPAY ANY EXPENDITURES MADE BY THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES FROM
MONEYS APPROPRIATED TO SAID OFFICE IN THE FIRST INSTANCE FOR THE ADMIN-
ISTRATION, MANAGEMENT, UTILIZATION AND DISPOSITION OF REAL PROPERTY OF
THE STATE AND ANY RIGHTS OR INTERESTS THEREIN, AND ANY BALANCE OF SUCH
MONEYS REMAINING AFTER REPAYMENT OF THE FIRST INSTANCE EXPENDITURES
SHALL BE PAID INTO THE STATE TREASURY THROUGH THE OFFICE OF GENERAL
SERVICES TO THE CREDIT OF THE STATE-SUPPORTED DEBT REDUCTION FUND ESTAB-
LISHED BY SECTION SEVENTY-THREE OF THE STATE FINANCE LAW.
EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD16897-02-0
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S 2. Section 23 of the public lands law, as amended by chapter 170 of
the laws of 1994, is amended to read as follows:
S 23. Disposition of moneys received from sale of certain state lands
and sand and gravel thereon. All moneys received by the commissioner of
general services from the sale of sand and gravel on, or from the sale
of, any land of the state, or from the grant of rights or easements
therein or thereover, not including land under water provision with
respect to which is made in section seventy-five of this chapter, and
not including abandoned canal lands provision with respect to which is
made under article four of this chapter and not including certain
detached parcels of forest preserve lands with respect to which
provision is made in section twenty-four of this chapter, shall be paid,
less any refunds made pursuant to section twenty-six of this law, and
less any sum required to be deposited to the credit of the environmental
protection fund provision with respect to which is made by chapter six
hundred ten of the laws of nineteen hundred ninety-three, into the state
treasury through the office of general services to the credit of the
[capital construction] STATE-SUPPORTED DEBT REDUCTION fund established
by section [ninety-three] SEVENTY-THREE of the state finance law. All
such moneys received during a month, less any refunds, shall be so paid
on or before the fifteenth day of the succeeding month.
S 3. The second undesignated paragraph of section 24 of the public
lands law, as amended by chapter 79 of the laws of 1976, is amended to
read as follows:
All sales shall be subject to and governed by the provisions of
sections thirty-three, thirty-five, thirty-seven, thirty-seven-a, thir-
ty-eight, thirty-eight-a and thirty-nine of this chapter, being general
provisions governing the sale of unappropriated state lands. All moneys
derived by the commissioner from such sales, not including any refunds
made pursuant to section twenty-six of this law, shall be paid first to
repay any expenditures made by the office of general services with
relation to forest preserve lands from moneys appropriated to said
office in the first instance for the administration, management, utili-
zation and disposition of real property of the state and any rights or
interests therein, and any balance of such moneys remaining after repay-
ment of the first instance expenditures shall be paid through the office
of general services into a special fund of the state treasury, provided
for that purpose [by] IN SECTION SEVENTY-THREE OF the state finance law
and known as the [forest preserve expansion] STATE-SUPPORTED DEBT
REDUCTION fund, and shall be expended only as provided in that law. All
of such moneys received during any month shall be so paid on or before
the fifteenth day of the succeeding month.
S 4. Section 25 of the public lands law, as amended by chapter 141 of
the laws of 1988, is amended to read as follows:
S 25. Sale or exchange of real property owned by the state and devoted
to the use of the organized militia. Upon the filing with the commis-
sioner of general services by the adjutant general of his certificate in
writing of his determination that certain real property owned by the
state and devoted to the use of the organized militia of the state is no
longer needed or adapted for such use and consenting that the same be
sold or exchanged by the commissioner pursuant to the provisions of this
section, the commission, if such certificate and consent be approved by
the director of the budget and be accompanied by, annexed to, or
endorsed upon an accurate map and description of such real property, may
sell or exchange such real property in accordance with and subject to
the terms, if any, of such consent. All sales of any such property
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shall be in accordance with the procedure specified in article three of
this chapter for the sale of unappropriated state lands. Upon compli-
ance by the purchaser with the terms of sale, or, in the case of an
exchange of lands, with the terms of the order of the commissioner
authorizing such exchange, the sale or exchange shall be consummated by
the issuance of letters patent granting the state-owned real property.
All moneys constituting the proceeds of any such disposition of such
state-owned real property shall be paid, less any refunds made pursuant
to the provisions of section twenty-six of this [law] ARTICLE, first to
repay any expenditures made by the office of general services from
moneys appropriated to said office in the first instance for the admin-
istration, management, utilization and disposition of real property of
the state and any rights or interests therein, and any balance of such
moneys remaining after repayment of the first instance expenditures
shall be paid into the state treasury through the office of general
services to the credit of the [capital projects] STATE-SUPPORTED DEBT
REDUCTION fund established by section [ninety-three] SEVENTY-THREE of
the state finance law.
S 5. Section 38 of the public lands law, as added by chapter 557 of
the laws of 1929, is amended to read as follows:
S 38. Payment on resale. The purchaser shall complete the sale, imme-
diately, by paying into the treasury THROUGH THE OFFICE OF GENERAL
SERVICES TO THE CREDIT OF THE STATE-SUPPORTED DEBT REDUCTION FUND ESTAB-
LISHED BY SECTION SEVENTY-THREE OF THE STATE FINANCE LAW the amount due
on the land and receiving a patent, or by executing a proper bond and
receiving a new certificate of the sale.
S 6. Section 59-a of the public lands law, as amended by chapter 79 of
the laws of 1976, is amended to read as follows:
S 59-a. Disposition of proceeds. The proceeds from a sale or grant of
such lands shall be applied first to repay any expenditures made by the
office of general services from moneys appropriated to said office in
the first instance for the administration, management, utilization and
disposal of real property of the state and any rights or interests ther-
ein and any balance of such moneys remaining after repayment of the
first instance expenditures shall be applied to the cost of the improve-
ment which renders such lands no longer necessary, and the expenses
incurred by the attorney general for searches and examination of the
title to such lands shall be deemed an item of the cost of improvement.
Any surplus from the sale of abandoned lands above the cost of the
entire improvement shall be [applied to the sinking fund for the payment
of the improvement bonds] PAID INTO THE STATE TREASURY THROUGH THE
OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES TO THE CREDIT OF THE STATE-SUPPORTED DEBT
REDUCTION FUND ESTABLISHED BY SECTION SEVENTY-THREE OF THE STATE FINANCE
LAW.
S 7. Subdivisions 1, 4 and 7 of section 167 of the state finance law,
subdivisions 1 and 7 as added by chapter 83 of the laws of 1995 and
subdivision 4 as amended by chapter 137 of the laws of 2008, is amended
to read as follows:
1. The head of a state agency having custody or control of such prop-
erty, except vehicles, may: (a) dispose of such property in accordance
with applicable express statutory provisions, (b) reuse such property
within the same state agency, (c) use the property in part payment on a
new item which may include, but shall not be limited to, use as a trade-
in or use in a guaranteed brokerage arrangement, (d) with the consent of
the commissioner, place such property in the custody or control of the
office of general services for reuse by other state agencies or for
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other disposition, or (e) where the fair market value of such property
is less than an amount established from time to time by the commission-
er, dispose of such property by such means as the head of such state
agency deems to be in the best interest of the state. Records of each
disposition shall be retained by the state agency disposing of such
property and shall be subject to audit. Where personal property has been
purchased from special funds, a state agency, upon designation of the
source of funds from which such property was purchased, may condition
the disposal of such property on the reimbursement of such special fund
in the amount of the fair market value of such property. All proceeds
realized on sale or other transfer and not otherwise authorized to be
deposited in a special fund, shall be deposited in the [general fund of
the state] STATE-SUPPORTED DEBT REDUCTION FUND ESTABLISHED BY SECTION
SEVENTY-THREE OF THIS CHAPTER.
4. (a) Prior to the public sale of surplus state personal property and
if the commissioner has determined that personal property of the state
shall be sold, the office of general services must first offer to sell
such property to municipalities of the state. The availability of
surplus personal property, and the offer to sell such property, shall be
advertised to municipalities on the office of general services' website
for a minimum of seven days. A municipality shall immediately advise the
commissioner whether or not the municipality wishes to acquire such
personal property. If it wishes to acquire such personal property, a
municipality shall have thirty days to arrange delivery of such property
and to conclude the negotiation of the sale. If two or more munici-
palities notify the commissioner of their wish to acquire such personal
property, such personal property shall be sold to the highest offer
complying with the terms of the sale as set by the commissioner. All
proceeds of such sales shall be deposited to the credit of the [general
fund of the state] STATE-SUPPORTED DEBT REDUCTION FUND ESTABLISHED BY
SECTION SEVENTY-THREE OF THIS CHAPTER unless otherwise required by law.
A record of each sale shall be retained and shall be subject to audit.
After the thirty day period for municipalities to arrange delivery of
such property and to conclude the negotiation of the sale, the property
may be disposed of pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision. For
the purposes of this section, "municipality" shall mean a city, county,
town or village.
(b) Where the commissioner has determined that there are no interested
municipalities pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision, the avail-
ability of such property shall be advertised at least once prior to sale
in a local newspaper. Such advertisement shall identify the property,
the place where the terms of sale may be obtained and the date upon
which offers will be received. In cases of emergency or special circum-
stances, such notice may be waived if at least three separate and inde-
pendent offers are solicited and obtained. Notwithstanding the
provisions of this section, where the property will be sold by public
auction over the internet, such notice may be waived if notification of
the availability of such property is provided on the office of general
services' website five business days prior to sale. Every such sale
shall be made to the highest offer complying with the terms of sale and
all proceeds of such sales shall be deposited to the credit of the
[general fund of the state] STATE-SUPPORTED DEBT REDUCTION FUND ESTAB-
LISHED BY SECTION SEVENTY-THREE OF THIS CHAPTER unless otherwise
required by law. A record of each sale shall be retained and shall be
subject to audit.
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7. The commissioner shall have the power, at the request of a former
governor or head of a state department or agency, or the surviving
spouse of such a former official, to sell to such former official, or to
his or her surviving spouse, selected articles of furniture, in use by
such former official at the termination of his services as governor or
head of a state department or agency in the private offices of the
governor in the executive chamber or in the office occupied by such
former head of a state department or agency, for the reasonable value
thereof as articles of furniture as determined by the commissioner,
depositing any moneys received from such sale in the state treasury
THROUGH THE OFFICE OF GENERAL SERVICES TO THE CREDIT OF THE STATE-SUP-
PORTED DEBT REDUCTION FUND ESTABLISHED BY SECTION SEVENTY-THREE OF THIS
CHAPTER; provided, however, that a written request therefor, specifying
the articles to be purchased, be submitted to the commissioner within
ninety days after the termination of such service.
S 8. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 73 to
read as follows:
S 73. STATE-SUPPORTED DEBT REDUCTION FUND. 1. THERE IS HEREBY ESTAB-
LISHED IN THE CUSTODY OF THE STATE COMPTROLLER A FUND TO BE KNOWN AS THE
STATE-SUPPORTED DEBT REDUCTION FUND.
2. SUCH FUND SHALL CONSIST OF ALL MONIES CREDITED OR TRANSFERRED THER-
ETO FROM PROCEEDS REALIZED FROM THE SALE OF PUBLIC LANDS AND PERSONAL
PROPERTY OF THE STATE PURSUANT TO SECTIONS TWENTY-ONE, TWENTY-THREE,
TWENTY-FOUR, TWENTY-FIVE, THIRTY-EIGHT, AND FIFTY-NINE-A OF THE PUBLIC
LANDS LAW, AND SECTION ONE HUNDRED SIXTY-SEVEN OF THIS CHAPTER, AND ANY
OTHER FUND OR SOURCE PURSUANT TO LAW.
3. THE MONIES IN SUCH FUND SHALL BE AVAILABLE TO BE USED FOR THE
PURPOSE OF REDUCING STATE-SUPPORTED DEBT, AS DEFINED IN SECTION
SIXTY-SEVEN-A OF THIS CHAPTER. THE COMPTROLLER SHALL DESIGNATE THE ALLO-
CATION OF SUCH MONIES.
S 9. This act shall take effect on the one hundred eightieth day after
it shall have become a law; provided, however, that effective immediate-
ly, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation
necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are
authorized and directed to be made and completed on or before such
effective date.