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

                                  6205

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                            February 26, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. BARRA -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Libraries and Education Technology

AN ACT to amend the  education  law,  in  relation  to  use  of  library
  services  by unserved residents of public library systems; and provid-
  ing for the payment of public library taxes by  residents  of  certain
  villages and school districts

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

  Section 1. a. Notwithstanding any inconsistent provision of article  5
of title 1 of the education law or any other provision of law, the board
of  trustees  of any village with thirty-five thousand or more residents
is hereby empowered and authorized, after public hearing, to  exempt  by
local law, and the board of any school district located within a town of
seven hundred thousand or more residents is hereby empowered and author-
ized, after public hearing, to exempt by resolution, those owners of one
and two family owner occupied residences located within such village and
school  district and who pay village taxes to such village, a portion of
which is allocated for the support of a village library and who also pay
taxes to such school district for  the  support  of  a  school  district
library  from  the  payment of such portion of the tax allocated for the
support of either such  village  or  school  district  library.  Nothing
contained in this act shall, in any way, relieve any such exempted prop-
erty  from  any  obligation  for  any  outstanding  bonded or contracted
indebtedness attributable to the school district library.
  b. Upon adoption of such local  law  and/or  resolution,  the  village
and/or  school  district,  as the case may be, shall, within thirty days
thereof, notify or cause to be notified, each person owning  residential
real  property  in such village and school district of the provisions of
such local law and/or resolution. The provisions of this subdivision may
be met by sending a notice to such persons reading "You may be  eligible
for  certain  village  and/or school district tax exemptions relating to

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD08012-01-9
              

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libraries. For information please call or  write...."  followed  by  the
name, telephone number and/or address of a person or department selected
by  the village and/or school district to explain the provisions of such
local  law  and/or resolution. Failure to notify or cause to be notified
any person who is in fact eligible to receive the exemption provided  by
such  local  law  and/or  resolution  or  the  failure of such person to
receive the same shall not prevent the levy, collection and  enforcement
of  the  payment  of  the  taxes  imposed  by any such village or school
district.
  c. Application for such exemption shall be made by the owner on  forms
prescribed  by the state board of real property services to be furnished
by the appropriate assessing authority and shall furnish the information
and be executed in the manner required or prescribed in such forms. Upon
completion, the applicant shall file two copies of said form,  one  with
the assessing authority for the village and the other with the assessing
authority  for  the  school district before the next appropriate taxable
status date.  Any such owner of real property  shall  only  be  exempted
from  the  payment  of library taxes to either the village or the school
district and not to both. The election by a property owner to  accept  a
tax  exemption  of  the  village or school district, as the case may be,
shall be irrevocable and shall be binding upon such  property  owner  so
long  as the electing owner owns and resides on such property. Provided,
that this exemption shall not be binding upon any new owner as a  result
of  the  transfer  of  the property. Upon transfer, a new owner shall be
required to follow the application procedures set forth in this subdivi-
sion in order to be eligible for such exemption.
  d. The granting of an exemption to the owner of real property pursuant
to the provisions of subdivision a of this section shall  in  no  manner
serve  to  limit  or  alter  the library privileges of such owner or any
member of his or her family residing upon such  property  or  any  other
lawful resident upon such property in the library system of the applica-
ble  taxing  jurisdiction  to which such property owner continues to pay
taxes pursuant to the provisions of this act.
  S 2. Paragraph h of subdivision 1 of section 272 of the education law,
as amended by chapter 787 of the laws of 1978, is  amended  to  read  as
follows:
  h.  (1)  The  commissioner shall by regulation provide the standard of
service with which such a public library system must comply. Such  regu-
lations  shall,  among other things, relate to the total book stock; the
diversity of such book stock with respect to general subjects  and  type
of  literature,  provided  that  such regulations shall not, directly or
indirectly, prohibit the inclusion of a particular book,  periodical  or
material  or  the  works  of  a particular author or the expression of a
particular point of view; annual additions to book stock; circulation of
book stock; maintenance of catalogues; number and location of  libraries
or branch libraries; hours of operation and number and qualifications of
personnel,  necessary  to  enable  a  public  library  system  to render
adequate service. Such regulations may establish standards which  differ
on  the basis of population; density of population; the actual valuation
of the taxable property within the area served; the condition of library
facilities in existence on April first,  nineteen  hundred  fifty-seven;
the amount raised by taxation by or for the area served; the relation of
such  amount  to  population and actual value of the property taxed; the
relation of the amount of funds received by  a  public  library  [sytem]
SYSTEM  from  local taxes to that derived from private contributions; or

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on such other basis as the commissioner finds necessary to  provide  for
the equitable distribution of state aid.
  (2)  SUCH REGULATION PROVIDING FOR THE STANDARD OF SERVICE OF A PUBLIC
LIBRARY SYSTEM, SHALL AUTHORIZE  AND  PROVIDE  FOR  THE  ISSUANCE,  UPON
PAYMENT  OF A REASONABLE FEE, OF A CARD TO ANY PERSON WHO RESIDES WITHIN
THE AREA SERVED BY THE PUBLIC LIBRARY SYSTEM, BUT WHO  DOES  NOT  RESIDE
WITHIN  THE  AREA  SERVED BY ANY OF THE MEMBER LIBRARIES OF SUCH SYSTEM.
THE ISSUANCE OF SUCH A CARD PURSUANT TO THIS SUBPARAGRAPH, SHALL ENTITLE
THE HOLDER THEREOF TO ALL THE RIGHTS AND PRIVILEGES OF A RESIDENT OF THE
MEMBER LIBRARY DISTRICT OF WHICH SUCH CARD HOLDER  ELECTS  TO  BECOME  A
MEMBER.
  S  3.  This act shall take effect immediately; except that section one
of this act shall apply to assessment rolls prepared  on  the  basis  of
taxable status dates occurring on or after January first next succeeding
the  date  on  which  such  local  law and/or resolution shall have been
adopted; and section two of this  act  shall  take  effect  on  the  one
hundred  twentieth  day after it shall have become a law and the commis-
sioner of education is authorized  and  directed  to  promulgate,  amend
and/or  repeal  any  rule  or  regulation  necessary  to  implement  the
provisions of such section on its effective date on or before such date.