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
A. 6205 2
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
A. 6205 3
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.