Assembly Bill A8950

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

                                  8950

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              March 4, 2014
                               ___________

Introduced  by M. of A. LALOR -- read once and referred to the Committee
  on Real Property Taxation

AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in  relation  to  making  the
  yearly renewals of the enhanced STAR exemption automatic

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

  Section 1. Subparagraph (iv) of paragraph  (b)  of  subdivision  4  of
section  425  of  the real property tax law, as amended by section 10 of
part W of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, is amended to read as follows:
  (iv) Effective with applications for the enhanced exemption  on  final
assessment  rolls  to  be completed in two thousand [three] FIFTEEN, the
application form shall [indicate that] NOTIFY the owners of the property
and any owners' spouses residing on the premises [may] THAT  BY  SUBMIT-
TING  THE  APPLICATION, THEY authorize the assessor to have their income
eligibility verified annually thereafter  by  the  state  department  of
taxation  and  finance[,  in lieu of furnishing copies of the applicable
income tax return or returns with the application. If the].  THE  owners
of  the property and any owners' spouses residing on the premises [elect
to participate in this program, which shall be known as the STAR  income
verification  program, they must] SHALL furnish their taxpayer identifi-
cation numbers in order to  facilitate  matching  with  records  of  the
department. Thereafter, their income eligibility shall be verified annu-
ally  by  the  department  and  the  assessor  shall  not request income
documentation OR A RENEWAL APPLICATION from them, unless such department
advises the assessor that they do  not  satisfy  the  applicable  income
eligibility requirements, or that it is unable to determine whether they
satisfy those requirements.
  S  2.  Subparagraph  (vi) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 4 of section
425 of the real property tax law, as amended by section 3 of part  E  of
chapter  83 of the laws of 2002, clause E as further amended by subdivi-
sion (b) of section 1 of part W of chapter 56 of the laws  of  2010,  is
amended to read as follows:
  (vi)  Notwithstanding  the provisions of subparagraphs (iv) and (v) of
this paragraph, which establish  a  STAR  income  verification  program,

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

                                                           LBD13669-01-4

A. 8950                             2

income  documentation  must  be  submitted to the assessor in connection
with each of the following:
  (A) Initial applications for the enhanced STAR exemption;
  (B)  [Renewal  applications  submitted by a person or persons who have
not elected to participate in the STAR income verification program;
  (C)] Applications that would allow an  enhanced  exemption  to  resume
after having been discontinued;
  [(D)] (C) Applications submitted by a person or persons who had previ-
ously qualified for the enhanced exemption but not in the assessing unit
in question; and
  [(E)]  (D)  Applications with respect to which the department of taxa-
tion and finance has advised the assessor through the commissioner  that
it  is  unable to determine whether a participant or participants in the
STAR income verification program satisfy the income eligibility require-
ments.
  S 3. This act shall take effect on  the  first  day  of  January  next
succeeding  the  date upon which it becomes a law and shall apply to all
taxable years commencing on and after that date.