Senate Bill S5673A

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

                                 5673--A

                       2015-2016 Regular Sessions

                            I N  S E N A T E

                              May 27, 2015
                               ___________

Introduced  by  Sens.  KLEIN,  AVELLA,  SAVINO -- read twice and ordered
  printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on  Cities
  --  recommitted  to  the Committee on Cities in accordance with Senate
  Rule  6,  sec.  8  --  committee  discharged,  bill  amended,  ordered
  reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee

AN  ACT  to  amend  the real property tax law, in relation to rebates of
  real property taxes on certain residential real  property  in  a  city
  having a population of one million or more

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

  Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 467-e of  the  real  property  tax
law,  as  amended by chapter 483 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read
as follows:
  1. Generally. Notwithstanding any provision of any general, special or
local law to the contrary, any city having a population of  one  million
or more is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt and amend local laws
in accordance with this section to grant a rebate of real property taxes
for  fiscal  years  beginning on the first of July, two thousand [three]
SIXTEEN and ending on the thirtieth of June, two thousand  [nine]  NINE-
TEEN  in  the amount of the lesser of [four] FIVE hundred dollars or the
annual tax liability imposed on the property. [No such local law may  be
adopted  unless,  as originally adopted, it authorizes such rebate to be
granted in accordance with this section  for  three  consecutive  fiscal
years beginning with the fiscal year beginning on the first of July, two
thousand  three.]  No  such rebate shall be granted by local law for any
fiscal year beginning on or after the first of July, two thousand [nine]
NINETEEN, unless the council of such city,  in  fixing  the  annual  tax
rates  for any such fiscal year, shall have uniformly reduced such rates
for all classes of property in order to produce real property tax relief
among such classes of property in an amount not less than, in the aggre-
gate, the aggregate amount of rebate paid in such fiscal year. [No  such

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD10690-03-6
              

S. 5673--A                          2

local law implementing the provisions of this section, as amended by the
chapter of the laws of two thousand seven which added this sentence, may
be adopted unless, as originally adopted, such local law authorizes such
rebate  to  be granted in accordance with this section for three consec-
utive fiscal years beginning with the fiscal year beginning on the first
of July, two thousand six. Any rebate authorized by local law in accord-
ance with this section shall be paid in the fiscal  year  following  the
fiscal  year  for  which the rebate is granted.] If, with respect to the
fiscal year of such city beginning on the first of  July,  two  thousand
[eight] SIXTEEN and ending on the thirtieth of June, two thousand [nine]
NINETEEN, an increase in average real property tax rates would otherwise
be necessary in the resolution of such city council fixing real property
tax  rates  for  such  fiscal year pursuant to the charter of such city,
then the rebate to be paid for such fiscal  year  shall  be  reduced  or
eliminated  as  follows:  where the sum to be raised by such increase is
less than seven hundred fifty million dollars, then such rebate shall be
reduced by fifty cents for each dollar of increase, and where the sum to
be raised by such increase is seven hundred  fifty  million  dollars  or
more,  then  such  rebate  shall be eliminated. The determination of the
reduction or elimination of such rebate  shall  be  set  forth  in  such
resolution  after  consultation  with  the department of finance of such
city and shall take effect upon the final adoption of  such  resolution.
Such  rebate  shall be paid to an owner or tenant-stockholder who, as of
the date the application  provided  for  in  subdivision  four  of  this
section  is due, owns a one, two or three family residence or a dwelling
unit in residential property held in the condominium or cooperative form
of ownership that is the owner or tenant-stockholder's primary residence
and meets all other eligibility requirements of this section.   Notwith-
standing anything to the contrary in sections four hundred twenty-one-a,
four hundred twenty-one-b or four hundred twenty-one-g of this title, an
owner  or tenant-stockholder whose property is receiving benefits pursu-
ant to such sections shall not be prohibited  from  receiving  a  rebate
pursuant  to  this section if such owner or tenant-stockholder is other-
wise eligible to receive such rebate.   Tenant-stockholders of  dwelling
units  in  a  cooperative apartment corporation incorporated as a mutual
company pursuant to article two, four, five or  eleven  of  the  private
housing  finance  law  shall not be entitled to the rebate authorized by
this section. Such rebate shall be paid by the commissioner  of  finance
to  eligible  owners  or  tenant-stockholders  in  accordance with rules
promulgated by the commissioner of finance.
  S 2. Subparagraphs 2 and 3 of paragraph a of subdivision 2 of  section
467-e  of  the real property tax law, as added by section 1 of part V of
chapter 60 of the laws of 2004, are amended and a new subparagraph 4  is
added to read as follows:
  (2) the property must serve as the primary residence of one or more of
the owners or tenant-stockholders thereof; [and]
  (3)  the  owner must not be in arrears in the payment of real property
taxes in an amount in excess of twenty-five dollars for the fiscal  year
for  which  the  rebate  is  claimed and all prior fiscal years, and for
residential property held in the cooperative form  of  ownership,  there
must be no arrears in the payment of real property taxes in an amount in
excess  of  an  average of twenty-five dollars per dwelling unit in such
cooperative apartment corporation for the  fiscal  year  for  which  the
rebate is claimed and all prior fiscal years[.]; AND

S. 5673--A                          3

  (4)  THE  FEDERAL ADJUSTED GROSS INCOME OF THE OWNER OR OWNERS, OR THE
TENANT-STOCKHOLDER OR TENANT-STOCKHOLDERS DOES NOT EXCEED  FIVE  HUNDRED
THOUSAND DOLLARS IN THE IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING INCOME TAX YEAR.
  S 3. Paragraph a of subdivision 4 of section 467-e of the real proper-
ty tax law, as amended by chapter 483 of the laws of 2007, is amended to
read as follows:
  a. Generally. Notwithstanding any provision of any general, special or
local  law to the contrary, an application for a rebate pursuant to this
section for the fiscal year beginning the first of  July,  two  thousand
[three]  SIXTEEN,  shall be made no later than the date published by the
commissioner of finance in the city  record  and  in  other  appropriate
general  notices  pursuant  to  this subdivision, which date shall be no
earlier than thirty days after the effective date of  this  subdivision.
An  application  for  a rebate pursuant to this section for fiscal years
beginning on or after the first of July, two thousand  [four]  SEVENTEEN
and  ending on the thirtieth of June, two thousand [six] NINETEEN, shall
be made no later than the fifteenth of March  of  the  fiscal  year  for
which  the  rebate  is claimed. [An application for a rebate pursuant to
this section for fiscal years beginning on or after the first  of  July,
two  thousand  six,  shall  be made no later than the first of September
following the fiscal year for which the rebate is claimed.]  All  owners
or  tenant-stockholders  of  property  who primarily reside thereon must
jointly file an application for the rebate on or before the  application
deadline,  unless such owners or tenant-stockholders currently receive a
real property tax exemption pursuant to  section  four  hundred  twenty-
five, four hundred fifty-eight, four hundred fifty-eight-a, four hundred
fifty-nine-c or four hundred sixty-seven of this title, in which case no
separate  application  for  a  rebate  pursuant to this section shall be
required. Such application may be filed by mail if it is enclosed  in  a
postpaid  envelope  properly  addressed  to the commissioner of finance,
deposited in a post office or official depository  under  the  exclusive
care  of  the United States postal service, and postmarked by the United
States postal service on or before the application deadline.  Each  such
application  shall  be  made on a form prescribed by the commissioner of
finance, which shall require  the  applicant  to  agree  to  notify  the
commissioner  of  finance if his, her or their primary residence changes
after receiving the rebate pursuant to this section, or after filing  an
application  for  such  rebate,  if  his, her or their primary residence
changes after filing such application, but before receiving such rebate.
The commissioner of finance may request that proof of primary  residence
be  submitted  with  the application. No rebate pursuant to this section
shall be granted unless the applicant, if required  to  do  so  by  this
subdivision,  files an application within the time periods prescribed in
this subdivision.
  S 4. This act shall take effect immediately.