NY State Senate Bill 2017-S888

Senate Bill S888

2017-2018 Legislative Session

Relates to certain certification required for eligibility for the real property tax exemption for persons with disabilities and limited incomes

download bill text pdf

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Local Government Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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Actions

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jan 03, 2018	referred to local government
Mar 27, 2017	print number 888a
Mar 27, 2017	amend and recommit to local government
Jan 05, 2017	referred to local government

Bill Amendments

Original

A (Active)

2017-S888 - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Local Government
Law Section:: Real Property Tax Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §459-c, RPT L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2013-2014: S6674
2015-2016: S4752

2017-S888 - Summary

Relates to certain certification required for eligibility for the real property tax exemption for persons with disabilities and limited incomes.

2017-S888 - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S888

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation to the real
property tax exemption for persons with disabilities and limited
incomes

 PURPOSE :

Relates to certain certification required for eligibility for the real
property tax exemption for persons with disabilities and limited
incomes.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1: Amend the closing paragraph of subdivision 2 of section
459-c of the real property tax law as amended by chapter 265 of the
law of 2013.

Section 2: Sets the effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Currently, Real Property Tax Law 459-C utilizes the Social Security
Administration's certification of a "person with a disability" by

means of the issuance of an award letter as one of the conditions to
be met in order to qualify for certain real property tax abatements.
Additionally, individuals who are certified to receive Railroad
Retirement Disability benefits under the federal railroad Retirement
Act, or have received a certificate from the state commission for the
blind stating that such person is legally blind, or is certified to
receive a United States Postal Service disability pension, or is
certified to receive a United States department of veterans affairs
disability pension are deemed to meet the requirement to qualify for
the real property tax exemption for persons with disabilities and
limited incomes.

However, in the case where a disabled person has never been able to
work or has become permanently disabled prior to having been able to
meet the Social Security Administration (SSA)'s minimum work credit
threshold, the SSA will not issue the award letter required by RPTL
459-C regardless of the individual's legitimate medical condition,
since that individual would not technically qualify for SSDI benefits
due to a lack of work credits. This situation can leave a genuinely
disabled individual unable to avail themselves of the benefits
intended by the legislature.

This bill seeks to rectify this unintended consequence by adding an
exemption standard to allow individuals who lack the work credits to
qualify for SSDI to be able to apply for the real property tax
exemption for persons with disabilities and limited income. The bill
allows a person with a disability and insufficient work credits to use
a disapproved claim from the SSA with a medical certification of
disability from a physician, reviewed and certified by the workers'
compensation board, to count instead.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

S6674 of 2014 - referred to Local Governments,
S4752A of 2016 advanced to third reading - Cal no. 1293

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

To be determined.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.

2017-S888 - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    888
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 5, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. AMEDORE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
 
 AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to the real prop-
   erty tax exemption for persons with disabilities and limited incomes
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1.  The closing paragraph of subdivision 2 of section 459-c of
 the  real  property  tax  law,  as amended by chapter 265 of the laws of
 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   An award letter from the Social Security Administration or  the  Rail-
 road  Retirement  Board,  or a certificate from the state commission for
 the blind, or an award letter from the United States Postal Service,  or
 an  award  letter  from the United States department of veterans affairs
 shall be submitted as proof of disability.   IF A PERSON  IS  UNABLE  TO
 OBTAIN  AN  AWARD  LETTER FROM THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION DUE TO
 INSUFFICIENT WORK CREDITS TO QUALIFY FOR SSDI, A DENIAL  OR  DISAPPROVAL
 LETTER  OR NOTICE OF DISAPPROVED CLAIM FROM THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINIS-
 TRATION TOGETHER WITH A MEDICAL CERTIFICATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL'S QUALI-
 FYING DISABILITY PREPARED BY A DULY LICENSED  PHYSICIAN  AND  A  MEDICAL
 CERTIFICATION  OF THE INDIVIDUAL'S QUALIFYING DISABILITY PREPARED BY THE
 WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD SHALL BE DEEMED SUFFICIENT  IN  LIEU  OF  AN
 AWARD  LETTER  FROM  THE  SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION.   SUCH MEDICAL
 CERTIFICATION OF THE INDIVIDUAL'S QUALIFYING DISABILITY AS  PREPARED  BY
 THE  WORKERS' COMPENSATION BOARD PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL TAKE
 INTO ACCOUNT THE RESULTS OF SUCH MEDICAL DETERMINATION OF  THE  INDIVID-
 UAL'S QUALIFYING DISABILITY AS WAS PREPARED BY A DULY LICENSED PHYSICIAN
 PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03805-01-7

2017-S888A (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Local Government
Law Section:: Real Property Tax Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §459-c, RPT L
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2013-2014: S6674
2015-2016: S4752

2017-S888A (ACTIVE) - Summary

Relates to certain certification required for eligibility for the real property tax exemption for persons with disabilities and limited incomes.

2017-S888A (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S888A

 TITLE OF BILL :  An act to amend the real property tax law, in
relation to the real property tax exemption for persons with
disabilities and limited incomes

 PURPOSE :

Relates to certain certification required for eligibility for the real
property tax exemption for persons with disabilities and limited
incomes.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1: Amends the closing paragraph of subdivision 2 of section
459-C of the real property tax law, as amended by chapter 265 of the
laws of 2013 to provide an additional definition of disability.

Section 3: Sets the effective date.

 JUSTIFICATION :

Real Property Tax Law 459-C utilizes the Social Security
Administration's certification of a "person with a disability" by
means of the issuance of an award letter as one of the conditions to
be met in order to quality for partial real property tax exemptions

for persons with disabilities and low incomes.

In the case where a disabled person has not been able to work or has
become disabled prior to having been able to meet the SSA's minimum
work credit threshold, the individual will not be able to receive the
award letter from the SSA required by RPTL 459-C, because that
individual does not qualify for SSDI benefits due to a lack of work
credits.

This legislation uses the fact that a person meets the federal
definition of disability for purposes of qualifying for SSDI as
another means of qualifying for the exemption. If a person lacks
sufficient work credits to qualify for SSDI and receives a denial from
the SSA due to insufficient work credits, he or she may qualify for
the exemption by providing a medical certification that the person is
disabled, as defined in § 1614(a)(3) of title 16 of the Social
Security Act, prepared by a duly licensed physician in such form and
having such content as determined by the State Commissioner of
Taxation & Finance.

 LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

This is an amended version of S.4752-A of 2016 which remained in the
Committee on Local Governments.

 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This act shall take effect immediately.

2017-S888A (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  888--A
 
                        2017-2018 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 5, 2017
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen. AMEDORE -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed  to  the  Committee  on  Local  Government  --
   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 the real prop-
   erty tax exemption for persons with disabilities and limited incomes
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1.  The closing paragraph of subdivision 2 of section 459-c of
 the  real  property  tax  law,  as amended by chapter 265 of the laws of
 2013, is amended to read as follows:
   An award letter from the Social Security Administration or  the  Rail-
 road  Retirement  Board,  or a certificate from the state commission for
 the blind, or an award letter from the United States Postal Service,  or
 an  award  letter  from the United States department of veterans affairs
 shall be submitted as proof of disability.   IF A PERSON  IS  UNABLE  TO
 OBTAIN  AN  AWARD  LETTER FROM THE SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION DUE TO
 INSUFFICIENT WORK CREDITS TO  QUALIFY  FOR  SOCIAL  SECURITY  DISABILITY
 INSURANCE  (SSDI),  A  DENIAL  OR DISAPPROVAL LETTER OR NOTICE OF DISAP-
 PROVED CLAIM FROM THE SOCIAL SECURITY  ADMINISTRATION  TOGETHER  WITH  A
 MEDICAL  CERTIFICATION  THAT  SUCH  PERSON  IS DISABLED, AS DEFINED IN §
 1614(A)(3) OF TITLE 16 OF THE SOCIAL SECURITY ACT  PREPARED  BY  A  DULY
 LICENSED  PHYSICIAN  IN  SUCH  FORM  AND HAVING SUCH CONTENT AS SHALL BE
 DETERMINED BY THE COMMISSIONER.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
 
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD03805-02-7

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