BILL NUMBER: S7187

SPONSOR: BROOKS
 
TITLE OF BILL:  An act to authorize the assessors of the county of
Nassau and the village of Freeport to accept applications for exemption
from real property taxes from the Truth Haitian Pentecostal Church, Inc.
for a certain parcel in the town of Hempstead, Village of Freeport

 
PURPOSE:

To authorize the assessors of the county of Nassau and the Village of
Freeport to accept an application for an exemption from real property
taxes from the Truth Haitian Pentecostal Church for the year 2014-15
assessment roll, the school taxes for the 2015-16 schools year, and the
village taxes for the 2015 assessment roll under section 420-a of the
Real Property Tax Law.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of this bill identifies the affected land as the parcel
located in the Village of Freeport at 354 N. Main Street (section 55,
              

block 363, lot 662) and authorizes the assessors from both Nassau County
and the Village of Freeport to accept applications for property tax
exemption for real property taxes under section 420-a of the Real Prop-
erty Tax Law. If those applications are accepted, and if it is deter-
mined that the Truth Haitian Pentecostal Church would otherwise have
been entitled to the exemption had the organization filed the applica-
tion by the appropriate taxable status date, the Nassau County Assessor,
upon approval of the Nassau County Legislature, and the Village of Free-
port, upon approval of the board of trustees of the village, may grant
the exemption from all taxation and correct the subject rolls. Further,
if the exemption is granted, and the organization had paid any tax with
respect to the subject rolls, then the governing tax body can, in its
discretion, refund those taxes already paid and cancel and taxes, fines,
liens, penalties, or interest that remain unpaid.

Section two of this bill provides that this act shall take effect imme-
diately.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Truth Haitian Pentecostal Church has been a strong community influ-
ence on Long Island since 2008. Initially located in the hamlet of
Uniondale, NY in the town of Hempstead, NY, the Church moved to a new
location on North Main Street in Freeport, NY in 2014. Prior to the
move, the Church had been granted property tax exemptions under section
420-a of the Real Property Tax Law because the property was used exclu-
sively for religious purposes. However, because of the move to their new
location in Freeport, the church did not file for its tax exempt status
by the appropriate tax status date for the year of 2014-15 with Nassau
County or the Village of Freeport and has subsequently received tax
bills from those entities. Due to the hardship that would result to the
Truth Haitian Pentecostal Church from not receiving the tax-exempt
status, a status the organization had received for many years prior to
this year, this legislation would authorize the Nassau County and the
Village of Freeport to retrospectively grant that tax-exempt status to
this organization under section 420-a of the Real Property Tax Law.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2016: S6227 Referred to Local Government

 
FISCAL IMPACT:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.