Senate Bill S8726

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8726
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                              January 7, 2026
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  WEIK  --  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  requiring
   applications for property tax exemptions by nonprofit organizations be
   filed at the time of purchase of a property
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 11, subparagraph  (ii)  of  paragraph  (a)  and
 subparagraph  (i) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 16 of section 420-a of
 the real property tax law, subdivision 11 as added by chapter 261 of the
 laws of 1992 and as further amended by subdivision (b) of section  1  of
 part W of chapter 56 of the laws of 2010, and subparagraph (ii) of para-
 graph  (a)  and  subparagraph  (i) of paragraph (b) of subdivision 16 as
 added by chapter 358 of the  laws  of  2018,  are  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   11. An exemption may be granted pursuant to this section upon applica-
 tion by the owner on a form prescribed by the commissioner or any compa-
 rable  form,  which  application  may  be filed with the assessor of the
 appropriate county, city, town or village on or  before  the  applicable
 taxable  status  date.  SUCH  APPLICATION  SHALL BE FILED AT THE TIME OF
 PURCHASE OF THE PROPERTY.   THE BUYER'S  ATTORNEY  OR  AUTHORIZED  AGENT
 RESPONSIBLE  FOR  FILING WHO FAILS TO TIMELY FILE SUCH APPLICATION SHALL
 BE FINED IN AN AMOUNT EQUIVALENT TO TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF  THE  PROPER-
 TY'S  ASSESSED  TAXES.  Where the assessor receives no such application,
 the assessor may nevertheless grant the exemption provided the  assessor
 personally inspects the property and certifies in writing that it satis-
 fies  all  of  the requirements for exemption set forth in this section.
 Where property is not granted an exemption pursuant to this section, the
 owner may seek judicial review pursuant to article seven of this chapter
 or article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules.
   (ii) Where a nonprofit organization that meets the requirements for an
 exemption pursuant to this section, purchases property after the levy of
 taxes, such nonprofit organization may, if permitted  by  a  local  law,
 ordinance  or  resolution  of  the  municipal  corporation  in which the
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD13631-02-5
 S. 8726                             2
 
 nonprofit organization is located, file  an  application  for  exemption
 with  the  assessor [no later than the time specified in such local law,
 ordinance or resolution]. SUCH APPLICATION SHALL BE FILED AT THE TIME OF
 PURCHASE  OF  THE  PROPERTY.    A  NONPROFIT  ORGANIZATION'S ATTORNEY OR
 AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE WHO FAILS  TO  TIMELY  FILE  SUCH  APPLICATION
 SHALL  BE  FINED  IN  AN AMOUNT EQUIVALENT TO TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE
 PROPERTY'S ASSESSED TAXES. The assessor shall make  a  determination  of
 whether  the  parcel  would  have qualified for exempt status on the tax
 roll on which the taxes were levied, had title to the parcel been in the
 name of the applicant on the taxable status date applicable to  the  tax
 roll. The application shall be on a form prescribed by the commissioner.
 The  assessor,  no later than thirty days after receipt of such applica-
 tion, shall notify both  the  applicant  and  the  board  of  assessment
 review, by first class mail, of the exempt amount, if any, and the right
 of the owner to a review of the exempt amount upon the filing of a writ-
 ten  complaint.  Such  complaint  shall  be  on a form prescribed by the
 commissioner and shall be filed with  the  board  of  assessment  review
 within  twenty  days  of  the mailing of such notice. If no complaint is
 received, the board of assessment review shall so  notify  the  assessor
 and  the exempt amount determined by the assessor shall be final. If the
 applicant files a complaint, the board of assessment review shall sched-
 ule a time and place for a hearing with respect thereto  no  later  than
 thirty  days  after the mailing of the notice by the assessor. The board
 of assessment review shall meet and determine  the  exempt  amount,  and
 shall  immediately notify the assessor and the applicant, by first class
 mail, of its determination. The amount of exemption determined  pursuant
 to  this  paragraph  shall  be  subject to review as provided in article
 seven of this chapter. Such a proceeding shall be commenced within thir-
 ty days of the mailing of the notice of the board of  assessment  review
 to the new owner as provided in this paragraph.
   (i)  Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, where a nonprofit
 organization that meets the requirements for an  exemption  pursuant  to
 this section, purchases property after the taxable status date but prior
 to the levy of taxes, such nonprofit organization may, if permitted by a
 local law, ordinance or resolution of the municipal corporation in which
 the  nonprofit  organization  is  located,  file  an  application for an
 exemption with the assessor [within thirty days of the transfer of title
 to such nonprofit organization]. SUCH APPLICATION SHALL BE FILED AT  THE
 TIME  OF  PURCHASE OF THE PROPERTY.  A NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION'S ATTORNEY
 OR AUTHORIZED REPRESENTATIVE WHO FAILS TO TIMELY FILE  SUCH  APPLICATION
 SHALL  BE  FINED  IN  AN AMOUNT EQUIVALENT TO TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT OF THE
 PROPERTY'S ASSESSED TAXES. The assessor shall make a determination with-
 in thirty days after receipt of such application of whether  the  appli-
 cant  would  qualify  for  an  exemption pursuant to this section on the
 assessment roll if title had been in the name of the  applicant  on  the
 taxable  status date applicable to such assessment roll. The application
 shall be made on a form prescribed by the commissioner.
   § 2. This act shall take effect January 1, 2027.