Provides for payment of state aid on account of state lands in the counties of Cayuga, Seneca and Wayne comprising the northern Montezuma wildlife management area

Summary of provisions

Bill section one would provide for the payment of State aid on State lands under the jurisdiction of the DEC located in the counties of Cayuga, Seneca and Wayne comprising the Northern Montezuma wildlife Management Area. The amount of State aid would be determined by applying the annual tax relief rate(s) for each taxing district in which the property is located to the assessed value of the lands as entered on the 1999 town assessment rolls, adjusted for any change in the level of assessment. Payments would be made on lands now owned by the State and also on lands that are acquired in the future.

Bill section 2 would make the bill effective immediately and provide that the first payment of State aid would be based upon assessment rolls completed in the year 2014.

Existing law

Sections 19a and 19b of the Public Lands Law currently provide for the payment of State aid on account of certain State lands, and sections 532, 534 and 536 of the Real Property Tax Law make certain State lands taxable for some or all local government purposes. However, none of those sections apply to state lands in the counties of Cayuga, Seneca or Wayne comprising the Northern Montezuma wildlife Management Area.

Justification

The lands that would be the subject of State aid payments are clearly of a Statewide benefit. The Northern Montezuma wildlife Management Area (NMWMA) is an important part of the very unique Montezuma Wetlands Complex and is included in one of only six State Bird Conservation Areas. The entire Complex totals 16,779 acres of land and is managed through the cooperative effort of DEC, the United States Fish and wildlife Service and private individuals and organizations. DEC manages approximately 6,450 acres.

The NMWMA, along with the remainder of the complex, provides critical habitat for resident and migratory water birds, songbirds, raptors and other wildlife including many rare and protected species such as the endangered peregrine falcon, black tern and short-eared owl, the threatened bald eagle, pied-billed grebe, least bittern and northern harrier, and the 7k.merican bittern, osprey and cerulean warbler which are of special concern. The area also is one of the most significant stopover and foraging locations for shorebirds in upstate New York, regularly hosting 1,000 or more of such individuals from over 25 species. Moreover, the area also supports breeding colonies of great blue herons and black-crowned night herons, and hosts one of the largest fall swallow concentrations in the state. In addition to providing habitat to scores of wildlife, the area provides recreation,

education and interpretive opportunities to an estimated 150,000 visitors annually, including 10,000 children on school trips with the completion of the recently announced Crusoe center, these opportunities will be significantly expanded in the future.

Despite the many state-wide benefits provided by the area, the impact of the current status of the lends as exempt from real property taxation falls solely on the owners of taxable real property within the municipalities. This bill would remedy this situation by providing state aid payments based upon the applicable local tax rate(s) in any given year, as applied against the assessments of those lands on the 1999 final assessment roll of the town(s) in which the lands are located payments would be made on the lands now owned by the state, such as those mentioned above, as well as on future acquisitions under the jurisdiction of DEC.

Prior legislative history

S.6166 of 2004 S.1947 of 2005/2006 S.326 of 2007/2008 S.3277 of 2009/2010 S.4914 of 2011/2012

Fiscal implications

Eased upon 1999-2000 school tax rates, and 2000 county and town tax rates, it is estimated that the amount of state aid that would be due under this bill would be approximately $86,000.

Effective date

Immediately.