What's happening
This bill exempts public use easements, including trailways and bicycle paths, from real estate transfer tax and grants civil liability immunity to grantors.
Why it matters
Encourages landowners to allow public trailways and bicycle paths by removing the real estate transfer tax. on these specific easements, lowering the financial barrier to dedicating private land for public recreational use.
Provides broad civil liability immunity for grantors of public use easements. , meaning landowners are protected from lawsuits related to accidents or injuries that occur on these easements—this could reduce fears of legal risk and make more landowners willing to participate.
Clarifies and expands the definition of “public use”. to explicitly include trailways and bicycle paths, ensuring these types of easements are covered by the tax exemption and liability protection.
Aims to facilitate the creation and expansion of public outdoor recreation infrastructure. by addressing both financial and legal disincentives for private landowners, potentially increasing public access to open spaces and non-motorized transportation routes.
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Who cares
Headline styles
End Tax on Public Easements
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
2 Co-sponsors
1 Multi-sponsor
History
- Held for consideration in ways and means
- Referred to ways and means
- Referred to ways and means
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2081
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 22, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. CROUCH, BLANKENBUSH, MORINELLO -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. FINCH -- read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to exempting certain easements from the real estate transfer tax
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subparagraph 1 of paragraph (j) of subdivision 2 of section 1449-ee of the tax law, as added by chapter 114 of the laws of 1998, is amended to read as follows:
(1) agricultural, conservation, scenic, public use or an open space easement; for the purposes of this subparagraph "public use" shall include, but not be limited to, trailways and bicycle paths and the grantor of such public use easement shall, notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary, be immune from civil liability and action with respect to any act or omission relating to such easement,
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to all conveyances of real property subject to a public use easement occurring on and after such date; provided, however, that the amendments to subparagraph 1 of paragraph (j) of subdivision 2 of section 1449-ee of the tax law made by section one of this act shall not affect the repeal of such section and shall be deemed repealed therewith.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03060-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.