What's happening
This bill requires New York State to pay local property taxes on certain privately owned, tax-exempt lands used for public purposes.
Why it matters
Addresses fiscal strain on local governments. By requiring the state to pay property taxes on tax-exempt, privately owned lands used for public purposes, the bill compensates localities that lose tax revenue due to these exemptions, potentially helping to fund schools and municipal services.
Targets areas with above-average exempt land. Only local governments with a higher-than-average proportion of fully exempt, privately owned property (for their category) qualify, making the bill especially relevant for communities that bear a disproportionate burden from state-mandated exemptions.
Ensures state benefit and oversight. The lands in question must provide significant services to New Yorkers from outside the local area and be certified as serving state-level public parkland functions, ensuring state payments are tied to broader public benefit rather than strictly local use.
Mandates annual reporting and accountability. Owners or managers of these properties must annually report the value of the regional and statewide services provided, compared to the state payments received, which could increase transparency and justify the continued use of state funds for local tax payments.
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Who cares
Headline styles
State Pays Local Property Taxes
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to real property taxation
- Referred to real property taxation
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
241
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY (Prefiled)
January 9, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. CAHILL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Real Property Taxation
AN ACT to amend the real property tax law in relation to state payment of local taxes on certain privately owned lands that the state requires to be fully exempt from property taxation
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The real property tax law is amended by adding a new section 537 to read as follows:
§ 537. State payment of local taxes on certain privately owned lands. (a) For all counties, cities, towns, villages and school districts in which privately owned property is fully exempt from property taxation for educational purposes without the requirement of local consent as provided by section one of article sixteen of the state constitution, and in which the proportion of fully exempt privately owned property exceeds the mean for the state for the class of local government within which that county, city, town, village or school district is included, and is certified as performing the function or the functions of stateowned public parkland by the secretary of state, and that can demonstrate significant service to citizens of the state residing outside the county in which the civil subdivision is located in accord with criteria specified by the secretary, the state of New York shall pay all property taxes in the same amounts and at the same time as it pays taxes on certain state-owned properties as specified in section five hundred thirty-two of this title.
(b) Owners or managers of all fully exempt private properties for which the state pays property taxes under the provisions of this section shall report on or before December thirty-first of each year to the secretary of state, in a form and in accord with criteria specified by the secretary, on the value of regional and statewide services provided
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03125-01-9
A. 241 2
by those fully exempt properties, compared to the estimated value of the state payment provided.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding the date on which it shall have become a law and shall apply to assessment rolls prepared on the basis of taxable status dates occurring on or after such date.
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.