What's happening
This bill allows Nassau County and Freeport assessors to grant a retroactive property tax exemption to Truth Haitian Pentecostal Church, Inc. for specific assessment years.
Why it matters
Addresses a missed deadline. The bill allows the Truth Haitian Pentecostal Church, Inc. to apply for a property tax exemption for past years (2014-2016) even though they missed the original filing deadlines, potentially correcting an administrative oversight.
Provides financial relief. If the exemption is granted, the church could receive refunds for property taxes already paid for those years, and any remaining taxes, penalties, or liens related to those years could be canceled, improving the church’s financial stability.
Sets a precedent for similar cases. By authorizing retroactive exemptions and refunds, the legislation may encourage other nonprofits or religious organizations to seek similar legislative remedies when they miss exemption deadlines, highlighting the flexibility local governments can exercise.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Tax Relief for Church
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 8
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to local government
- Referred to local government
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1667
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 15, 2019
Introduced by Sen. BROOKS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
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
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the assessors of the county of Nassau and the village of Freeport are hereby authorized to accept from the Truth Haitian Pentecostal Church, Inc. an application for exemption from real property taxes pursuant to section 420-a of the real property tax law for the 2014-2015 assessment roll, the school taxes for the 2015-2016 school year and the village taxes for the 2015 assessment roll for the parcel located in the Village of Freeport at 354 N. Main Street, otherwise known as: section 55, block 363, lot 662.
If accepted, such application shall be reviewed as if it had been received on or before the taxable status dates established for such rolls. If satisfied that such organization would otherwise be entitled to such exemption if such organization had filed an application for exemption by the appropriate taxable status dates, the assessor of the county of Nassau, upon approval of the Nassau county legislature, and the assessor of the village of Freeport upon the approval of the board of trustees of the village of Freeport may grant exemption from all taxation and make appropriate corrections to the subject rolls. If such exemption is granted and such organization therefore shall have paid any tax with respect to the subject rolls, the governing body or tax department may, in its sole discretion, provide for the refund of those taxes paid and cancel any taxes, fines, penalties, interest or tax liens remaining unpaid.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06898-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
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 prop- erty taxes from the Truth Haitian Pentecostal Church, Inc. for a certain parcel in the town of Hempstead, Village of Freeport
Purpose
The purpose of this bill is to authorize the assessors of the county of Nassau and the Village of Freeport to retroactively accept an applica- tion for an exemption from real property taxes from the Truth Haitian Pentecostal Church.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. provides authorization to the assessors of Nassau county and the village of Freeport to retroactively accept an application for exemption from real property taxes from the Truth Haitian Pentecostal Church.
Section 2. is the enacting clause.
Justification
Initially located in the hamlet of Uniondale in the town of Hempstead NY, The Truth Haitian Pentecostal Church has been a strong community influence on Long Island since 2008. In 2014, the Church moved to a new location on North Main Street in Freeport, NY. 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 exclusively 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 imposed on the Truth Haitian Pente- costal Church from not receiving a tax-exempt status, this legislation would authorize the Nassau County and the Village of Freeport to retros- pectively grant that tax-exempt status to this organization under section 420-a of the Real Property Tax Law.
Fiscal implications
None to the state
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.