What's happening
This bill allows local governments in New York to grant property tax exemptions to clinicians who buy homes in designated clinician shortage areas, with state reimbursement for lost revenue.
Why it matters
Targets clinician shortages in underserved areas. By allowing local governments to offer tax exemptions for clinicians’ primary residences, the bill creates a direct financial incentive for doctors, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and nurse midwives to relocate to regions struggling to attract medical professionals.
Local flexibility with state support. Municipalities and school districts have the discretion to adopt these exemptions based on local needs, while the state reimburses lost tax revenue—reducing financial risk for local governments and potentially increasing buy-in.
Defined and regularly updated shortage areas. The bill requires the state health commissioner to maintain and update a public list of “clinician shortage areas” every two years, ensuring incentives are targeted to communities with the most acute healthcare access problems, and specifying which types of clinicians are most needed in each area.
Limits and safeguards to prevent abuse. Exemptions are capped at five years and 35% of assessed property value, and only apply to new home purchases after the law’s enactment. Localities can impose further restrictions (such as property value caps), helping to ensure the benefit is used as intended and does not create excessive fiscal impact.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Tax Breaks for Clinicians
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to health
- Reported and committed to finance
- Referred to health
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Tax Breaks for Clinicians
In Assembly Committee · Real Property Taxation · Sponsor Billy Jones
Full text
3 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
2909
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 30, 2019
Introduced by Sen. GRIFFO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Health
AN ACT to amend the public health law and the real property tax law, in relation to authorizing real property taxing jurisdictions to grant a tax exemption for a primary residence purchased by a clinician in a clinician shortage area; and to amend the real property tax law, in relation to providing state aid to such jurisdictions for the savings granted by such exemption
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby finds that several communities within the state, particularly those located within rural areas, lack adequate access to clinicians. It is well established that ensuring the sufficient availability of physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurse midwives directly benefits the health of state residents, and the legislature has enacted several measures towards that end.
Furthermore, the legislature finds that municipalities are often best situated to evaluate the needs of their communities. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to offer counties, cities, towns, villages and school districts the option to provide real property tax exemptions, should they determine that such an incentive would aid in attracting clinicians to areas currently underserved by the medical community.
§ 2. Section 206 of the public health law is amended by adding a new subdivision 31 to read as follows:
31. (a) The commissioner shall biennially designate and make available a list of designated clinician shortage areas in the state. A designated clinician shortage area shall be a county or other sub-county geographic area determined by the commissioner to be in short supply of clinicians in primary care practice and/or one or more medical specialities. The list shall indicate for each designated clinician shortage area, if the
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD03241-01-9
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area is in short supply of primary care physicians, medical specialty physicians and which medical specialty is in short supply in the designated shortage area, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurse midwives.
(b) In establishing designated clinician shortage areas, the commissioner, to the extent practicable, shall utilize criteria consistent with the criteria utilized to make awards for the physician practice support program established pursuant to paragraph (e) of subdivision five-a of section twenty-eight hundred seven-m of this chapter.
(c) For the purposes of this subdivision, "medical specialty or specialty area" shall mean the branch or branches of special competence within a physician's medical practice as evidenced by their certification by a speciality medical board acceptable to the commissioner.
(d) For the purposes of this subdivision, "clinician" shall mean a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, or nurse midwife.
§ 3. The real property tax law is amended by adding a new section 439 to read as follows:
§ 439. Real property tax exemptions in designated clinician shortage area. 1. A municipal corporation or school district may exempt real property purchased by a clinician for use solely as his or her primary residence, to the extent provided in this section, from taxation by such municipal corporation or school district if the clinician resides in and has an office located within a clinician shortage area as designated by the commissioner of health pursuant to subdivision thirty-one of section two hundred six of the public health law. After a public hearing, the governing body of a municipal corporation may adopt a local law, and the board of a school district, other than a school district subject to article fifty-two of the education law, may adopt a resolution, to grant the exemption authorized pursuant to this section.
2. Exemptions provided pursuant to subdivision one of this section shall only apply to real property purchased on or after the effective date of this section, and the subsequent enactment of a local law or adoption of a resolution to grant such real property tax exemption.
3. Any local law or resolution adopted pursuant to subdivision one of this section shall establish the duration and percentage of such an exemption, which shall exceed neither a period of five years nor thirty-five percent of the property's assessed value. Such local law or resolution may include other conditions or restrictions, including but not limited to provisions regarding the maximum value of eligible property, at the discretion of the promulgating municipal corporation or school district.
4. A copy of such local laws or resolutions shall be filed with the state board and the assessor for such municipal corporation or school district who prepares the assessment roll upon which the taxes of such municipal corporation or school district are levied.
§ 4. The real property tax law is amended by adding a new section 985 to read as follows:
§ 985. Effect of exemption in designated clinician shortage areas. 1. In a municipal corporation or school district which elects to provide the real property tax exemption in a designated clinician shortage area pursuant to section four hundred thirty-nine of this chapter, the amount of taxes to be levied for any tax year or school year, as the case may be, shall be determined without regard to the fact that state aid will be payable pursuant to this section. In addition, the tax rate for any such year shall be determined as if no parcels are exempt from taxation pursuant to section four hundred thirty-nine of this chapter. However,
S. 2909 3
the tax rate so determined shall be applied to the taxable assessed value of each parcel after accounting for all applicable exemptions, including the exemption authorized by section four hundred thirty-nine of this chapter.
2. The tax savings for each parcel receiving the exemption authorized by section four hundred thirty-nine of this chapter shall be computed by subtracting the amount actually levied against the parcel from the amount that would have been levied if not for the exemption.
3. (a) The total tax savings duly provided by a municipal corporation or school district pursuant to this section shall be a state charge, which shall be payable as provided in this subdivision.
(b) A municipal corporation or school district seeking state aid pursuant to this subdivision shall submit an application therefor to the commissioner. The application shall include such information as the commissioner shall require.
(c) Upon approving an application for state aid pursuant to this subdivision, the commissioner shall compute and certify the amount payable to a municipal corporation or school district. Such state aid shall be payable upon the audit and warrant of the state comptroller from vouchers certified and approved by the commissioner.
§ 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to tax years beginning on or after the first of March next succeeding such effective date; or in the case of municipal taxing authorities which have a taxable status date other than March first established by charter, this act shall take effect with the first establishment of the taxable status of real property in the municipality next succeeding the effective date of this act.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the public health law and the real property tax law, in relation to authorizing real property taxing jurisdictions to grant a tax exemption for a primary residence purchased by a clinician in a clinician shortage area; and to amend the real property tax law, in relation to providing state aid to such jurisdictions for the savings granted by such exemption
Purpose
The purpose of this bill is to provide a partial tax exemption for real property purchased by a clinician for use as primary residence when the clinician works in and the property is located in a clinician shortage area designated by the Commissioner.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 states the legislative findings and intent.
Read the full memo (766 words)
Section 2 states the Commissioner of Health shall biennially designate and make available a list of designated clinician shortage areas by county or other sub-county geographic area that lacks primary care and/or other medical specialty clinicians in a manner consistent with designated physician shortage area determinations made under the Doctors Across New York Program.
Section 3 authorizes an exemption from local property and school taxes for primary residential property purchases of clinicians residing and working in areas designated by the Commissioner as experiencing a clini- cian shortage, conditioned upon the local taxing authority passing an authorizing law or resolution. The exemption cannot be for a period longer than 5 years, on property purchased on or after the effective date of this act, and is for a maximum of 35% of the value of the real property's assessed value.
Section 4 provides that the total savings provided by a municipal corpo- ration or school district shall be a state charge.
Section 5 provides that this act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to tax years beginning on or after the first of March next succeeding such effective date; or in the case of municipal taxing authorities, which have a taxable status date other than March first established by charter, this act shall take effect with the first estab- lishment of the taxable status of real property in the municipality next succeeding the effective date of this act.
Justification
Many communities in New York State are experiencing a growing clinician shortage, reaching crisis proportions in some geographic regions and in some medical specialties. A survey of its members by the Health Care Association of New York State (HANYS) reported that 104 hospitals outside of New York City had a current need for 1,400 clinicians (almost 40% in primary care). In addition to primary care, severe shortages exist in general surgery, OB-GYN, urology and psychiatry. Many areas of the State have seen rapid declines in their clinician supply and with an average clinician age of 52 (almost 30% are over 60 years of age); the shortage is only expected to worsen. On the demand side for clinician services, New York's population age 65 and over increased 25% between 1980 and 2000 and, the population over age 80 (who use the most health resources) is expected to double by the year 2020.
Clearly, both the health care community and state government must focus on this clinician supply issue and work together to implement a multi- faceted plan to address the problem. The "Doctors Across New York" Program is a strong step forward, however, additional initiatives are essential to the continued viability of rural New York State. By exempt- ing part of a clinician's residence from real property tax when the local taxing authority chooses to grant the exemption, this bill provides New York State's medically underserved communities with another tool to attract clinicians.
This clinician shortage is an imminent threat to the health, safety and the economic viability of these communities and their residents. Howev- er, it is clear that local communities cannot bear the burden of these costs. This bill would allow school districts and municipalities to be reimbursed by the State for the amount of foregone tax revenue.
Legislative history
2018 - S. 7661 - Finance Committee/A. 10440 - Real Property Taxation. 2017 - Finance Committee. 2015-16 - S. 1289a - Finance Committee.
Fiscal implications
Undetermined.
Effective date
This bill take effects immediately and applies to tax years beginning on or after the first of March next succeeding such effective date; or in the case of municipal taxing authorities, which have a taxable status, date other than March first established by charter, this act shall take effect with the first establishment of the taxable status of real prop- erty in the municipality next succeeding the effective date of this act.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.