What's happening
This bill authorizes Otsego County to impose an additional mortgage recording tax through local law until December 31, 2022.
Why it matters
Potential increase in closing costs for homebuyers and property owners. The bill enables Otsego County to impose an additional mortgage recording tax, which would make purchasing or refinancing real estate in the county slightly more expensive, potentially affecting affordability and transaction volume.
Local revenue generation for county needs. All funds collected from this new tax, after administrative costs, are directed to Otsego County’s general fund and can be used for any county purpose, giving local government more flexibility and resources for services or infrastructure.
Temporary measure with local legislative control. This authority is not permanent; it expires at the end of 2022 unless extended. Otsego County’s legislature must actively pass or repeal the tax by local law, providing local oversight and the ability to respond to changing fiscal needs.
Administrative alignment with state procedures. The bill ensures that collection, apportionment, and remittance of the new tax follow established state procedures for mortgage taxes, minimizing administrative confusion and ensuring consistency with existing systems.
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Who cares
Headline styles
Add Otsego Mortgage Tax
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to ways and means
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 44–16
- Home rule request
- Ordered to third reading cal.982
- Reported and committed to rules
- Referred to investigations and government operations
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.
Otsego Mortgage Tax Increase
In Assembly Committee · Ways And Means · Sponsor John Salka
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7731
IN SENATE
February 11, 2020
Introduced by Sen. SEWARD -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to authorizing the county of Otsego to impose an additional mortgage recording tax; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. The tax law is amended by adding a new section 253-z to read as follows:
§ 253-z. Recording tax imposed by the county of Otsego. 1. Otsego county, acting through its local legislative body, is hereby authorized and empowered to adopt and amend local laws imposing in such county a tax of twenty-five cents for each one hundred dollars and each remaining major fraction thereof of principal debt or obligation which is or under any contingency may be secured at the date of execution thereof, or at any time thereafter, by a mortgage on real property situated within such county and recorded on or after the date upon which such tax takes effect and a tax of twenty-five cents on such mortgage if the principal debt or obligation which is or by any contingency may be secured by such mortgage is less than one hundred dollars.
2. The taxes imposed under the authority of this section shall be administered and collected in the same manner as the taxes imposed under subdivision one of section two hundred fifty-three and paragraph (b) of subdivision one of section two hundred fifty-five of this article. Except as otherwise provided in this section, all the provisions of this article relating to or applicable to the administration and collection of the taxes imposed by such subdivisions shall apply to the taxes imposed under the authority of this section with such modifications as may be necessary to adapt such language to the tax so authorized. Such provisions shall apply with the same force and effect as if those provisions had been set forth in full in this section except to the extent that any provision is either inconsistent with a provision of this section or not relevant to the tax authorized by this section. For
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15360-01-0
S. 7731 2
purposes of this section, any reference in this article to the tax or taxes imposed by this article shall be deemed to refer to a tax imposed pursuant to this section, and any reference to the phrase "within this state" shall be read as "within Otsego county", unless a different meaning is clearly required.
3. Where the real property covered by the mortgage subject to the tax imposed pursuant to the authority of this section is situated in this state but within and without the county imposing such tax, the amount of such tax due and payable to such county shall be determined in a manner similar to that prescribed in the first undesignated paragraph of section two hundred sixty of this article which concerns real property situated in two or more counties. Where such property is situated both within such county and without the state, the amount due and payable to such county shall be determined in the manner prescribed in the second undesignated paragraph of such section two hundred sixty which concerns property situated within and without the state. Where real property is situated within and without the county imposing such tax, the recording officer of the jurisdiction in which the mortgage is first recorded shall be required to collect the taxes imposed pursuant to this section.
4. A tax imposed pursuant to the authority of this section shall be in addition to the taxes imposed by section two hundred fifty-three of this article.
5. Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary, the balance of all moneys paid to the recording officer of the county of Otsego during each month upon account of the tax imposed pursuant to the authority of this section, after deducting the necessary expenses of his or her office as provided in section two hundred sixty-two of this article, except taxes paid upon mortgages which under the provisions of this section or section two hundred sixty of this article are first to be apportioned by the commissioner, shall be paid over by such officer on or before the tenth day of each succeeding month to the treasurer of Otsego county and, after the deduction by such treasurer of the necessary expenses of his or her office provided in section two hundred sixty-two of this article shall be deposited in the general fund of the county of Otsego for expenditure on any county purpose. Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding sentence, the tax so imposed and paid upon mortgages covering real property situated in two or more counties, which under the provisions of this section or section two hundred sixty of this article are first to be apportioned by the commissioner, shall be paid over by the recording officer receiving the same as provided by the determination of the commissioner.
6. Any local law imposing a tax pursuant to the authority of this section or repealing or suspending such a tax shall take effect only on the first day of a calendar month. Such a local law shall not be effective unless a certified copy thereof is mailed by registered or certified mail to the commissioner at the commissioner's office in Albany at least thirty days prior to the date the local law shall take effect.
7. Certified copies of any local law described in this section shall also be filed with the county clerk of the county of Otsego, the secretary of state and the state comptroller within five days after the date it is duly enacted.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall expire and be deemed repealed on and after December 31, 2022.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the tax law, in relation to authorizing the county of Otsego to impose an additional mortgage recording tax; and providing for the repeal of such provisions upon the expiration thereof
Purpose
To authorize Otsego County to levy an additional mortgage recording tax of twenty-five cents (.25) for each one hundred dollars ($100) of mort- gage value for a two year period.
Summary of provisions
Section 1 of the bill adds a new section, 253-z, to the tax law, author- izing Otsego County to impose an additional mortgage recording tax of twenty-five cents (25) for each one hundred dollars ($100) of mortgage value through December 31, 2022. Section one outlines the terms, condi- tions and manner under which the additional tax shall be imposed and collected. Section 2 provides an effective date.
Existing law
Current law does not permit Otsego County to collect an additional one- quarter percent mortgage tax.
Justification
Otsego County in 1971 suspended its collection of the additional one- quarter percent (.25%) mortgage recording tax authorized under the law. It is now one of few counties in New York State lacking such authority. The Otsego County Board of Representatives has adopted a resolution (No. 102-2020-0205) requesting that the state legislature introduce and pass legislation to authorize the county to impose an additional mortgage recording tax for the period through December 31, 2022. This measure is a home rule request, and requires subsequent action by the county board.
Legislative history
S. 5364 of 2018 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.
Effective date
Immediate NEW YORK STATE SENATE
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.