What's happening
This bill uses newer property assessments to calculate school district wealth for state aid.
Why it matters
Statewide reach. Changes the property valuation calculation used for school districts across New York.
Newer assessments. Uses assessment rolls from the calendar year in which the base year began, rather than two years earlier.
Aid calculations. Changes a property wealth measure used for state school aid, without specifying funding increases or cuts.
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Who cares
School district administrators
Their districts’ property valuations for state aid calculations would use newer assessment rolls.
State education aid officials
They would need to apply the revised assessment-year requirement.
School boards
They would have an interest in how the revised valuation affects their districts’ state aid calculations.
Headline styles
Update School Aid Property Values
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to education
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
893
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 9, 2019
Introduced by Sen. YOUNG -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to actual valuation for state education aid purposes
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph c of subdivision 1 of section 3602 of the education law, as amended by section 11 of part B of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, is amended to read as follows:
c. "Actual valuation" shall mean the valuation of taxable real property in a school district obtained by taking the assessed valuation of taxable real property within such district as it appears upon the assessment roll of the town, city, village, or county in which such property is located, for the calendar year [two years prior to the calendar year] in which the base year commenced, after revision as provided by law, and dividing it by the state equalization rate as determined by the state board of equalization and assessment, for the assessment roll of such town, city, village, or county completed during such preceding calendar year. The actual valuation of a central high school district shall be the sum of such valuations of its component districts. Such actual valuation shall include any actual valuation equivalent of payments in lieu of taxes determined pursuant to section four hundred eighty-five of the real property tax law. "Selected actual valuation" shall mean the lesser of actual valuation calculated for aid payable in the current year or the two-year average of the actual valuation calculated for aid payable in the current year and the actual valuation calculated for aid payable in the base year.
§ 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04133-01-9
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the education law, in relation to actual valuation for state education aid purposes
Purpose
Provides that actual valuation, for state school aid purposes, shall be based on the calendar in which the base year commenced.
Summary of specific provisions
Section one amends paragraph c of subdivision 1 of section 3602 of the Education law to require that the valuation of taxable real property in a school district obtained by taking the assessed valuation of taxable real property within such district as it appears upon the assessment roll of the town, city, village, or county in which such property is located, for the calendar year immediately preceding the calendar year in which the base year commenced be used.
Section 2 sets forth the effective date.
Justification
Technology has progressed significantly in the past twenty years. With these advances has come the ability to compile and use data almost in real time.
Unfortunately, the current school aid formula is inconsistent in that it relies upon stale data. Local tax levy changes from year to year are based on the changes in local property values. Yet, the state aid formu- la to determine state school aid, including the GEA, the foundation aid formula, and cost-driven aids, use property value data that is over three years old in calculating aid that is then used by schools four to five years later.
This significant lag in data causes a disconnect between state school aid, which uses outdated property values and the funding schools are authorized to raise from a local share of aid. This makes it difficult for schools to accurately determine both their funding needs and the amount of aid they can expect to receive, especially in the face of a fluctuating and weak economy.
In this age where real-time data sharing is simple to do through inter- net and other electronic means, the formula to determine state school aid funding should use data from the same base year as the year school districts use to determine the local share of funding. By implementing this legislation, schools will receive state school aid consistent with the most current property data available. It will enable schools to meet their fiscal obligations and needs based on school aid driven by data from the most recent preceding year instead of from three or more years prior.
Prior legislative history
2018: S.3953-A Referred to Education 2017: S.3953 Referred to Education 2015,2016: S.2072 Referred to Education 2014: S.4313-A Referred to Education 2013: S.4313 Referred to Education
Fiscal implications
Undetermined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect on the first of July next following enact- ment.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.