What's happening
This bill allows the Hamburg Central School District to receive and use video lottery gaming payments to increase support for public schools.
Why it matters
Expands state funding eligibility. to include the Hamburg Central School District, giving it access to a revenue stream previously limited to counties, cities, towns, and villages with video lottery gaming facilities—this opens up new fiscal resources for the district.
Allows direct support for public schools. from gaming revenues, not just tax relief or defraying facility costs; this means funds can go toward educational programs, staff, or student services that might otherwise face budget constraints.
Sets a precedent. for other school districts in New York that host or are near video lottery gaming facilities, potentially influencing future policy and similar funding expansions statewide.
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Who cares
Hamburg Central School District
The bill would make the district eligible for state aid tied to video lottery gaming facilities beginning April 1, 2025, and allow it to use those payments to increase support for its public schools.
Students and families in Hamburg Central School District
The district could use the aid to provide increased support to the public schools they attend.
Hamburg Central School District property taxpayers
The bill would allow the district to use the aid to minimize or reduce real property taxes, as an alternative to increasing school support or defraying costs associated with a video lottery gaming facility.
Headline styles
Let Schools Use Casino Funds
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Enacting clause stricken
- Referred to education
Full text
1 pageUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1052
2025-2026 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 8, 2025
Introduced by M. of A. RIVERA -- read once and referred to the Committee on Education
AN ACT to amend the state finance law, in relation to authorizing the Hamburg Central School District to utilize certain payments related to video lottery gaming facilities to provide increased support to public schools
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Paragraph b of subdivision 1 and paragraph b of subdivision 3 of section 54-l of the state finance law, as added by section 1 of part J of chapter 57 of the laws of 2011, are amended to read as follows:
b. "Eligible municipality" shall mean a county, city, town or village in which a video lottery gaming facility is located pursuant to section sixteen hundred seventeen-a of the tax law that is not located in a city with a population equal to or greater than one hundred twenty-five thousand. Beginning April first, two thousand twenty-five, "eligible municipality" shall also include the Hamburg Central School District in the town of Hamburg, county of Erie.
b. State aid payments made to an eligible municipality pursuant to paragraph b of subdivision two of this section shall be used by such eligible municipality to: (i) defray local costs associated with a video lottery gaming facility, or (ii) minimize or reduce real property taxes, or (iii) for an eligible municipality that is a school district, increase support for public schools in such district.
§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01165-01-5
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.