Bill Text: NY A04406 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Enacts the residential structure fire prevention act of 2019; provides a tax credit to homeowners who remove cock loft fire hazards in their homes; provides an insurance discount for the installation of smoke detecting alarm devices in cock lofts; provides that the repair of cock lofts for the purpose of fire prevention and safety shall be qualifying expenditures under state housing programs.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2019-11-20 - VETOED MEMO.147 [A04406 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A04406-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4406
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                    February 4, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced by M. of A. LENTOL -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Ways and Means
        AN ACT to amend the tax law, the insurance law and the executive law, in
          relation  to enacting the residential structure fire prevention act of
          2019
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  This act shall be known and may be cited as the "residen-
     2  tial structure fire prevention act of 2019".
     3    § 2. Section 606 of the tax law is amended by adding a new  subsection
     4  (jjj) to read as follows:
     5    (jjj) Credit for removing certain fire hazards. (1) Any resident owner
     6  of    real  property  as  defined in section one hundred two of the real
     7  property tax law shall be allowed a credit  against  the  tax  otherwise
     8  imposed  under this article in an amount equal to twenty-five percent of
     9  the cost of removing fire hazards commonly known as cock lofts, provided
    10  that such credit shall not exceed five thousand dollars. For purposes of
    11  this section the term "cock loft" shall mean a completely enclosed space
    12  between rafters and a suspended ceiling.
    13    (2) If the amount of the credit allowed under this subsection for  any
    14  taxable  year  shall exceed the taxpayer's tax for such year, the excess
    15  shall be treated as an overpayment of tax to be credited or refunded  in
    16  accordance with the provisions of section six hundred eighty-six of this
    17  article, provided, however, that no interest shall be paid thereon.
    18    §  3.  Section  2346  of  the insurance law is amended by adding a new
    19  subsection 6 to read as follows:
    20    6. The superintendent shall provide  for  an  actuarially  appropriate
    21  reduction  in the rates of fire insurance premiums or the fire insurance
    22  component of homeowners insurance  premiums  applicable  to  residential
    23  real property equipped with smoke detecting alarm devices in cock lofts.
    24  The  superintendent  shall  by  regulation establish standards for smoke
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08238-01-9
        A. 4406                             2
     1  detecting alarm devices in cock lofts, including  the  safe  and  secure
     2  installation  thereof.  For the purposes of this subsection, "cock loft"
     3  shall mean a completely enclosed space between rafters and  a  suspended
     4  ceiling.
     5    §  4.  The  executive  law is amended by adding a new section 170-c to
     6  read as follows:
     7    § 170-c. Repair of certain fire hazards. Any state agency or  authori-
     8  ty,  including but not limited to the New York state energy research and
     9  development authority, division of housing  and  community  renewal  and
    10  state of New York mortgage agency, that provides a housing program shall
    11  include  the repair of cock lofts for the purpose of fire prevention and
    12  safety as a qualifying expenditure  under  any  such  program.  For  the
    13  purposes  of  this section, "cock loft" shall mean a completely enclosed
    14  space between rafters and a suspended ceiling.
    15    § 5. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to taxable
    16  years beginning on or after January 1, 2020.