Bill Text: NY A08647 | 2011-2012 | General Assembly | Introduced

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

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Bill Title: Establishes the flood assessment relief act of 2011 to permit municipalities to reassess property that has been damaged by a flood in counties in which a disaster has been declared.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-01-04 - referred to real property taxation [A08647 Detail]

Download: New_York-2011-A08647-Introduced.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                         8647
                              2011-2012 Regular Sessions
                                 I N  A S S E M B L Y
                                   October 11, 2011
                                      ___________
       Introduced  by  M.  of  A. LUPARDO, CAHILL, LATIMER, MAGNARELLI, LIFTON,
         AMEDORE, GABRYSZAK, P. LOPEZ, FINCH, CASTELLI, PALMESANO,  TEDISCO  --
         Multi-Sponsored  by  --  M. of A.  CROUCH -- read once and referred to
         the Committee on Real Property Taxation
       AN ACT to establish the "flood assessment relief act of 2011"
         THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
       BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
    1    Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
    2  the "flood assessment relief act of 2011".
    3    S 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this act,  the  following  terms
    4  shall have the following meanings:
    5    1.  "County"  shall  mean  the  counties that have been declared state
    6  disaster emergency declaration areas by the governor on or after Septem-
    7  ber 1, 2011.
    8    2. "Taxable status date" shall mean the date established  pursuant  to
    9  section 302 of the real property tax law.
   10    3. "Catastrophically impacted" shall mean a property there is cause to
   11  believe  the  value  of  which was diminished by 50 percent or more as a
   12  result of the weather.
   13    4. "Taxpayer" shall mean    the  owner  of  real  property  which  was
   14  catastrophically impacted in a county.
   15    5. "Assessor" shall mean a town, city, or village assessor or board of
   16  assessors in a county.
   17    6.  "Property  owner"  shall  mean  the  owner of real property who is
   18  responsible for payment of real property taxes on such property.
   19    7. "Weather" shall mean the storms, rains, or floods which occurred in
   20  a county during the period beginning September 1, 2011.
   21    8. "Correction" shall mean the process for the correction of a  "cler-
   22  ical  error"  as defined in section 550 of the real property tax law and
   23  as provided for in title 3 of article 5 of the real property tax law.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD13441-01-1
       A. 8647                             2
    1    S 3. Local option. A county may exercise the provisions of this act if
    2  such county's governing body shall, by December 1, 2011, pass  a  resol-
    3  ution  resolving  to  implement the provisions of this act. Prior to the
    4  passage of such resolution, the chief executive officer of a county  (or
    5  the  representative  thereof)  shall consult with those municipal corpo-
    6  rations as defined in subdivision 10 of section 102 of the real property
    7  tax law  which such chief executive officer has reason to believe had at
    8  least 10 properties whose value was diminished as a result of the weath-
    9  er and shall secure the  written  consent  of  such  corporation  to  be
   10  included in scope and coverage of such resolution.
   11    S  4.  Assessment  relief for flood victims. Notwithstanding any other
   12  provision of law to the contrary, a taxpayer whose real property is in a
   13  county and whose property has been catastrophically impacted as a result
   14  of weather occurring in the state of New York  may  seek  administrative
   15  review  or correction of the valuation assigned to such real property or
   16  the improvements thereon pursuant to the provisions of article 5 of  the
   17  real property tax law. An assessor shall also seek administrative review
   18  or  correction  of  valuations  on  any  property he or she believes was
   19  catastrophically impacted as a result of such weather.
   20    In the event such review or correction is sought, the board of assess-
   21  ment review or other authorized body or officer, in making such determi-
   22  nations as it is otherwise authorized to make pursuant to the provisions
   23  of the real property tax law, shall consider the taxable status date  as
   24  provided  for in section 302 of the real property tax law, to be Septem-
   25  ber 9, 2011 instead of the taxable status date otherwise provided for in
   26  such section or any other provision of law.
   27    Any complaint by a taxpayer who is also the property owner and who  is
   28  seeking  a  lower valuation, shall not be required to suggest such valu-
   29  ation to the board of assessment review, but such suggestion may be made
   30  by an assessor or board of assessors, even if such assessor or board  of
   31  assessors  is  not the party who has made the application for assessment
   32  review.
   33    In the event the assessor seeks an administrative determination before
   34  a board of assessment review of any property he or she is not  an  owner
   35  of  or otherwise entitled by law to seek an administrative determination
   36  from such board, such assessor shall also seek an administrative  deter-
   37  mination and a lower valuation of all such properties he or she believes
   38  were  catastrophically  impacted  by  weather  within such jurisdiction.
   39  Such determination may be sought in a class application by the  assessor
   40  to  the  board of assessment review filed pursuant to either section 524
   41  or 553 of the real property tax law.  The failure of  such  assessor  to
   42  seek such a determination for all such catastrophically impacted proper-
   43  ties  shall not impair the effectiveness of any review sought by such an
   44  assessor and a cause of action against  such  assessor  for  failing  to
   45  include  any  specific  property  or class of properties shall not exist
   46  under the laws of this state. The board of assessment review may  accept
   47  applications   for  administrative  review  of  the  assessment  of  any
   48  catastrophically impacted property up until and including May  1,  2012;
   49  provided  that  where such an application has not been submitted by that
   50  date, the assessor or taxpayer may nonetheless seek  correction  of  the
   51  assessment in the manner provided by section 553, 554 or 556 of the real
   52  property tax law, whichever is appropriate.
   53    The  rights  contained  in  this  act shall not otherwise diminish any
   54  other legally available right of any property owner  or  party  who  may
   55  otherwise  lawfully  challenge  the  valuation or assessment of any real
   56  property or improvements thereon.  All remaining rights, including,  but
       A. 8647                             3
    1  not  limited  to,  the  right  to  seek  correction of the assessment as
    2  provided for in sections 554 and 556 of the real property tax law and to
    3  judicially challenge such assessment  or  valuation  hereby  remain  and
    4  shall  be  available to the party to whom such rights would otherwise be
    5  available notwithstanding this act.
    6    S 5. School districts held harmless. Each school district located in a
    7  county, as defined in subdivision one of section two of this act,  shall
    8  be  held harmless by the state for any reduction in state aid that would
    9  have been paid as tax savings pursuant to section  1306-a  of  the  real
   10  property tax law incurred due to the provisions of this act.
   11    S  6.  The  Director  of  the Office of Real Property Tax Services, or
   12  other chief administrative official of that office within the Department
   13  of Taxation and Finance is authorized to develop a  guidance  memorandum
   14  for  use  of assessing units. Such guidance memorandum shall assist with
   15  the implementation of this act and shall be deemed to be binding on  all
   16  assessing  units in counties which implement the provisions of this act.
   17  The guidance memorandum shall have  no  force  or  effect  or  serve  as
   18  authority  for any other act of assessing units or of the interpretation
   19  or implementation of the laws of the State of New York  except  as  they
   20  relate to the specific implementation of this act.
   21    S  7.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
   22  have been in full force and effect on and after September 1, 2011.