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

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-Amended.html

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                           S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
       ________________________________________________________________________
                                        8647--A
                              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,  TITONE  -- read once and
         referred to the Committee  on  Real  Property  Taxation  --  committee
         discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted
         to said committee
       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 August
    7  26, 2011 and prior to September 12, 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 August 26, 2011 and ending  Septem-
   21  ber 12, 2011.
        EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                             [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                  LBD13441-03-1
       A. 8647--A                          2
    1    8.  "Correction" shall mean the process for the correction of a "cler-
    2  ical error" as defined in section 550 of the real property tax  law  and
    3  as provided for in title 3 of article 5 of the real property tax law.
    4    S 3. Local option. A county may exercise the provisions of this act if
    5  such  county's  governing body shall, by December 1, 2011, pass a resol-
    6  ution resolving to implement the provisions of this act.  Prior  to  the
    7  passage  of such resolution, the chief executive officer of a county (or
    8  the representative thereof) shall consult with  those  municipal  corpo-
    9  rations as defined in subdivision 10 of section 102 of the real property
   10  tax law  which such chief executive officer has reason to believe had at
   11  least 10 properties whose value was diminished as a result of the weath-
   12  er  and  shall  secure  the  written  consent  of such corporation to be
   13  included in scope and coverage of such resolution.
   14    S 4. Assessment relief for flood victims.  Notwithstanding  any  other
   15  provision of law to the contrary, a taxpayer whose real property is in a
   16  county and whose property has been catastrophically impacted as a result
   17  of  weather  occurring  in the state of New York may seek administrative
   18  review or correction of the valuation assigned to such real property  or
   19  the  improvements thereon pursuant to the provisions of article 5 of the
   20  real property tax law. An assessor shall also seek administrative review
   21  or correction of valuations on any  property  he  or  she  believes  was
   22  catastrophically impacted as a result of such weather.
   23    In the event such review or correction is sought, the board of assess-
   24  ment review or other authorized body or officer, in making such determi-
   25  nations as it is otherwise authorized to make pursuant to the provisions
   26  of  the real property tax law, shall consider the taxable status date as
   27  provided for in section 302 of the real property tax law, to be  Septem-
   28  ber  12,  2011 instead of the taxable status date otherwise provided for
   29  in such section or any other provision of law.
   30    Any complaint by a taxpayer who is also the property owner and who  is
   31  seeking  a  lower valuation, shall not be required to suggest such valu-
   32  ation to the board of assessment review, but such suggestion may be made
   33  by an assessor or board of assessors, even if such assessor or board  of
   34  assessors  is  not the party who has made the application for assessment
   35  review.
   36    In the event the assessor seeks an administrative determination before
   37  a board of assessment review of any property he or she is not  an  owner
   38  of  or otherwise entitled by law to seek an administrative determination
   39  from such board, such assessor shall also seek an administrative  deter-
   40  mination and a lower valuation of all such properties he or she believes
   41  were  catastrophically  impacted  by  weather  within such jurisdiction.
   42  Such determination may be sought in a class application by the  assessor
   43  to  the  board of assessment review filed pursuant to either section 524
   44  or 553 of the real property tax law.  The failure of  such  assessor  to
   45  seek such a determination for all such catastrophically impacted proper-
   46  ties  shall not impair the effectiveness of any review sought by such an
   47  assessor and a cause of action against  such  assessor  for  failing  to
   48  include  any  specific  property  or class of properties shall not exist
   49  under the laws of this state. The board of assessment review may  accept
   50  applications   for  administrative  review  of  the  assessment  of  any
   51  catastrophically impacted property up until and including a date  to  be
   52  established  by  the  commissioner  of  the  department  of taxation and
   53  finance; provided that where such an application has not been  submitted
   54  by  that  date, the assessor or taxpayer may nonetheless seek correction
   55  of the assessment in the manner provided by section 553, 554 or  556  of
   56  the  real  property tax law, whichever is appropriate.  The commissioner
       A. 8647--A                          3
    1  of the department of taxation  and  finance  shall  notify  each  county
    2  director  of  real  property  services  of the date provided for in this
    3  section.
    4    The  rights  contained  in  this  act shall not otherwise diminish any
    5  other legally available right of any property owner  or  party  who  may
    6  otherwise  lawfully  challenge  the  valuation or assessment of any real
    7  property or improvements thereon.  All remaining rights, including,  but
    8  not  limited  to,  the  right  to  seek  correction of the assessment as
    9  provided for in sections 554 and 556 of the real property tax law and to
   10  judicially challenge such assessment  or  valuation  hereby  remain  and
   11  shall  be  available to the party to whom such rights would otherwise be
   12  available notwithstanding this act.
   13    S 5. School districts held harmless. Each school district located in a
   14  county, as defined in subdivision one of section two of this act,  shall
   15  be  held harmless by the state for any reduction in state aid that would
   16  have been paid as tax savings pursuant to section  1306-a  of  the  real
   17  property tax law incurred due to the provisions of this act.
   18    S  6.  The  Director  of  the Office of Real Property Tax Services, or
   19  other chief administrative official of that office within the Department
   20  of Taxation and Finance is authorized to develop a  guidance  memorandum
   21  for  use  of assessing units. Such guidance memorandum shall assist with
   22  the implementation of this act and shall be deemed to be binding on  all
   23  assessing  units in counties which implement the provisions of this act.
   24  The guidance memorandum shall have  no  force  or  effect  or  serve  as
   25  authority  for any other act of assessing units or of the interpretation
   26  or implementation of the laws of the State of New York  except  as  they
   27  relate to the specific implementation of this act.
   28    S  7.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
   29  have been in full force and effect on and after August 26, 2011.