Bill Text: NY S03478 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides that any qualified homeowner in the city of New York shall be eligible to be exempted from any future increases in water rate fees.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO CITIES 1 [S03478 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S03478-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          3478

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                    January 31, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. STAVISKY -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Cities 1

        AN ACT to amend the administrative code of the  city  of  New  York,  in
          relation  to  providing  certain elderly individuals with an exemption
          from increases in water rates

          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section  1. The administrative code of the city of New York is amended
     2  by adding a new section 24-340 to read as follows:
     3    § 24-340 Senior citizen water rate freeze. a.  For  purposes  of  this
     4  section the following terms shall have the following meanings:
     5    (1)  "Qualified  homeowner" means a person who: (a) is at least sixty-
     6  five years of age; (b) owns real property;  and  (c)  has  had  a  total
     7  household income of less than fifty thousand dollars for two consecutive
     8  income  tax years beginning in two thousand nineteen, as verified by the
     9  New York city department of finance;
    10    (2) "Real property" means a one, two, three, or four family home owned
    11  by a qualified homeowner that serves as the primary  residence  of  such
    12  homeowner;
    13    (3)  "Water rate increase" means an increase in water rates that takes
    14  effect subsequent to a  qualified  homeowner's  eligibility  under  this
    15  section.
    16    b.  Real  property owned by a qualified homeowner shall be exempt from
    17  any charges due to a water rate increase.
    18    c. The exemption provided by this section may be suspended for no more
    19  than one calendar year by the commissioner of the department of environ-
    20  mental protection of the city of New York (1) in the event of a drought,
    21  or (2) in the event of a disaster or  catastrophe  other  than  drought,
    22  which  causes or may cause an actual and immediate shortage of available
    23  and usable water.
    24    d. Eligibility for the exemption provided by this  section  shall  not
    25  preclude  a qualified homeowner's eligibility for any other exemption or
    26  credit to which they are entitled.
    27    § 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD08305-01-3