Bill Text: NY S04398 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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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 [S04398 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S04398-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          4398
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                     March 11, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen. ADDABBO -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Budget and Revenue
        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
        S. 4398                             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.