Bill Text: NY S08235 | 2017-2018 | General Assembly | Amended


Bill Title: Authorizes funds to municipalities from the UDC in the case of certain tax certiorari challenges or agreed upon settlements resulting in loss of tax revenues or increased tax levies of over twenty percent or in regards to a settlement agreement, a reduction in real property taxes or a payment in lieu of taxes of at least twenty percent in the aggregate over the term of such settlement agreement; and permits the establishment of tax certiorari stabilization reserve funds.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-06-19 - referred to ways and means [S08235 Detail]

Download: New_York-2017-S08235-Amended.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                         8235--A
                    IN SENATE
                                     April 20, 2018
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sens.  FLANAGAN,  LAVALLE,  KAMINSKY  --  read twice and
          ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee  on
          Finance  --  committee  discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as
          amended and recommitted to said committee
        AN ACT to amend subpart H of part C of chapter 20 of the laws  of  2015,
          relating to appropriating money for certain municipal corporations and
          school  districts,  in  relation  to  authorizing funds in the case of
          certain tax certiorari challenges or agreed upon settlements;  and  to
          permit  certain  boards  of  education  to  establish a tax certiorari
          stabilization reserve fund
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1. Section 1 of subpart H of part C of chapter 20 of the laws
     2  of 2015, relating to appropriating money for  certain  municipal  corpo-
     3  rations  and  school  districts,  as amended by section 1 of part AAA of
     4  chapter 59 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
     5    Section 1. Contingent  upon  available  funding,  and  not  to  exceed
     6  $69,000,000  moneys  from  the  urban  development  corporation shall be
     7  available for a local government entity, which for the purposes of  this
     8  section  shall  mean  a  county, city, town, village, school district or
     9  special district, where (i) on or  after  June  25,  2015,  an  electric
    10  generating  facility  located  within  such  local government entity has
    11  ceased operations, and (ii) the closing of such facility  has  caused  a
    12  reduction  in  the  real property tax collections or payments in lieu of
    13  taxes of at least twenty percent owed by such electric generating facil-
    14  ity; or where, on or after April 1, 2018, a  successful  tax  certiorari
    15  challenge  or an agreed upon settlement to the assessment of an electric
    16  generating facility by the Long Island Power authority has  resulted  in
    17  either  a  reduction in the real property tax collections or payments in
    18  lieu of taxes of at least twenty percent, or in regards to a  settlement
    19  agreement  a  reduction  in  real  property taxes or payments in lieu of
    20  taxes of at least twenty percent in the aggregate over the term  of  the
    21  settlement  agreement,  owed by such electric generating facility or has
    22  resulted in a real property tax levy increase of over twenty percent  of
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD15267-12-8

        S. 8235--A                          2
     1  a  local government entity. Such moneys attributable to the cessation of
     2  operations, a successful tax certiorari challenge,  or  an  agreed  upon
     3  settlement,  shall  be paid annually on a first come, first served basis
     4  by  the  urban  development  corporation to such local government entity
     5  within a reasonable time upon confirmation from the state office of real
     6  property tax services or  the  local  industrial  development  authority
     7  established  pursuant  to  titles eleven and fifteen of article eight of
     8  the public authorities law, or the local industrial  development  agency
     9  established  pursuant to article eighteen-A of the general municipal law
    10  that such cessation, tax certiorari judgment, or an agreed upon  settle-
    11  ment has resulted in a reduction in the real property tax collections or
    12  payments in lieu of taxes, provided, however, that the urban development
    13  corporation shall not provide assistance to such local government entity
    14  for  more  than  seven  years  in the case of the closing of an electric
    15  generating facility or in the case  of  a  tax  certiorari  judgment  or
    16  agreed  upon settlement for not more than fifteen years, and shall award
    17  payments reflecting the loss of revenues due to the cessation  of  oper-
    18  ations, tax certiorari judgment or an agreed upon settlement as follows:
    19          Award [Year] Years        Maximum Potential Award
    20              1           no more than eighty percent of loss of revenues
    21              2           no more than seventy percent of loss of revenues
    22              3           no more than sixty percent of loss of revenues
    23              4           no more than fifty percent of loss of revenues
    24              5           no more than forty percent of loss of revenues
    25              6           no more than thirty percent of loss of revenues
    26              7-15        no more than twenty percent of loss of revenues
    27    A  local  government  entity shall be eligible for only one payment of
    28  funds hereunder per year. A local government entity may seek  assistance
    29  under  the  electric  generation  facility  cessation and tax certiorari
    30  mitigation fund (i) once a generator has submitted  its  notice  to  the
    31  federally  designated  electric  bulk  system operator (BSO) serving the
    32  state of New York of its intent to retire the facility or of its  intent
    33  to  voluntarily  remove the facility from service subject to any return-
    34  to-service provisions of any tariff, and that the facility also is inel-
    35  igible to participate in the markets operated by the BSO; or (ii) once a
    36  final judgment or settlement agreement in a  tax  certiorari  proceeding
    37  has  been  filed or executed.  The date of submission of a local govern-
    38  ment entity's application for assistance shall establish  the  order  in
    39  which  assistance is paid to program applicants, except that in no event
    40  shall assistance be paid to a local government entity  until  such  time
    41  that  an  electric  generating facility has either (i) retired or become
    42  ineligible to participate in the markets operated by the BSO, or (ii)  a
    43  final  judgment  or  settlement agreement in a tax certiorari proceeding
    44  has been filed or executed.   For purposes of this  section,  any  local
    45  government  entity  seeking  assistance  under  the  electric generation
    46  facility cessation and tax certiorari mitigation  fund  must  submit  an
    47  attestation to the department of public service that either (i) a facil-
    48  ity is no longer producing electricity and is no longer participating in
    49  markets  operated  by  the  BSO,  or (ii) a final judgment or settlement
    50  agreement in a tax certiorari proceeding has  been  filed  or  executed.
    51  [After] For facilities that have ceased operations after receipt of such
    52  attestation,  the department of public service shall confirm such infor-
    53  mation with the BSO. In the case that the BSO confirms to the department
    54  of public service that the facility is no longer  producing  electricity

        S. 8235--A                          3
     1  and  participating  in  markets operated by such BSO, it shall be deemed
     2  that the electric generating facility located within the  local  govern-
     3  ment entity has ceased operation. The department of public service shall
     4  provide  such  confirmation  to  the  urban development corporation upon
     5  receipt. [The] For a facility with a tax certiorari judgment or  settle-
     6  ment,  the department of public service shall submit such attestation to
     7  the urban development corporation upon receipt of the  determination  of
     8  the amount of such annual payment which shall be determined by the pres-
     9  ident  of  the  urban development corporation based on the amount of the
    10  differential between the annual real property taxes and payments in lieu
    11  of taxes imposed upon the facility, exclusive of interest and penalties,
    12  during the last year of operations and either (i) the current real prop-
    13  erty taxes and payments in lieu of  taxes  imposed  upon  the  facility,
    14  exclusive of interest and penalties after the cessation of operations or
    15  final  judgment  or settlement agreement in a tax certiorari proceeding,
    16  or (ii) the annual reduction on real property taxes or payments in  lieu
    17  of taxes during the term of a settlement agreement from a tax certiorari
    18  proceeding.  The total amount awarded from this program shall not exceed
    19  $69,000,000.
    20    §  2.  Tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund. (a) Definitions.  As
    21  used in this section:
    22    (i) "Board of education" or "board" shall mean the board of  education
    23  of  either:  the  Port  Jefferson union free school district, the North-
    24  port-East Northport union free school district, the North Shore  central
    25  school  district,  the  Island  Park  union free school district, or any
    26  other school district that  is  impacted  by  a  tax  certiorari  action
    27  brought by the Long Island Power Authority.
    28    (ii)  "Tax  certiorari  stabilization reserve fund" shall mean the tax
    29  certiorari stabilization  reserve  fund  established  pursuant  to  this
    30  section.
    31    (iii)  "School  district"  or  "district"  shall mean either: the Port
    32  Jefferson union free school district, the Northport-East Northport union
    33  free school district, the  North  Shore  central  school  district,  the
    34  Island  Park  union  free  school district, or any other school district
    35  that is impacted by a tax certiorari action brought by the  Long  Island
    36  Power Authority.
    37    (b)  The  board  of  education is hereby authorized to establish a tax
    38  certiorari stabilization reserve fund to lessen or prevent increases  in
    39  the school district's real property tax levy resulting from decreases in
    40  revenue  due to a tax certiorari settlement or judgment provided, howev-
    41  er, that no such fund shall be established unless approved by a majority
    42  vote of the voters present and voting on a separate  ballot  proposition
    43  therefor  at either a special district meeting which the board of educa-
    44  tion may call for such purpose or at the  annual  district  meeting  and
    45  election,  to be noticed and conducted in either case in accordance with
    46  article 41 of the education law. Such  separate  proposition  shall  set
    47  forth  the maximum allowable balance to be deposited and held in the tax
    48  certiorari stabilization reserve fund. Moneys shall  be  paid  into  and
    49  withdrawn from the fund and the fund shall be administered as follows:
    50    (i)  The  board  of education is hereby authorized to receive payments
    51  into its tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund from any annual funds
    52  it is eligible to receive from the electric generating  facility  cessa-
    53  tion fund. Such received allocations from the electric generating facil-
    54  ity cessation fund shall not count against the district's maximum allow-
    55  able fund balance for its tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund.

        S. 8235--A                          4
     1    (ii)  Moneys  may  be  withdrawn from the tax certiorari stabilization
     2  reserve fund for any fiscal year to be expended for any  lawful  purpose
     3  to  lessen  or prevent increases in the district's tax levy. Withdrawals
     4  from the fund shall  be  disclosed  in  a  manner  consistent  with  the
     5  required  disclosures  of  similar  reserve  funds held by the district,
     6  including disclosures of similar reserve funds  held  by  the  district,
     7  including  disclosures required by the property tax report card prepared
     8  by the district pursuant to the provisions of subdivision 7  of  section
     9  1716  of  the  education  law; and deposits and withdrawals made in each
    10  fiscal year shall be subject to the district's  annual  budget  approval
    11  process.
    12    §  3.  This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that
    13  the amendments to section 1 of subpart H of part C of chapter 20 of  the
    14  laws of 2015 made by section one of this act shall not affect the repeal
    15  of such subpart and shall be deemed repealed therewith.
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