Bill Text: NY A01851 | 2025-2026 | General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes the upstate New York assessment relief act, in relation to authorizing the provision of assessment and tax relief to owners of certain real property which lost fifty percent or more of its value as a result of damage caused by the storm occurring across upstate New York on October 31, 2019.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2025-01-14 - referred to real property taxation [A01851 Detail]
Download: New_York-2025-A01851-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1851 2025-2026 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 14, 2025 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. BUTTENSCHON -- read once and referred to the Committee on Real Property Taxation AN ACT to establish the upstate New York assessment relief act 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 "upstate New York assessment relief act". 3 § 2. Definitions. Unless the context requires otherwise, terms used in 4 this act which are defined in section 102 of the real property tax law 5 shall have the same meaning as in such section of the real property tax 6 law. In addition, for the purposes of this act, the following terms 7 shall mean: 8 1. "Storm" shall mean the storm occurring across upstate New York on 9 October 31, 2019. 10 2. "Eligible county" shall mean any of the following counties: Chau- 11 tauqua, Chenango, Clinton, Cortland, Erie, Essex, Fulton, Hamilton, 12 Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Montgomery, Oneida, Otsego, Sarato- 13 ga, Tioga and Warren. 14 3. "Catastrophically impacted property" shall mean real property, 15 located in an eligible municipality, which lost fifty percent or more of 16 its value as a result of damage caused by the storm. 17 4. "Eligible municipality" shall mean a municipal corporation, as 18 defined by subdivision 10 of section 102 of the real property tax law, 19 which is either (a) an eligible county, or (b) a city, town, village or 20 school district that is wholly or partly contained within an eligible 21 county, including a city with a population of one million or more. An 22 eligible municipality shall also include a fire district wholly or part- 23 ly contained in an eligible county. 24 5. "Impacted assessment roll" shall mean a final assessment roll which 25 satisfies both of the following conditions: (a) the roll is based upon a 26 taxable status date occurring on or before October 31, 2019, and (b) the EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD03873-01-5A. 1851 2 1 roll is used for the levy of taxes by or on behalf of a participating 2 municipality for such municipality's 2019-2020 or 2020 fiscal year. 3 6. "Participating municipality" shall mean an eligible municipality 4 that has elected to provide assessment and tax relief to owners of 5 catastrophically impacted property pursuant to section three of this 6 act. 7 § 3. Local option. The governing body of an eligible municipality may 8 elect to provide assessment and tax relief to owners of catastrophically 9 impacted property pursuant to the provisions of this act by adoption of 10 a resolution within forty-five days following the date on which this act 11 shall have become a law. 12 § 4. Assessment and tax relief. 1. Notwithstanding any provision of 13 law to the contrary, assessment and tax relief shall be granted to the 14 owners of catastrophically impacted property located within a partic- 15 ipating municipality as follows: 16 (a) If the property lost at least fifty but less than sixty percent of 17 its value due to the storm, the assessed value of the property shall be 18 reduced by fifty-five percent for purposes of the participating munici- 19 pality on the impacted assessment roll. 20 (b) If the property lost at least sixty but less than seventy percent 21 of its value due to the storm, the assessed value of the property shall 22 be reduced by sixty-five percent for purposes of the participating muni- 23 cipality on the impacted assessment roll. 24 (c) If the property lost at least seventy but less than eighty percent 25 of its value due to the storm, the taxable assessed value of the proper- 26 ty shall be reduced by seventy-five percent for purposes of the partic- 27 ipating municipality on the impacted assessment roll. 28 (d) If the property lost at least eighty but less than ninety percent 29 of its value due to the storm, the assessed value of the property shall 30 be reduced by eighty-five percent for purposes of the participating 31 municipality on the impacted assessment roll. 32 (e) If the property lost at least ninety but less than one hundred 33 percent of its value due to the storm, the assessed value of the proper- 34 ty shall be reduced by ninety-five percent for purposes of the partic- 35 ipating municipality on the impacted assessment roll. 36 (f) If the property lost all of its value due to the storm, the 37 assessed value of the property shall be reduced to zero for purposes of 38 the participating municipality on the impacted assessment roll. 39 (g) The percentage loss in value for this purpose shall be determined 40 by the assessor who prepared the impacted assessment roll in the manner 41 provided by this act, subject to review by the board of assessment 42 review. 43 (h) No reduction in assessed value shall be granted pursuant to this 44 act except as specified in this section. No reduction in assessed value 45 shall be granted pursuant to this section for purposes of any eligible 46 municipality which has not elected to provide assessment and tax relief 47 pursuant to section three of this act. 48 2. To receive relief pursuant to this act, a property owner shall 49 submit a written request to the assessor who prepared the impacted 50 assessment roll within ninety days following the date on which this act 51 shall become a law. Such request need not be in a particular format, but 52 shall describe in reasonable detail the damage caused to the property by 53 the storm and the condition of the property following the storm, and 54 shall be accompanied by supporting documentation if available. 55 3. Upon receiving such a request, the assessor shall make a finding as 56 to whether the property lost at least half of its value as a result ofA. 1851 3 1 the storm and, if so, shall classify the percentage loss of value within 2 one of the following ranges: 3 (a) at least fifty percent but less than sixty percent, 4 (b) at least sixty percent but less than seventy percent, 5 (c) at least seventy percent but less than eighty percent, 6 (d) at least eighty percent but less than ninety percent, 7 (e) at least ninety percent but less than one hundred percent, or 8 (f) one hundred percent. 9 4. The assessor shall mail written notice of such finding and classi- 10 fication to the property owner and the participating municipality. Where 11 the assessor finds that the loss in value is less than fifty percent, or 12 classifies the loss within a lower range than the property owner 13 believes is warranted, the property owner may file a complaint with the 14 board of assessment review. Such board shall reconvene upon ten days 15 written notice to the property owner and the assessor to hear the 16 complaint and determine the matter, and shall mail written notice of its 17 determination to the assessor, property owner and participating munici- 18 pality. The provisions of title 1-A of article 5 of the real property 19 tax law shall govern the review process to the extent practicable, 20 provided, however, that in a city with a population of one million or 21 more, such review process shall be governed by the comparable provisions 22 of such city's charter and administrative code. 23 5. Where property has lost at least fifty percent of its value due to 24 the storm, the assessed value of the property on the impacted assessment 25 roll shall be reduced by the appropriate percentage specified in subdi- 26 vision one of this section. Any partial exemptions which the property 27 may be receiving, which are computed on the basis of the assessed value 28 of the property, shall be adjusted proportionately to account for such 29 reduction in the assessed value of the property. 30 6. In the case of a participating municipality other than a city with 31 a population of one million or more, to the extent the taxable assessed 32 value of the property determined pursuant to subdivision five of this 33 section is less than the taxable assessed value of the property 34 originally appearing on the impacted assessment roll, the difference 35 shall be considered an error in essential fact as defined by section 550 36 of the real property tax law. If the error appears on a tax roll, the 37 tax roll shall be corrected in the manner provided by section 554 of the 38 real property tax law or a refund or credit of taxes shall be granted in 39 the manner provided by section 556 or 556-b of the real property tax 40 law. If the error appears on a final assessment roll but not on a tax 41 roll, such final assessment roll shall be corrected in the manner 42 provided by section 553 of the real property tax law. In the case of a 43 city with a population of one million or more, to the extent the taxable 44 assessed value of the property determined pursuant to subdivision five 45 of this section is less than the taxable assessed value of the property 46 originally appearing on the impacted assessment roll, a refund or credit 47 of taxes shall be granted in the manner provided by the comparable 48 provisions of such city's charter and administrative code. 49 7. The rights contained in this act shall not otherwise diminish any 50 other legally available right of any property owner or other party who 51 may otherwise lawfully challenge the valuation or assessment of any real 52 property or improvements thereon. All such other legally available 53 rights hereby remain and shall be available to the property owner or 54 other party to whom such rights would otherwise be available notwith- 55 standing this act.A. 1851 4 1 § 5. School districts held harmless. Each school district that is 2 wholly or partially contained within an eligible county, as defined in 3 subdivision two of section two of this act, shall be held harmless by 4 the state for any reduction in state aid that would have been paid as 5 tax savings pursuant to section 1306-a of the real property tax law 6 incurred due to the provisions of this act. 7 § 6. The director of the office of real property tax services, or 8 other chief administrative official of that office within the department 9 of taxation and finance, is authorized to develop a guidance memorandum 10 for use by assessing units. Such guidance memorandum shall assist with 11 the implementation of this act and shall be deemed to be binding on all 12 assessing units in eligible counties. The guidance memorandum shall have 13 no force or effect, or serve as authority, in connection with any matter 14 other than the implementation of this act. 15 § 7. This act shall take effect immediately.
