Bill Text: NY A04098 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Prohibits the enactment of unfunded mandates for a period of three years; instructs the state comptroller to conduct a report on the annual fiscal impact enacted state legislation has on the revenues and expenses of local municipalities.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 11-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - referred to governmental operations [A04098 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-A04098-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          4098

                               2021-2022 Regular Sessions

                   IN ASSEMBLY

                                    February 1, 2021
                                       ___________

        Introduced by M. of A. SCHMITT, MANKTELOW, GOODELL, BYRNES, ASHBY, WALC-
          ZYK,  PALMESANO,  McDONOUGH,  DeSTEFANO,  M. MILLER  --  read once and
          referred to the Committee on Governmental Operations

        AN ACT to amend the legislative law and the executive law,  in  relation
          to establishing a temporary moratorium on unfunded mandates

          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  "Mandate
     2  Relief and Permanent Real Property Tax Cap Act."
     3    §  2.   The legislative law is amended by adding a new section 51-a to
     4  read as follows:
     5    § 51-a. Temporary moratorium on unfunded mandates. 1.  Definitions. As
     6  used in this section, the following terms shall have the following mean-
     7  ings:
     8    (a) "Local government" means a county,  city,  town,  village,  school
     9  district, or special district.
    10    (b)  "Net  additional cost" means the cost or costs incurred or antic-
    11  ipated to be incurred within a one year period by a local government  in
    12  performing  or  administering  any  program,  project, or activity after
    13  subtracting therefrom any revenues received or receivable by such  local
    14  government  in relation to such program, project, or activity, including
    15  but not limited to:
    16    (i) fees charged to the recipients of such program, project, or activ-
    17  ity;
    18    (ii) state or federal funds received for  such  program,  project,  or
    19  activity; and
    20    (iii)  an  offsetting  savings resulting from the diminution or elimi-
    21  nation of any  other  program,  project,  or  activity  that  state  law
    22  requires such local government to provide or undertake.
    23    (c) "Unfunded mandate" means:

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD07398-01-1
        A. 4098                             2

     1    (i)  any  state  law  that  requires  a local government to provide or
     2  undertake any new program, project or activity that results in an annual
     3  net additional cost to any local government in excess  of  ten  thousand
     4  dollars  or an aggregate annual net additional cost to all local govern-
     5  ments within the state in excess of one million dollars; or
     6    (ii) any state law that requires a local government to provide a high-
     7  er  level  of  service  or  funding  for an existing program, project or
     8  activity that results in an annual net  additional  cost  to  any  local
     9  government  in excess of ten thousand dollars or an aggregate annual net
    10  additional cost to all local governments within the state in  excess  of
    11  one million dollars; or
    12    (iii)  any state law that requires a local government to grant any new
    13  property tax exemption or that broadens the eligibility or increases the
    14  dollar amount of any existing property tax exemption, on  property  that
    15  otherwise  would  have  generated revenue under the current property tax
    16  rate of such local government in excess of ten thousand dollars  in  any
    17  local government or in excess of one million dollars statewide; or
    18    (iv) any state law with a legal requirement that would otherwise like-
    19  ly  have  the effect of raising property taxes in excess of ten thousand
    20  dollars in any local government or in  excess  of  one  million  dollars
    21  statewide.
    22    2.  Moratorium on unfunded mandates. For a three year period beginning
    23  the January next succeeding the effective date of this section into law,
    24  and notwithstanding any other provision of law, unfunded mandates  shall
    25  not be enacted.
    26    3. Exemptions. A state law shall not be considered an unfunded mandate
    27  where such law:
    28    (a) is required by a court order or judgment;
    29    (b) is provided at the option of the local government under a law that
    30  is permissive rather than mandatory;
    31    (c)  results  from  the passage of a home rule message whereby a local
    32  government requests authority to implement the program or service speci-
    33  fied in the statute, and the statute imposes costs only upon that  local
    34  government  which  requests  the  authority  to  impose  the  program or
    35  service;
    36    (d) is required by statute or executive order that implements a feder-
    37  al law or regulation and results from  costs  mandated  by  the  federal
    38  government  to be borne at the local level, unless the statute or execu-
    39  tive order results in costs which  exceed  the  costs  mandated  by  the
    40  federal government;
    41    (e)  is  imposed on both government and non-government entities in the
    42  same or substantially similar circumstances;
    43    (f) repeals or revises a state law to  ease  an  existing  requirement
    44  that  a  local  government  provide  or undertake a program, project, or
    45  activity, or reapportions the costs of activities between local  govern-
    46  ments; or
    47    (g)  is  necessary  to  protect  against an immediate threat to public
    48  health or safety.
    49    § 3. The executive law is amended by adding a new section 50-a to read
    50  as follows:
    51    § 50-a. Report on unfunded mandates. (1) The comptroller, in consulta-
    52  tion with the commissioner of taxation and finance, shall issue a report
    53  on the annual fiscal impact enacted state legislation has on the  reven-
    54  ues and expenses of local municipal corporations in the state.
    55    (2) The report issued by the comptroller shall include, at minimum:
        A. 4098                             3

     1    (i) annual expenses of each municipal corporation in the state attrib-
     2  utable to statewide legislation enacted by the state legislature;
     3    (ii)  an analysis of the effect the temporary unfunded mandate morato-
     4  rium, established pursuant to section  fifty-one-a  of  the  legislative
     5  law, had on local municipal corporation revenues and expenditures; and
     6    (iii)  recommendations  as  to  whether the temporary unfunded mandate
     7  moratorium enacted pursuant to section fifty-one-a  of  the  legislative
     8  law shall be extended, made permanent, or allowed to expire.
     9    (3)  The comptroller shall provide a final copy of the report required
    10  by this section to the legislature no  later  than  January  first,  two
    11  thousand  twenty-five,  and  shall publish a full copy of the report for
    12  the public to view on the comptroller's official website.
    13    § 4. This act shall take effect immediately.