Bill Text: NY S00054 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Provides for the imposition of a fine for the failure of a cooperative apartment corporation to credit the STAR exemption to the tenant-stockholders thereof.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - REFERRED TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT [S00054 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-S00054-Introduced.html

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                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                           54
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                    IN SENATE
                                       (Prefiled)
                                     January 9, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by  Sen. HOYLMAN -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government
        AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to providing  for
          the  imposition  of  a  civil penalty for the failure of a cooperative
          apartment corporation to credit the  STAR  exemption  to  the  tenant-
          stockholders  thereof and for the recoupment by such tenant-stockhold-
          ers of amounts due them
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section  1.  Subparagraph  (iii)  of paragraph (k) of subdivision 2 of
     2  section 425 of the real property tax law is  amended  by  adding  a  new
     3  clause (C) to read as follows:
     4    (C)(I)  The failure of any cooperative apartment corporation to comply
     5  with the provisions of this subparagraph shall be punishable by a  civil
     6  penalty  not  to  exceed  five hundred dollars for each violation.  Such
     7  civil penalty may be recovered in a court of competent  jurisdiction  by
     8  the  county attorney of the county in which the subject real property is
     9  located; provided that such penalty may be recovered  by the corporation
    10  counsel of a city if the subject real property is located  in  a  county
    11  wholly contained within a city.
    12    (II) Commencing sixty days after a cooperative apartment corporation's
    13  receipt  of  a  tax bill and, upon such failure, each tenant-stockholder
    14  denied such credit or payment may withhold from the  cooperative  apart-
    15  ment  corporation  any payments due from such tenant-stockholder to such
    16  cooperative apartment corporation for  the  following  month  or  months
    17  until  such  credit  or  payment has been fully recouped by such tenant-
    18  stockholder.
    19    (III) The remedies afforded by subclauses (I) and (II) of this  clause
    20  shall  not  lie  if  any such failure is attributable to an error on the
    21  part of an assessor or a taxing authority.
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD04113-01-9
        S. 54                               2
     1    (IV) In any action or proceeding brought pursuant to subclause (I)  of
     2  this  clause, it shall be an affirmative defense that such failure is so
     3  attributable. If a cooperative apartment corporation brings a proceeding
     4  pursuant to article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules or
     5  an  action  for declaratory or injunctive relief or both forms of relief
     6  contesting such tax bill, any action or proceeding brought  pursuant  to
     7  subclause  (I)  of  this clause shall be stayed by the court pending the
     8  determination of such action or proceeding brought by  such  cooperative
     9  apartment  corporation.  If  such  proceeding  or action brought by such
    10  cooperative apartment corporation be determined in favor of such cooper-
    11  ative apartment corporation, such action or proceeding brought  pursuant
    12  to  subclause  (I)  of this clause shall thereupon be dismissed. If such
    13  proceeding or action brought by such cooperative  apartment  corporation
    14  be  otherwise  determined  or  concluded,  such  stay  of such action or
    15  proceeding brought pursuant to subclause (I) of  this  clause  shall  be
    16  lifted by the court and the remedy afforded under subclause (II) of this
    17  clause shall thereupon lie.
    18    (V) The remedy afforded by subclause (II) of this clause shall not lie
    19  pending  the outcome of such proceeding or actions if, within sixty days
    20  of receipt of the tax bill, the cooperative apartment corporation brings
    21  a proceeding pursuant to article seventy-eight of the civil practice law
    22  and rules or an action for declaratory  or  injunctive  relief  or  both
    23  forms  of  relief contesting such tax bill, gives notice of the institu-
    24  tion of such proceeding or action to all  affected  tenant-stockholders,
    25  and  gives  notice  of  the  outcome of such action or proceeding within
    26  thirty days of the determination thereof to all  affected  tenant-stock-
    27  holders. If the proceeding or action be determined in favor of the coop-
    28  erative  apartment corporation, no remedy shall lie under subclause (II)
    29  of this clause. If the proceeding or action be otherwise  determined  or
    30  concluded, the remedy afforded under subclause (II) of this clause shall
    31  thereupon lie.
    32    §  2.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the
    33  administration of the school tax relief (STAR) exemption  authorized  by
    34  section  425  of  the real property tax law beginning with the 2019-2020
    35  school year.