S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   2585
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                             January 24, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by M. of A. LAVINE, ENGLEBRIGHT, D'URSO, RAIA, MONTESANO, RA,
   M. L. MILLER  --  read  once and referred to the Committee on Ways and
   Means
 
 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:
 
   Section  1. Section 1 of subpart H of part C of chapter 20 of the laws
 of 2015, relating to appropriating money for  certain  municipal  corpo-
 rations  and  school  districts,  as amended by section 1 of part AAA of
 chapter 59 of the laws of 2018, is amended to read as follows:
   Section 1. Contingent  upon  available  funding,  and  not  to  exceed
 $69,000,000  moneys  from  the  urban  development  corporation shall be
 available for a local government entity, which for the purposes of  this
 section  shall  mean  a  county, city, town, village, school district or
 special district, where (i) on or  after  June  25,  2015,  an  electric
 generating  facility  located  within  such  local government entity has
 ceased operations, and (ii) the closing of such facility  has  caused  a
 reduction  in  the  real property tax collections or payments in lieu of
 taxes of at least twenty percent owed by such electric generating facil-
 ity; OR WHERE, ON OR AFTER APRIL 1, 2019, A  SUCCESSFUL  TAX  CERTIORARI
 CHALLENGE  OR AN AGREED UPON SETTLEMENT TO THE ASSESSMENT OF AN ELECTRIC
 GENERATING FACILITY BY THE LONG ISLAND POWER AUTHORITY HAS  RESULTED  IN
 EITHER  A  REDUCTION IN THE REAL PROPERTY TAX COLLECTIONS OR PAYMENTS IN
 LIEU OF TAXES OF AT LEAST TWENTY PERCENT, OR IN REGARDS TO A  SETTLEMENT
 AGREEMENT  A  REDUCTION  IN  REAL  PROPERTY TAXES OR PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF
 TAXES OF AT LEAST TWENTY PERCENT IN THE AGGREGATE OVER THE TERM  OF  THE
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD04611-01-9

 A. 2585                             2
 
 SETTLEMENT  AGREEMENT,  OWED BY SUCH ELECTRIC GENERATING FACILITY OR HAS
 RESULTED IN A REAL PROPERTY TAX LEVY INCREASE OF OVER TWENTY PERCENT  OF
 A  LOCAL GOVERNMENT ENTITY. Such moneys attributable to the cessation of
 operations,  A  SUCCESSFUL  TAX  CERTIORARI CHALLENGE, OR AN AGREED UPON
 SETTLEMENT, shall be paid annually on a first come, first  served  basis
 by  the  urban  development  corporation to such local government entity
 within a reasonable time upon confirmation from the state office of real
 property tax services or  the  local  industrial  development  authority
 established  pursuant  to  titles eleven and fifteen of article eight of
 the public authorities law, or the local industrial  development  agency
 established  pursuant to article eighteen-A of the general municipal law
 that such cessation, TAX CERTIORARI JUDGMENT, OR AN AGREED UPON  SETTLE-
 MENT has resulted in a reduction in the real property tax collections or
 payments in lieu of taxes, provided, however, that the urban development
 corporation shall not provide assistance to such local government entity
 for  more  than  seven  years  IN THE CASE OF THE CLOSING OF AN ELECTRIC
 GENERATING FACILITY OR IN THE CASE  OF  A  TAX  CERTIORARI  JUDGMENT  OR
 AGREED  UPON SETTLEMENT FOR NOT MORE THAN FIFTEEN YEARS, and shall award
 payments reflecting the loss of revenues due to the cessation  of  oper-
 ations, TAX CERTIORARI JUDGMENT OR AN AGREED UPON SETTLEMENT as follows:
 
         Award [Year] YEARS        Maximum Potential Award
             1           no more than eighty percent of loss of revenues
             2           no more than seventy percent of loss of revenues
             3           no more than sixty percent of loss of revenues
             4           no more than fifty percent of loss of revenues
             5           no more than forty percent of loss of revenues
             6           no more than thirty percent of loss of revenues
             7-15        no more than twenty percent of loss of revenues
 
   A  local  government  entity shall be eligible for only one payment of
 funds hereunder per year. A local government entity may seek  assistance
 under  the  electric  generation  facility  cessation AND TAX CERTIORARI
 mitigation fund (I) once a generator has submitted  its  notice  to  the
 federally  designated  electric  bulk  system operator (BSO) serving the
 state of New York of its intent to retire the facility or of its  intent
 to  voluntarily  remove the facility from service subject to any return-
 to-service provisions of any tariff, and that the facility also is inel-
 igible to participate in the markets operated by the BSO; OR (II) ONCE A
 FINAL JUDGMENT OR SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT IN A  TAX  CERTIORARI  PROCEEDING
 HAS  BEEN  FILED OR EXECUTED.  The date of submission of a local govern-
 ment entity's application for assistance shall establish  the  order  in
 which  assistance is paid to program applicants, except that in no event
 shall assistance be paid to a local government entity  until  such  time
 that  an  electric  generating facility has EITHER (I) retired or become
 ineligible to participate in the markets operated by the BSO, OR (II)  A
 FINAL  JUDGMENT  OR  SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT IN A TAX CERTIORARI PROCEEDING
 HAS BEEN FILED OR EXECUTED.   For purposes of this  section,  any  local
 government  entity  seeking  assistance  under  the  electric generation
 facility cessation AND TAX CERTIORARI mitigation  fund  must  submit  an
 attestation to the department of public service that EITHER (I) a facil-
 ity is no longer producing electricity and is no longer participating in
 markets  operated  by  the  BSO,  OR (II) A FINAL JUDGMENT OR SETTLEMENT
 AGREEMENT IN A TAX CERTIORARI PROCEEDING HAS  BEEN  FILED  OR  EXECUTED.
 [After] FOR FACILITIES THAT HAVE CEASED OPERATIONS AFTER receipt of such
 attestation,  the department of public service shall confirm such infor-

 A. 2585                             3
 
 mation with the BSO. In the case that the BSO confirms to the department
 of public service that the facility is no longer  producing  electricity
 and  participating  in  markets operated by such BSO, it shall be deemed
 that  the  electric generating facility located within the local govern-
 ment entity has ceased operation. The department of public service shall
 provide such confirmation to  the  urban  development  corporation  upon
 receipt.  [The] FOR A FACILITY WITH A TAX CERTIORARI JUDGMENT OR SETTLE-
 MENT, THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SERVICE SHALL SUBMIT SUCH ATTESTATION  TO
 THE  URBAN  DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION UPON RECEIPT OF THE determination of
 the amount of such annual payment WHICH shall be determined by the pres-
 ident of the urban development corporation based on the  amount  of  the
 differential between the annual real property taxes and payments in lieu
 of taxes imposed upon the facility, exclusive of interest and penalties,
 during the last year of operations and EITHER (I) the current real prop-
 erty  taxes  and  payments  in  lieu of taxes imposed upon the facility,
 exclusive of interest and penalties AFTER THE CESSATION OF OPERATIONS OR
 FINAL JUDGMENT OR SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT IN A TAX  CERTIORARI  PROCEEDING,
 OR  (II) THE ANNUAL REDUCTION ON REAL PROPERTY TAXES OR PAYMENTS IN LIEU
 OF TAXES DURING THE TERM OF A SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT FROM A TAX CERTIORARI
 PROCEEDING.  The total amount awarded from this program shall not exceed
 $69,000,000.
   § 2. Tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund. (a) Definitions.    As
 used in this section:
   (i)  "Board of education" or "board" shall mean the board of education
 of either: the Port Jefferson union free  school  district,  the  North-
 port-East  Northport union free school district, the North Shore central
 school district, the Island Park union  free  school  district,  or  any
 other  school  district  that  is  impacted  by  a tax certiorari action
 brought by the Long Island Power Authority.
   (ii) "Tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund" shall  mean  the  tax
 certiorari  stabilization  reserve  fund  established  pursuant  to this
 section.
   (iii) "School district" or "district"  shall  mean  either:  the  Port
 Jefferson union free school district, the Northport-East Northport union
 free  school  district,  the  North  Shore  central school district, the
 Island Park union free school district, or  any  other  school  district
 that  is  impacted by a tax certiorari action brought by the Long Island
 Power Authority.
   (b) The board of education is hereby authorized  to  establish  a  tax
 certiorari  stabilization reserve fund to lessen or prevent increases in
 the school district's real property tax levy resulting from decreases in
 revenue due to a tax certiorari settlement or judgment provided,  howev-
 er, that no such fund shall be established unless approved by a majority
 vote  of  the voters present and voting on a separate ballot proposition
 therefor at either a special district meeting which the board of  educa-
 tion  may  call  for  such purpose or at the annual district meeting and
 election, to be noticed and conducted in either case in accordance  with
 article  41  of  the  education law. Such separate proposition shall set
 forth the maximum allowable balance to be deposited and held in the  tax
 certiorari  stabilization  reserve  fund.  Moneys shall be paid into and
 withdrawn from the fund and the fund shall be administered as follows:
   (i) The board of education is hereby authorized  to  receive  payments
 into its tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund from any annual funds
 it  is  eligible to receive from the electric generating facility cessa-
 tion fund. Such received allocations from the electric generating facil-

 A. 2585                             4
 
 ity cessation fund shall not count against the district's maximum allow-
 able fund balance for its tax certiorari stabilization reserve fund.
   (ii)  Moneys  may  be  withdrawn from the tax certiorari stabilization
 reserve fund for any fiscal year to be expended for any  lawful  purpose
 to  lessen  or prevent increases in the district's tax levy. Withdrawals
 from the fund shall  be  disclosed  in  a  manner  consistent  with  the
 required  disclosures  of  similar  reserve  funds held by the district,
 including disclosures of similar reserve funds  held  by  the  district,
 including  disclosures required by the property tax report card prepared
 by the district pursuant to the provisions of subdivision 7  of  section
 1716  of  the  education  law; and deposits and withdrawals made in each
 fiscal year shall be subject to the district's  annual  budget  approval
 process.
   §  3.  This act shall take effect immediately, provided, however, that
 the amendments to section 1 of subpart H of part C of chapter 20 of  the
 laws of 2015 made by section one of this act shall not affect the repeal
 of such subpart and shall be deemed repealed therewith.