S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   4230
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 5, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  KAMINSKY, GAUGHRAN, HARCKHAM, MAYER -- 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  excluding
   water  system  property owned by water-works corporations from special
   franchise tax

   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Subdivision 17 of section 102 of the real property tax law,
 as  amended  by  chapter  569 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read as
 follows:
   17. "Special franchise"  means  the  franchise,  right,  authority  or
 permission  to  construct, maintain or operate in, under, above, upon or
 through any public street, highway, water or other public  place  mains,
 pipes, tanks, conduits, wires or transformers, with their appurtenances,
 for  conducting  [water,] steam, light, power, electricity, gas or other
 substance, EXCLUDING WATER.  For purposes of assessment and  taxation  a
 special franchise shall include the value of the tangible property situ-
 ated in, under, above, upon or through any public street, highway, water
 or  other  public  place in connection therewith. The term special fran-
 chise shall not include central office equipment  or  station  equipment
 (except  public  telephone  terminal  equipment)  which first appears on
 assessment rolls prepared on the basis of taxable status dates occurring
 on or after October first, nineteen hundred  ninety-five  and  which  is
 owned  by a telephone company as defined in paragraph (d) of subdivision
 twelve of this section, or owned by a telephone corporation  as  defined
 in  subdivision  seventeen  of section two of the public service law and
 certified by the public service commission under section ninety-nine  of
 such  law,  nor  shall  it  include property of a municipal corporation,
 public benefit corporation or special district, nor shall it  include  a
 crossing  less than two hundred fifty feet in length of a public street,

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD10244-04-9

 S. 4230                             2
 
 highway, water or other public place outside a city or  village,  unless
 such  crossing  be  the  continuation  of an occupancy of another public
 street, highway, water or other public place.   THE TERM  SPECIAL  FRAN-
 CHISE  SHALL  ALSO  NOT  INCLUDE  ANY  WATER  SYSTEM PROPERTY OWNED BY A
 WATER-WORKS CORPORATION AS SUCH TERMS ARE DEFINED IN SECTION TWO OF  THE
 PUBLIC SERVICE LAW.
   §  2. The taxable assessed valuation of any water system special fran-
 chise property, as defined in subdivision 17 of section 102 of the  real
 property  tax  law,  owned by a water-works corporation that is used for
 conducting water on assessment rolls required by law to be completed and
 filed on or after January first, two thousand nineteen shall not  exceed
 the taxable assessed valuation of such real property on final assessment
 rolls  completed and filed on or after January first, two thousand eigh-
 teen; the taxable assessed valuation  of  such  property  on  assessment
 rolls  required  by  law  to  be completed and filed on or after January
 first, two thousand twenty shall not exceed eighty percent of the  taxa-
 ble  assessed  valuation of such real property on final assessment rolls
 completed and filed on or after January first,  two  thousand  eighteen;
 the  taxable  assessed  valuation  of  such property on assessment rolls
 required by law to be completed and filed on or after January first, two
 thousand twenty-one shall  not  exceed  sixty  percent  of  the  taxable
 assessed  valuation  of  such  real  property  on final assessment rolls
 completed and filed on or after January first,  two  thousand  eighteen;
 the  taxable  assessed  valuation  of  such property on assessment rolls
 required by law to be completed and filed on or after January first, two
 thousand twenty-two shall  not  exceed  forty  percent  of  the  taxable
 assessed  valuation  of  such  real  property  on final assessment rolls
 completed and filed on or after January first,  two  thousand  eighteen;
 and  the taxable assessed valuation of such property on assessment rolls
 required by law to be completed and filed on or after January first, two
 thousand twenty-three shall not exceed twenty  percent  of  the  taxable
 assessed  valuation  of  such  real  property  on final assessment rolls
 completed and filed on or after January first, two thousand eighteen.
   § 3. For purposes of this act, any tax relief  realized  by  a  water-
 works corporation shall be used to reduce current water rates and offset
 future water rate increases.
   §  4.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
 section one of this act shall take effect January 1, 2024.

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  4230--A
 
                        2019-2020 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               March 5, 2019
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sens.  KAMINSKY, BROOKS, HARCKHAM, MAYER, THOMAS -- read
   twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to  the
   Committee  on  Local Government -- committee discharged, bill amended,
   ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN ACT to amend the real property tax  law,  in  relation  to  excluding
   water  system  property owned by water-works corporations from special
   franchise tax
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1.  Short  title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
 the "New York state water tax equality act".
   § 2. Legislative findings and declaration. The legislature  finds  and
 declares  that  property  taxes  levied  upon private water works corpo-
 rations adversely affects residents receiving water services  from  such
 corporations  by  passing on an additional tax burden that is not shared
 by neighboring rate payers receiving water from different sources. There
 is precedent for exempting  other  utilities  from  "special  franchise"
 taxes  for  purposes of reducing rates. Additionally, there is no inten-
 tion or anticipation that this legislation would have any impact on  the
 property  tax  cap authorized under section 3-c of the general municipal
 law and section 2023-a of the education law. It is  the  intent  of  the
 legislature  to mandate that any tax reduction pursuant to this act to a
 private water works corporation must  be  used  to  benefit  rate-payers
 through  reduced monthly bills and not as a windfall to the corporation.
 Additionally, this act seeks to ensure, where  possible,  that  the  tax
 burden does not get shifted from current tax classes onto homeowners.
   §  3.  Subdivision  17 of section 102 of the real property tax law, as
 amended by chapter 569 of the laws  of  1996,  is  amended  to  read  as
 follows:
   17.  "Special  franchise"  means  the  franchise,  right, authority or
 permission to construct, maintain or operate in, under, above,  upon  or

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD10244-09-9

 S. 4230--A                          2
 
 through  any  public street, highway, water or other public place mains,
 pipes, tanks, conduits, wires or transformers, with their appurtenances,
 for conducting water, steam, light, power,  electricity,  gas  or  other
 substance,  EXCLUDING  WATER IN COUNTIES OF ONE MILLION OR MORE THAT ARE
 SPECIAL ASSESSING UNITS AND  ANY  ASSESSING  JURISDICTIONS  WITHIN  SUCH
 COUNTIES.    For purposes of assessment and taxation a special franchise
 shall include the value of the tangible  property  situated  in,  under,
 above, upon or through any public street, highway, water or other public
 place  in  connection  therewith.  The  term special franchise shall not
 include central office equipment or  station  equipment  (except  public
 telephone  terminal  equipment)  which first appears on assessment rolls
 prepared on the basis of taxable status  dates  occurring  on  or  after
 October  first,  nineteen  hundred  ninety-five  and which is owned by a
 telephone company as defined in paragraph (d) of subdivision  twelve  of
 this section, or owned by a telephone corporation as defined in subdivi-
 sion seventeen of section two of the public service law and certified by
 the public service commission under section ninety-nine of such law, nor
 shall  it  include  property  of a municipal corporation, public benefit
 corporation or special district, nor shall it include  a  crossing  less
 than two hundred fifty feet in length of a public street, highway, water
 or other public place outside a city or village, unless such crossing be
 the  continuation  of  an  occupancy  of another public street, highway,
 water or other public place.  THE TERM SPECIAL FRANCHISE IN COUNTIES  OF
 ONE  MILLION  OR MORE THAT ARE SPECIAL ASSESSING UNITS AND ANY ASSESSING
 JURISDICTIONS WITHIN SUCH COUNTIES SHALL  ALSO  NOT  INCLUDE  ANY  WATER
 SYSTEM PROPERTY OWNED BY A WATER-WORKS CORPORATION LOCATED IN SUCH COUN-
 TIES,  AS  SUCH  TERMS  ARE DEFINED IN SECTION TWO OF THE PUBLIC SERVICE
 LAW.
   § 4. The taxable assessed valuation of any water system special  fran-
 chise  property, as defined in subdivision 17 of section 102 of the real
 property tax law, owned by a water-works corporation in a county of  one
 million  or  more  that  is  a  special assessing unit AND ANY ASSESSING
 JURISDICTIONS WITHIN SUCH COUNTIES, that is used for conducting water on
 assessment rolls required by law to be completed and filed on  or  after
 January  first,  two  thousand  [nineteen]  TWENTY shall not exceed [the
 taxable assessed valuation of such real  property  on  final  assessment
 rolls  completed and filed on or after January first, two thousand eigh-
 teen; the taxable assessed valuation  of  such  property  on  assessment
 rolls  required  by  law  to  be completed and filed on or after January
 first, two thousand twenty shall not exceed] eighty percent of the taxa-
 ble assessed valuation of such real property on final  assessment  rolls
 completed  and  filed on or after January first, two thousand [eighteen]
 NINETEEN; the taxable assessed valuation of such property on  assessment
 rolls  required  by  law  to  be completed and filed on or after January
 first, two thousand twenty-one shall not exceed  sixty  percent  of  the
 taxable  assessed  valuation  of  such real property on final assessment
 rolls completed and filed on or after January first, two thousand [eigh-
 teen] NINETEEN; the taxable  assessed  valuation  of  such  property  on
 assessment  rolls  required by law to be completed and filed on or after
 January first, two thousand twenty-two shall not exceed forty percent of
 the taxable assessed valuation of such real property on final assessment
 rolls completed and filed on or after January first, two thousand [eigh-
 teen] NINETEEN; and the taxable assessed valuation of such  property  on
 assessment  rolls  required by law to be completed and filed on or after
 January first, two thousand twenty-three shall not exceed twenty percent
 of the taxable assessed valuation of such real property on final assess-

 S. 4230--A                          3
 
 ment rolls completed and filed on or after January first,  two  thousand
 [eighteen] NINETEEN.
   §  5.  For  purposes  of this act, any tax relief realized by a water-
 works corporation shall be used to reduce current water rates and offset
 future water rate increases.   Any reduction  in  the  taxable  assessed
 value  in  any  taxing jurisdiction resulting from this act shall not be
 reflected in any  adjusted  proportions  or  adjusted  base  proportions
 established  pursuant  to  article  18  of  the real property tax law or
 adjusted homestead and non-homestead base proportions established pursu-
 ant to article 19 of the real property tax law.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately; provided,  however,  that
 section three of this act shall take effect January 1, 2024.