NY State Senate Bill 2019-S8644

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

Introduced
- In Committee Assembly
- In Committee Senate
- On Floor Calendar Assembly
- On Floor Calendar Senate
- Passed Assembly
- Passed Senate
Delivered to Governor
Signed By Governor

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	Assembly Actions - Lowercase Senate Actions - UPPERCASE
Jun 29, 2020	referred to rules

co-Sponsors

2019-S8644 (ACTIVE) - Details

See Assembly Version of this Bill:: A10935
Current Committee:: Senate Rules
Law Section:: New York City
Versions Introduced in Other Legislative Sessions:: 2021-2022: S513, A6713
2023-2024: S21

2019-S8644 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Enacts the New York City truth in budgeting act to require notice and a public hearing prior to an increase in the real property tax levy greater than two percent over the prior year.

2019-S8644 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S8644

SPONSOR: GOUNARDES
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act relating to enacting the New York City truth in budgeting act

 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:

To provide transparency when the City of New York increases property
taxes by keeping tax rates flat while property values rise

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one provides that this act shall be known as the "New York City
truth in budgeting act."

Section two of the bill sets definitions.

Section three of the bill outlines a process by which the City of New
York shall create a public notice and a series of public hearings on all

property tax increases over two percent.

Section four sets the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

Property taxes form the backbone of local governments in New York.  Less
cyclical than sales or income taxes, property taxes allow municipal
governments to provide critical services such as homelessness
prevention, firefighting, and public education over both the short and
long term. Yet the property tax levy in New York City, which more than
tripled from $8.4 billion in 2000 to $29.6 billion in 2019, has become
less a stable source of income and more a windfall profitmaker. This has
in turn led to such enormous growth of the New York City budget ($20
billion in six years) that it is difficult to know where to make cuts as
we navigate the coronavirus recession.

The property tax levy has ballooned thanks to New York City's booming
housing market and the corresponding appreciation of real estate values.
This fortuitous growth has allowed officials to only slightly increase
or keep flat the tax rates for each property tax class and claim that
they have not increased property taxes - yet if that were true, the levy
would not have tripled in the past six years. In practice, the NYC
Department of. Finance both assesses the market value of all properties
in the city and recommends tax rates for each type of property to the
City Council. The Council then approves these rates as part of the annu-
al budget process each June. For the average taxpayer, there is no tran-
sparency about the way his or her property taxes continue to be raised
year after year. The residents of New York City do not benefit from the
same 2% property tax cap found in ahe rest of the state that helps to
clamp down growth in the levy.

This bill will mandate that, for any increase in the property tax levy
above 2%, the city must provide full disclosure on the difference
between the proposed budget and one that achieves zero growth of the
levy by offsetting rising property values with a reduction in the tax
rate. This disclosure must also be followed by a series of public hear-
ings throughout the city before the City Council adopts the final budg-
et. Such "truth in budgeting" laws are already in place in several other
states such as Maryland, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia, and have
been recommended in the past by the Tax Equity Now coalition which sued
the city and state in 2017 for a property tax system it called racially
discriminatory. New York City's homeowners, landlords, and small busi-
nesses are already struggling to make ends meet as they suffer a loss of
rental and other income amidst the current pandemic. They deserve real
and immediate relief for a property tax burden that has become too heavy
to bear. Absent that, the very least we can provide them is the same
transparency and opportunity to weigh in on tax increases that their
upstate counterparts enjoy.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

None

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

To be determined

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately and apply to the fiscal year
succeeding the enactment date.

2019-S8644 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                            
 
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8644
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               June 29, 2020
                                ___________
 
 Introduced by Sen. GOUNARDES -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
   printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT relating to enacting the New York City truth in budgeting act
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the  "New  York
 City truth in budgeting act".
   § 2. Definitions. As used in this act:
   (a)  "Property tax levy" shall mean the overall property tax raised by
 the city of New York in a given fiscal year.
   (b) "Assuming zero growth" shall mean the presumption that the proper-
 ty tax levy has not increased relative to the prior fiscal year.
   (c) "Proposed tax rates" shall mean the tax rates of each of the prop-
 erty tax classes as proposed in the budget of the city of New York.
   (d) "City" shall mean the city of New York.
   § 3. The city of New York shall levy a tax on real estate  no  greater
 than  an amount equal to two percent of the amount raised by such tax in
 the prior fiscal year unless such city meets the  requirements  of  this
 section.
   (a)  The  city  shall issue a report to both the state legislature and
 the New York city council which contains, within the first  five  pages,
 the  words  "PROPOSED  TAX  INCREASE" in bold upper-case font no smaller
 than 18 point, followed  by  the  fiscal  year  for  which  such  report
 applies.  Such  report shall then detail the growth of the amount of the
 property tax levy as proposed in the city's budget, the  growth  of  the
 assessed  value  of each of the property tax classes as such classes are
 defined in section 1802 of the real property tax law, and the growth  of
 the  proposed tax rates of each property tax class, both compared to the
 prior fiscal year and within the context of the prior ten fiscal  years.
 Such report shall include a clear and concise comparison of the tax rate
 for  each  property  tax  class assuming zero growth in the property tax
 levy to the tax rates for each property tax class as  proposed  in  such
 city's budget.

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

                                                            LBD16693-03-0

 S. 8644                             2
 
   (i)  Such  report  shall  be delivered to the legislature and the city
 council prior to the dates of the hearings described in subdivision  (c)
 of  this  section  and  shall  be  made publicly available on the city's
 website.
   (ii)  Nothing  in  this subdivision shall be construed to prohibit the
 city from including any additional information related to property taxes
 in such report.
   (b) Such city shall publish a notice in no less than three  newspapers
 of  general  circulation  within  the  city with the words "PROPOSED TAX
 INCREASE" in bold upper-case font no smaller than 18 point. Such  notice
 shall  compare the proposed tax rates with the tax rates for each of the
 property tax classes assuming zero growth in the property tax levy. Such
 notice shall compare, for each of the property tax classes,  the  impact
 that  such  city's  proposed  tax rates would have on a property owner's
 final property tax bill to the impact on such bill of a tax  rate  which
 assumes  zero growth in the property tax levy, using examples of proper-
 ties in each of the property tax classes  which  are  fictionalized  but
 representative of taxable assessed values in each property tax class.
   (c)  Such  notice shall further include the dates, times and locations
 of the public hearings described in subdivision (d) of this  section  on
 such city's proposed tax rates.
   (i)  Nothing  in  this  subdivision shall be construed to prohibit the
 city from including any additional information related to property taxes
 in such notice.
   (ii) It is the intent of the legislature that such notice be published
 in both electronic and print format in newspapers  of  general  interest
 and readership to the population of such city.
   (d)  Prior  to the adoption of the city's budget and subsequent to the
 publication of the notice described in subdivision (b) of this  section,
 such  city  shall  hold  a series of public hearings on the proposed tax
 increases described in such notice. Such hearings shall  take  place  at
 hours of convenience to the general public and at geographically diverse
 locations  throughout  such city.  Such hearings shall be subject to all
 provisions of this state's open meetings law.   Notwithstanding  section
 110  of  the  public  officers  law,  however, where there is a conflict
 between the provisions of this act and the provisions of the open  meet-
 ings law this act shall prevail.
   §  4.  This  act  shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the
 fiscal year next succeeding the date on which it  shall  have  become  a
 law.

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Senate Bill S8644

Sponsored By

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

co-Sponsors

2019-S8644 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S8644 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S8644 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S8644 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments

Senate Bill S8644

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Sponsored By

Andrew Gounardes

Archive: Last Bill Status - In Senate Committee Rules Committee

co-Sponsors

Simcha Felder

2019-S8644 (ACTIVE) - Details

2019-S8644 (ACTIVE) - Summary

2019-S8644 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

2019-S8644 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

Comments