S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   7515
 
                        2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                               June 2, 2023
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  Sen.  STEWART-COUSINS -- read twice and ordered printed,
   and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules
 
 AN ACT in relation to providing assessment  relief  to  property  owners
   within  certain municipalities; and to amend the local finance law, in
   relation to real property tax refunds and credits

   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 "climate change property tax assessment relief act".
   § 2. Definitions. For the purposes of this act,  the  following  terms
 shall have the following meanings:
   1.  "Eligible  county" shall mean a county, other than a county wholly
 contained within a city.
   2. "Eligible municipality" shall  mean  a  municipal  corporation,  as
 defined  by  subdivision 10 of section 102 of the real property tax law,
 which is either: (a) an eligible county; or (b) a city,  town,  village,
 special  district, or school district that is wholly or partly contained
 within an eligible county.
   3. "Impacted tax roll" shall mean the final assessment roll.
   4. "Participating municipality" shall mean  an  eligible  municipality
 that  has  passed  a  local  law,  ordinance,  or resolution pursuant to
 section three of this act  to  provide  assessment  relief  to  property
 owners  within  such eligible municipality pursuant to the provisions of
 this act.
   5. "Force of nature" shall mean, for purposes of this section, an  act
 of God, storm, flooding, or natural disaster that renders an owner occu-
 pied  residential real property uninhabitable as determined by the local
 building inspector, or reduces the value of the improvements  upon  such
 real  property  by more than twenty-five percent of their value prior to
 the date upon which damage was caused to the  property  by  a  force  of
 nature;  provided  however,  that  such  reduction  in  value  shall  be

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD11708-02-3
              

 S. 7515                             2
 
 evidenced either by documentation provided by such homeowner's insurance
 company or, in the event such homeowner does not maintain a  homeowner's
 insurance  policy,  by  documentation provided from a public adjuster as
 defined in section 2108 of the insurance law.
   6.  "Total  assessed value" shall mean the total assessed value on the
 parcel prior to any and all exemption adjustments.
   7. "Eligible property" shall mean residential real property with three
 or less dwelling units that is owner occupied prior  to  the  date  upon
 which  damage  is  caused  by  a force of nature; provided however, that
 irrespective of whether the property remains owner occupied, it  is  not
 transferred  to  a  new  owner prior to relief being granted pursuant to
 this act.
   §  3.  Local  option.  An  eligible  municipality  may  exercise   the
 provisions  of  this act if its governing body shall pass a local law or
 in the case of a school district a resolution adopting the provisions of
 this act. An eligible municipality may  provide  assessment  relief  for
 real  property impacted by a force of nature located within such munici-
 pality as provided in section four of this act  only  if  its  governing
 body  specifically  elects  to do so as part of such local law or resol-
 ution.
   § 4. Assessment relief for victims of a force of nature in an eligible
 municipality. 1. Notwithstanding any provision of law to  the  contrary,
 where  an  eligible  property  impacted  by a force of nature is located
 within a participating municipality, assessment relief shall be  granted
 in  proportion to the total assessed value lost to the improvements upon
 such real property resulting from a force of nature;  provided  however,
 that  a  ceiling  or  limitation  on such amounts, by dollar value or by
 percentage of the total assessed value lost, may be established by  such
 local law passed pursuant to section three of this act.
   (a)  The  percentage  loss  in total assessed value on improvements on
 such eligible property for this  purpose  shall  be  determined  by  the
 assessor  in  the  manner provided by this act, subject to review by the
 board of assessment review, or in special assessing  units,  such  local
 equivalent as is applicable.
   (b)  No  relief shall be granted pursuant to this section for purposes
 of any county, city, town, village or  school  district  which  has  not
 adopted the provisions of this act.
   2. To receive such relief pursuant to this section, the property owner
 shall  submit a written request to the assessor within six months of the
 date upon which the force of nature causes damage to such eligible prop-
 erty or within six months of passage  of  the  governing  municipality's
 local law or resolution; whichever is greater, on a form approved by the
 director  of the office of real property tax services; provided however,
 that without limitation, owners of eligible property may  submit  claims
 for  damage  caused  after January 1, 2020 and prior to the enactment of
 this act, up to one year after the  date  upon  which  a  local  law  is
 adopted  pursuant  to the provisions of this section. Such request shall
 attach any supporting documentation and photographs, including  any  and
 all  reports  by an insurance adjuster, and shall describe in reasonable
 detail the damage caused to the property by the force of nature and  the
 condition of the property following the force of nature.
   3. Upon receiving such a request, the assessor shall make a finding as
 to the level of relief a homeowner is eligible for based upon a determi-
 nation of the assessor.
   4. The assessor shall mail written notice of such finding to the prop-
 erty  owner and the participating municipality. Where the assessor finds
 S. 7515                             3
 
 that the loss to the  improvements  is  less  than  the  property  owner
 believes  is warranted, the property owner may file a complaint with the
 board of assessment review. Such board shall  reconvene  upon  ten  days
 written notice to the property owner and assessor to hear the appeal and
 determine the matter, and shall mail written notice of its determination
 to  the  assessor and property owner. The provisions of article 5 of the
 real property tax law shall govern the  review  process  to  the  extent
 practicable.  For  the  purposes  of  this  act  only, the applicant may
 commence within 30  days  of  service  of  a  written  determination,  a
 proceeding  under title 1 of article 7 of the real property tax law, or,
 if applicable, under title 1-A of article 7 of  the  real  property  tax
 law. Sections 727 and 739 of the real property tax law shall not apply.
   5. Where an assessor has determined that the improvements on an eligi-
 ble  property  have  lost  value  as  a result of a force of nature, the
 assessment applicable to such eligible property shall be reduced by  the
 appropriate  amount  specified  in  subdivision  (a)  of  this  section,
 provided that any exemptions which the property may be  receiving  shall
 be  adjusted  as  necessary  to  account for such reduction in the total
 assessed value. To the extent the total assessed value of  the  property
 originally  appearing on such roll exceeds the amount to which it should
 be reduced pursuant to this act, the excess shall be considered an error
 in essential fact as defined by subdivision 3 of section 550 of the real
 property tax law. If the error appears on a tax roll, the tax roll shall
 be corrected in the manner provided by section 554 of the real  property
 tax  law  or  a refund or credit of taxes shall be granted in the manner
 provided by section 556 or section 556-b of the real property  tax  law.
 If  the  error appears on a final assessment roll but not on a tax roll,
 such final assessment roll shall be corrected in the manner provided  by
 section  553  of the real property tax law. The errors in essential fact
 found pursuant to the climate change property tax assessment relief  act
 on either the tax roll or final assessment roll, upon application to the
 county director of real property tax services, shall be forwarded by the
 county director of real property tax services immediately to the levying
 body for an immediate order setting forth the appropriate correction.
   6.  The  rights contained in this act shall not otherwise diminish any
 other legally available right of any property owner  or  party  who  may
 otherwise  lawfully  challenge  the  valuation or assessment of any real
 property or improvements thereon. All remaining rights hereby remain and
 shall be available to the party to whom such rights would  otherwise  be
 available notwithstanding this act.
   7.  Thereafter,  any  increase  in  assessed value attributable to the
 improvements made to real property impacted by a force of  nature  shall
 not constitute a selective reassessment.
   § 5. The commissioner of taxation and finance is authorized to develop
 a guidance memorandum for use by assessing units. Such guidance memoran-
 dum shall assist with the implementation of this act and shall be deemed
 to  be  advisory  on all assessing units in counties which implement the
 provisions of this act. The guidance memorandum shall have no  force  or
 effect  or serve as authority for any other act of assessing units or of
 the interpretation or implementation of the laws of  the  state  of  New
 York except as they relate to the specific implementation of this act.
   §  6.  School  districts  held  harmless. Each school district that is
 wholly or partially contained within an eligible county  shall  be  held
 harmless  by  the  state  for any reduction in state aid that would have
 been paid as tax savings pursuant to section 1306-a of the real property
 tax law incurred due to the provisions of this act.
 S. 7515                             4
 
   § 7. Bonds authorized. Serial bonds, and  in  advance  of  such,  bond
 anticipation  notes,  are hereby authorized pursuant to subdivision 33-b
 of paragraph a of section 11.00 of  the  local  finance  law,  provided,
 however,  that  any  federal  community  development block grant funding
 received  by  such  participating  municipality,  in relation to loss of
 property tax funding, shall first be used to defease, upon maturity, the
 interest and principal of any such bond or note so outstanding.
   § 8. Suffolk county financing of  refunds  and  credits.  Payments  by
 Suffolk  county  for  refunds  or credits pursuant to the chapter of the
 laws of 2023 which enacted this section may be financed pursuant to  the
 local  finance  law  in  the same manner, and subject to the same condi-
 tions, as amounts authorized under section 3 of the Suffolk  county  tax
 act  to be charged by Suffolk county to towns or special districts or by
 towns to school districts may be financed pursuant to the local  finance
 law.  The  period  of  probable  usefulness  for such payments is hereby
 determined to be ten years.
   § 9. Paragraph a of section 11.00 of the local finance law is  amended
 by adding a new subdivision 33-e to read as follows:
   33-E.  REAL  PROPERTY TAX REFUNDS AND CREDITS. PAYMENTS OF EXEMPTIONS,
 REFUNDS, OR CREDITS FOR REAL PROPERTY TAX, SEWER AND WATER RENTS,  RATES
 AND  CHARGES  AND  ALL OTHER REAL PROPERTY TAXES TO BE MADE BY A MUNICI-
 PALITY, SCHOOL DISTRICT OR DISTRICT CORPORATION AS A RESULT  OF  PARTIC-
 IPATING  IN  THE  CLIMATE CHANGE PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENT RELIEF ACT, TEN
 YEARS.
   § 10. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph,  subdi-
 vision,  section  or  part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment  shall  not  affect,
 impair,  or  invalidate  the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph,  subdivision,  section
 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
 the  legislature  that  this  act  would  have been enacted even if such
 invalid provisions had not been included herein.
   § 11. This act shall take effect immediately and shall  be  deemed  to
 have been in full force and effect on and after January 1, 2020.