S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    26
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. TEDISCO, BORRELLO, HELMING, PALUMBO, RHOADS -- read
   twice and ordered printed, and when printed to  be  committed  to  the
   Committee on Aging
 
 AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to increasing the
   enhanced  STAR  property  tax  deduction  and  to  providing  a  total
   exemption for school taxes for certain persons eighty years of age and
   older
 
   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 "Two STAR
 Act".
   § 2. Clause (C) of subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of subdivision  4
 of  section 425 of the real property tax law, as amended by section 3 of
 part E of chapter 83 of the laws of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
   (C) For final assessment rolls to be completed [in each ensuing  year]
 BETWEEN  TWO  THOUSAND  FOUR AND TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX, the applicable
 income tax year,  cost-of-living-adjustment  percentage  and  applicable
 increase  percentage  shall  all be advanced by one year, and the income
 standard shall be the previously-applicable income standard increased by
 the new cost-of-living-adjustment percentage. If there should be a  year
 for  which  there  is no applicable increase percentage due to a general
 benefit increase as defined by subdivision three of  subsection  (i)  of
 section  four  hundred  fifteen  of title forty-two of the United States
 code, the applicable increase percentage for purposes of  this  computa-
 tion  shall be deemed to be the percentage which would have yielded that
 general benefit increase.
   § 3. Clause (C-1) of subparagraph (i) of paragraph (b) of  subdivision
 4 of section 425 of the real property tax law is relettered clause (C-2)
 and a new clause (C-1) is added to read as follows:

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD00141-01-5
              

 S. 26                               2
 
   (C-1)  FOR  FINAL  ASSESSMENT ROLLS TO BE COMPLETED AFTER TWO THOUSAND
 TWENTY-SIX, THE APPLICABLE INCOME  TAX  YEAR,  COST-OF-LIVING-ADJUSTMENT
 PERCENTAGE  AND  APPLICABLE INCREASE PERCENTAGE SHALL ALL BE ADVANCED BY
 ONE YEAR, AND THE INCOME STANDARD SHALL BE TWICE THE PREVIOUSLY-APPLICA-
 BLE  INCOME  STANDARD  INCREASED  BY  THE  NEW COST-OF-LIVING-ADJUSTMENT
 PERCENTAGE. IF THERE SHOULD BE A YEAR FOR WHICH THERE IS  NO  APPLICABLE
 INCREASE  PERCENTAGE  DUE  TO  A  GENERAL BENEFIT INCREASE AS DEFINED BY
 SUBDIVISION THREE OF SUBSECTION (I) OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED  FIFTEEN  OF
 TITLE  FORTY-TWO  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  CODE, THE APPLICABLE INCREASE
 PERCENTAGE FOR PURPOSES OF THIS COMPUTATION SHALL BE DEEMED  TO  BE  THE
 PERCENTAGE WHICH WOULD HAVE YIELDED THAT GENERAL BENEFIT INCREASE.
   §  4.  Section 425 of the real property tax law is amended by adding a
 new subdivision 4-b to read as follows:
   4-B. SENIOR CITIZENS TOTAL EXEMPTION. FOR FINAL ASSESSMENT ROLLS TO BE
 COMPLETED AFTER TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX, A TOTAL EXEMPTION FOR  PROPERTY
 OWNED  BY  SENIOR  CITIZENS  SHALL  BE PROVIDED WHERE THE PROPERTY OWNER
 SATISFIES THE REQUIREMENTS OF CLAUSE (C-1) OF SUBPARAGRAPH (I) OF  PARA-
 GRAPH  (B) OF SUBDIVISION FOUR OF THIS SECTION AND ALL OF THE OWNERS ARE
 AT LEAST EIGHTY YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER AS OF THE DATE OF  THE  APPLICABLE
 FINAL ASSESSMENT ROLL, OR IN THE CASE OF PROPERTY OWNED BY SPOUSES OR BY
 SIBLINGS,  ONE  OF THE OWNERS MUST BE AT LEAST EIGHTY YEARS OF AGE AS OF
 THAT DATE AND THE PROPERTY MUST SERVE AS THE PRIMARY RESIDENCE  OF  THAT
 OWNER.
   (A)  AS  USED  IN THIS SUBDIVISION, THE TERM "SIBLINGS" SHALL HAVE THE
 SAME MEANING AS SET FORTH IN SECTION FOUR  HUNDRED  SIXTY-FIVE  OF  THIS
 ARTICLE.
   (B)  AN APPLICATION FOR A TOTAL EXEMPTION PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION
 SHALL BE FILED WITHIN THE SAME TIME FRAMES AND IN THE SAME MANNER AS  AN
 APPLICATION FOR THE ENHANCED STAR EXEMPTION PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION FOUR
 OF THIS SECTION.
   (C)  EXEMPTION  FROM TAXATION FOR SCHOOL PURPOSES SHALL NOT BE GRANTED
 IN THE CASE OF REAL PROPERTY WHERE A CHILD RESIDES IF SUCH CHILD ATTENDS
 A PUBLIC SCHOOL OF ELEMENTARY OR SECONDARY EDUCATION, UNLESS THE GOVERN-
 ING BOARD OF THE SCHOOL DISTRICT IN WHICH THE PROPERTY IS LOCATED, AFTER
 PUBLIC HEARING,  ADOPTS  A  RESOLUTION  PROVIDING  FOR  SUCH  EXEMPTION;
 PROVIDED  THAT  ANY  SUCH RESOLUTION SHALL CONDITION SUCH EXEMPTION UPON
 SATISFACTORY PROOF THAT THE CHILD WAS NOT BROUGHT INTO THE RESIDENCE  IN
 WHOLE  OR  IN SUBSTANTIAL PART FOR THE PURPOSE OF ATTENDING A PARTICULAR
 SCHOOL WITHIN THE DISTRICT. THE PROCEDURE FOR SUCH  HEARING  AND  RESOL-
 UTION  MUST  BE  CONDUCTED SEPARATELY FROM THE PROCEDURE FOR ANY HEARING
 AND LOCAL LAW, ORDINANCE OR RESOLUTION CONDUCTED PURSUANT  TO  PARAGRAPH
 (A) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION FOUR HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE OF THIS TITLE.
   § 5. Paragraph (a) of subdivision 2 of section 425 of the real proper-
 ty  tax law, as amended by section 1 of part E of chapter 83 of the laws
 of 2002, is amended to read as follows:
   (a) Overview. There shall be [two] THREE variations of  the  exemption
 authorized  by  this  section:  (I)  an  exemption for property owned by
 persons who satisfy the criteria set forth in subdivision three of  this
 section, which shall be known as the "basic" STAR exemption[, and]; (II)
 an  exemption  for  property  owned  by  senior citizens who satisfy the
 criteria set forth in both subdivisions three and four of this  section,
 which  shall  be  known  as  the "enhanced" STAR exemption; AND (III) AN
 EXEMPTION FOR PROPERTY OWNED BY SENIOR CITIZENS WHO SATISFY THE CRITERIA
 SET FORTH IN SUBDIVISION FOUR-B OF THIS SECTION. The exempt  amount  for
 each  assessing  unit  shall be determined annually as set forth in this
 subdivision, by multiplying the "base figure" by the  locally-applicable
 S. 26                               3
 
 "sales  price  differential  factor," if any, multiplying the product by
 the appropriate "equalization factor" for the assessing  unit,  and,  if
 necessary,  increasing  the  result to equal the applicable "floor." The
 result is then rounded to the nearest multiple of ten dollars.
   § 6. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to assess-
 ment rolls completed on and after January 1, 2026.