S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
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                                  688--A
     Cal. No. 373
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. MARTINEZ, RHOADS, ROLISON -- read twice and ordered
   printed, and when printed to be committed to the  Committee  on  Local
   Government -- reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first
   and  second  report,  ordered  to a third reading, amended and ordered
   reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading
 
 AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to a real proper-
   ty tax exemption for surviving spouses of  volunteer  firefighters  or
   volunteer ambulance workers killed in the line of duty
 
   THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section 1. Section 466-a of the real property tax  law,  as  added  by
 chapter 670 of the laws of 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   §  466-a.  Volunteer  firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers. 1.
 Real property owned by an enrolled member of an  incorporated  volunteer
 fire  company,  fire  department  or  incorporated  voluntary  ambulance
 service or such enrolled member and spouse residing in any county  shall
 be  exempt  from  taxation  to  the  extent  of up to ten percent of the
 assessed value AND SURVIVING SPOUSES OF MEMBERS KILLED IN  THE  LINE  OF
 DUTY  SHALL  BE  EXEMPT  FROM  TAXATION TO THE EXTENT OF UP TO FIFTY PER
 CENTUM OF THE ASSESSED VALUE of such property for city,  village,  town,
 part  town,  special  district, school district, fire district or county
 purposes, exclusive of special assessments, provided that the  governing
 body of a city, village, town, school district, fire district or county,
 after  a  public  hearing,  adopts  a local law, ordinance or resolution
 providing therefor.
   2. Such exemption shall not be granted to an  enrolled  member  of  an
 incorporated  volunteer  fire  company,  fire department or incorporated
 voluntary ambulance service residing in such county unless:
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02762-02-5
              

 S. 688--A                           2
 
   (a) the applicant resides in the city, town or village which is served
 by such incorporated volunteer fire company or fire department or incor-
 porated voluntary ambulance service;
   (b) the property is the primary residence of the applicant;
   (c)  the  property  is  used  exclusively  for  residential  purposes;
 provided however, that in the event any portion of such property is  not
 used  exclusively  for  the  applicant's residence but is used for other
 purposes, such portion shall be subject to taxation  and  the  remaining
 portion  only  shall  be  entitled  to  the  exemption  provided by this
 section; and
   (d) the applicant has been certified by the authority having jurisdic-
 tion for the incorporated volunteer fire company,  fire  department,  or
 voluntary  ambulance  service as an enrolled member of such incorporated
 volunteer fire company, fire department, or voluntary ambulance service,
 as determined by the governing body of a  city,  village,  town,  school
 district,  fire district or county; provided, however, that such govern-
 ing body shall establish a minimum service requirement for  each  appli-
 cant between two years of service and five years of service. It shall be
 the  duty and responsibility of the governing body of each municipality,
 school district and/or fire district which adopts a local law, ordinance
 or resolution pursuant to this section to determine  the  procedure  for
 certification.
   3. Any enrolled member of an incorporated volunteer fire company, fire
 department  or incorporated voluntary ambulance service who accrues more
 than twenty years of active service and is so certified by the authority
 having jurisdiction for the incorporated volunteer  fire  company,  fire
 department or incorporated voluntary ambulance service, shall be granted
 the  ten percent exemption as authorized by this section for the remain-
 der of [his or her] SUCH MEMBER'S life as long as  [his  or  her]  THEIR
 primary  residence  is  located  within  such  county  provided that the
 governing body of a city, village, town, school district, fire  district
 or  county,  after  a  public  hearing, adopts a local law, ordinance or
 resolution providing therefor.
   4. [Un-remarried spouses of volunteer firefighters or volunteer  ambu-
 lance  workers  killed  in  the line of duty. Any local law or ordinance
 adopted pursuant to this section may be separately amended, or  a  local
 law,  ordinance  or  resolution may be separately adopted to continue an
 exemption or reinstate a pre-existing exemption claimed under such stat-
 utes by an enrolled member of an incorporated  volunteer  fire  company,
 fire  department,  or  incorporated voluntary ambulance service, to such
 deceased enrolled member's un-remarried spouse if such member is  killed
 in  the  line  of  duty;]  AFTER THE LOCAL LEGISLATIVE BODY OF A COUNTY,
 CITY, TOWN, OR VILLAGE PASSES A LOCAL LAW, OR A SCHOOL DISTRICT PASSES A
 RESOLUTION, NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF  LAW,  REAL  PROPERTY
 OWNED  BY  A  SURVIVING  SPOUSE  OF A ENROLLED MEMBER OF AN INCORPORATED
 VOLUNTEER FIRE COMPANY, FIRE DEPARTMENT, OR INCORPORATED VOLUNTARY AMBU-
 LANCE SERVICE KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY, SHALL BE EXEMPT FROM  TAXATION
 TO  THE  EXTENT  OF  FIFTY PER CENTUM OF THE ASSESSED VALUATION THEREOF.
 WITHIN SUCH LOCAL LAW OR  RESOLUTION,  THE  LOCAL  LEGISLATIVE  BODY  OR
 SCHOOL DISTRICT MAY REDUCE THE PERCENTAGE OF EXEMPTION AUTHORIZED PURSU-
 ANT TO THIS SECTION, provided, however, that:
   (a) such [un-remarried] SURVIVING spouse is certified by the authority
 having  jurisdiction  for  the incorporated volunteer fire company, fire
 department or incorporated voluntary ambulance service as [an  un-remar-
 ried]  A  SURVIVING  spouse  of  an enrolled member of such incorporated
 S. 688--A                           3
 
 volunteer fire company, fire department or incorporated voluntary  ambu-
 lance service who was killed in the line of duty; and
   (b)  such  deceased volunteer had been an enrolled member for at least
 [five years] THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF YEARS OF  SERVICE,  BETWEEN  TWO  AND
 FIVE YEARS, ESTABLISHED BY THE MUNICIPALITY UNDER THIS SECTION; and
   (c)  such  deceased  volunteer  had  been receiving [the] AN exemption
 prior to [his or her] THEIR death.
   4-A. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF LAW TO THE  CONTRARY,  THE
 PROVISIONS  OF  THIS  SECTION  SHALL  APPLY TO ANY REAL PROPERTY HELD IN
 TRUST SOLELY FOR THE BENEFIT OF A PERSON OR PERSONS WHO WOULD  OTHERWISE
 BE  ELIGIBLE  FOR A REAL PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTION, PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION
 FOUR OF THIS SECTION, WERE SUCH PERSON OR PERSONS THE OWNER OR OWNERS OF
 SUCH REAL PROPERTY.
   (A) FOR THE PURPOSES OF THIS SECTION, TITLE TO THAT  PORTION  OF  REAL
 PROPERTY  OWNED  BY  A  COOPERATIVE  APARTMENT  CORPORATION  IN  WHICH A
 TENANT-STOCKHOLDER OF SUCH CORPORATION RESIDES AND WHICH IS  REPRESENTED
 BY  THEIR  SHARE OR SHARES OF STOCK IN SUCH CORPORATION AS DETERMINED BY
 ITS OR THEIR PROPORTIONAL RELATIONSHIP TO THE TOTAL OUTSTANDING STOCK OF
 THE CORPORATION, INCLUDING THAT  OWNED  BY  THE  CORPORATION,  SHALL  BE
 DEEMED TO BE VESTED IN SUCH TENANT-STOCKHOLDER.
   (B)  PROVIDED  THAT ALL OTHER ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA OF THIS SECTION ARE
 MET, THAT PROPORTION OF THE ASSESSMENT OF SUCH REAL PROPERTY OWNED BY  A
 COOPERATIVE APARTMENT CORPORATION DETERMINED BY THE RELATIONSHIP OF SUCH
 REAL  PROPERTY  VESTED  IN SUCH TENANT-STOCKHOLDER TO SUCH REAL PROPERTY
 OWNED BY SUCH COOPERATIVE APARTMENT CORPORATION IN  WHICH  SUCH  TENANT-
 STOCKHOLDER RESIDES SHALL BE SUBJECT TO EXEMPTION FROM TAXATION PURSUANT
 TO  THIS  SECTION  AND ANY EXEMPTION SO GRANTED SHALL BE CREDITED BY THE
 APPROPRIATE TAXING AUTHORITY AGAINST THE ASSESSED VALUATION OF SUCH REAL
 PROPERTY; THE REDUCTION IN REAL PROPERTY TAXES REALIZED THEREBY SHALL BE
 CREDITED BY THE COOPERATIVE APARTMENT CORPORATION AGAINST THE AMOUNT  OF
 SUCH  TAXES OTHERWISE PAYABLE BY OR CHARGEABLE TO SUCH TENANT-STOCKHOLD-
 ER.
   (C) NOTWITHSTANDING PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS SUBDIVISION, A TENANT-STOCK-
 HOLDER WHO RESIDES IN A DWELLING THAT IS SUBJECT TO  THE  PROVISIONS  OF
 EITHER  ARTICLE TWO, FOUR, FIVE OR ELEVEN OF THE PRIVATE HOUSING FINANCE
 LAW SHALL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR AN EXEMPTION PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION.
   (D) NOTWITHSTANDING PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS SUBDIVISION,  REAL  PROPERTY
 OWNED BY A COOPERATIVE APARTMENT CORPORATION MAY BE EXEMPT FROM TAXATION
 PURSUANT  TO  THIS SECTION BY A MUNICIPALITY IN WHICH SUCH REAL PROPERTY
 IS LOCATED ONLY IF THE GOVERNING BODY OF SUCH MUNICIPALITY, AFTER PUBLIC
 HEARING, ADOPTS A LOCAL LAW, ORDINANCE OR RESOLUTION PROVIDING THEREFOR.
   5. [Un-remarried] SURVIVING spouses of deceased volunteer firefighters
 or volunteer ambulance workers.  Any  local  law  or  ordinance  adopted
 pursuant  to  this  section  may  be separately amended, or a local law,
 ordinance or  resolution  may  be  separately  adopted  to  continue  an
 exemption  or  reinstate a pre-existing exemption to [an un-remarried] A
 SURVIVING spouse of a deceased enrolled member of an incorporated volun-
 teer fire company, fire department, or incorporated voluntary  ambulance
 service; provided, however, that:
   (a) such [un-remarried] SURVIVING spouse is certified by the authority
 having  jurisdiction  for  the incorporated volunteer fire company, fire
 department or incorporated voluntary ambulance service as [an  un-remar-
 ried]  A SURVIVING spouse of a deceased enrolled member of such incorpo-
 rated volunteer fire company, fire department or incorporated  voluntary
 ambulance service; and
 S. 688--A                           4
 
   (b)  such  deceased volunteer had been an enrolled member for at least
 twenty years; and
   (c)  such  deceased  volunteer and [un-remarried] SURVIVING spouse had
 been receiving the exemption for such property prior  to  the  death  of
 such volunteer.
   6.  Application for such exemption shall be filed with the assessor or
 other agency, department  or  office  designated  by  the  municipality,
 school  district  and/or  fire  district  offering  such exemption on or
 before the taxable status date on a form as prescribed  by  the  commis-
 sioner.
   7.  No applicant who is a volunteer firefighter or volunteer ambulance
 worker who by reason of such status is receiving any benefit  under  the
 provisions  of  this article on the effective date of this section shall
 suffer any diminution of such benefit because of the provisions of  this
 section.
   8.  Any  city, village, town, school district, fire district or county
 that currently, through local law, ordinance or resolution, provides  an
 exemption from taxation for an enrolled member of an incorporated volun-
 teer  fire  company, fire department or incorporated voluntary ambulance
 service, such enrolled member and spouse, or [an un-remarried] A SURVIV-
 ING spouse shall be authorized to continue to  provide  such  exemption,
 provided  however,  such  city,  village,  town,  school  district, fire
 district or county shall adopt a local law, ordinance or  resolution  to
 conform  to  the  provisions  of  this section no later than three years
 after the effective date of this section.
   9. Notice to affected municipalities. On or  before  December  thirty-
 first, two thousand twenty-two, it shall be the duty of the commissioner
 or  [her  or his] SUCH COMMISSIONER'S designees to notify or cause to be
 notified, in a manner prescribed by the commissioner, the  chief  execu-
 tive  officer of each and any municipality in which former sections four
 hundred sixty-six-a, four hundred sixty-six-b, four hundred sixty-six-c,
 four hundred sixty-six-d, four hundred sixty-six-f, four hundred  sixty-
 six-g,  four hundred sixty-six-h, four hundred sixty-six-i, four hundred
 sixty-six-j, and four hundred sixty-six-k of [the real property tax law]
 THIS TITLE apply, of the provisions of [the] chapter SIX HUNDRED SEVENTY
 of the laws of two thousand twenty-two that added this section.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.