NY State Senate Bill 2025-S688

Senate Bill S688

2025-2026 Legislative Session

Relates to the real property tax exemption for un-remarried spouses of volunteer firefighters or volunteer ambulance workers killed in the line of duty

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Current Bill Status - In Senate Committee Local Government 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
Jan 08, 2025	referred to local government

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2025-S688 (ACTIVE) - Details

Current Committee:: Senate Local Government
Law Section:: Real Property Tax Law
Laws Affected:: Amd §466-a, RPT L
Versions Introduced in 2023-2024 Legislative Session:: S9298

2025-S688 (ACTIVE) - Summary

Amends the real property tax exemption for un-remarried spouses of volunteer firefighters or volunteer ambulance workers killed in the line of duty to permit continuation of such exemption for volunteer members with service between two and five years.

2025-S688 (ACTIVE) - Sponsor Memo

                                 
BILL NUMBER: S688

SPONSOR: MARTINEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation to a real proper-
ty tax exemption for un-remarried spouses of volunteer firefighters or
volunteer ambulance workers killed in the line of duty

 
PURPOSE:

This bill would permit municipalities to adopt a local law or ordinance
to allow un-remarried spouses of volunteer firefighters or volunteer
ambulance workers with between two and five years of service, who are
killed in the line of duty, to continue receiving pre-existing property
tax exemptions.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: amends subdivision 4 of section 466-a of the real property
tax law, as added by Chapter 670 of the laws of 2022.

Section 2: Establishes the enacting clause.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

In 2022, the Legislature passed Chapter 670, which gave local govern-
ments the option to permanently extend a 10% property tax exemption to
volunteer firefighters and ambulance workers with a minimum of between
two and five years of service. Prior to passage of this law, these
volunteers had to have at least five years of service to apply for this
exemption and the Legislature needed to pass stand-alone bills for each
locality that wanted to opt in. Under the old law, if a member that had
at least five years of service was killed in the line of duty, the
member's spouse was able to apply to continue receiving the exemption.

Unfortunately, there was an inconsistency in Chapter 670 of 2022.
Although the new law allows localities to establish minimum service
requirements of as low as two years to be eligible for the 10% property
tax exemption, it still requires members killed in the line of duty to
have had at least five years of service to allow their un-remarried
spouses to continue receiving the exemption.

Accordingly, this bill would correct that inconsistency by permitting
municipalities to adopt a local law or ordinance to allow un-remarried
spouses of volunteer firefighters or volunteer ambulance workers with
between two and five years of service, who are killed in the line of
duty, to continue receiving the pre-existing 10% property tax exemption.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

New bill.

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None to the state.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

2025-S688 (ACTIVE) - Bill Text download pdf

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    688
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                             I N  S E N A T E
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by Sens. MARTINEZ, RHOADS -- 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 a real proper-
   ty tax exemption for un-remarried 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.  Subdivision  4  of 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:
   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; provided, however, that:
   (a) such un-remarried spouse is  certified  by  the  authority  having
 jurisdiction  for  the incorporated volunteer fire company, fire depart-
 ment or incorporated voluntary  ambulance  service  as  an  un-remarried
 spouse  of an enrolled member of such incorporated volunteer fire compa-
 ny, fire department or incorporated voluntary ambulance 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 exemption prior to
 [his or her] THEIR death.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets

                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02762-01-5

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Senate Bill S688

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Sponsored By

Monica R. Martinez