Enacts the "climate change property tax relief act"; provides assessment relief to property owners within eligible municipalities; relates to payments of real property tax refunds and credits as a result of participating in the climate change property tax relief act.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7748B
SPONSOR: Shimsky TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation to enacting the
"climate change property tax relief act"
PURPOSE:
To provide a local option for municipalities and other taxing entities
to provide real property tax abatements to homeowners whose properties
sustain damage as a result of natural disasters.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 provides for the bill title: the "Climate Change Property Tax
Relief Act."
Section 2 amends the Real Property Tax Law by adding a new section
467-n, which:
Establishes the relevant definitions, including eligible municipalities
that can adopt the provisions at local option (this includes munici-
palities, school districts, and special districts), eligible properties
(generally, owner-occupied residential properties with three units or
less), types of disasters covered (major and local), and thresholds for
abatements (to be established by local law).
Provides that the legislation is at local option and outlines the
requirements for the local law or resolution. Local laws may provide for
retroactive relief for disasters that have already occurred.
Details the provisions for granting tax abatements for eligible proper-
ties damaged by major or local disasters. The abatement amount is equal
to the reduction in assessed value, subject to any maximum benefit ceil-
ing. The abatement thresholds also include a "minimum damage floor,"
which is the minimum reduction in the total assessed value of an eligi-
ble property, either in a set dollar amount or a percentage of the total
assessed value lost. Both thresholds are established by local law. The
taxing jurisdiction can make an exception to the minimum damage floor in
the event that the building inspector determines that the property has
been rendered uninhabitable.
Requires property owners to submit an application to receive the abate-
ment, which the local assessor will review to determine the amount of
damage. Homeowners may provide various forms of evidence to prove the
damages to their property, including documentation provided by their
homeowner's insurance company, documentation provided by a public adjus-
ter, and photographic and visual documentation, among others. This
provision also provides for an appeals process in the event the homeown-
er does not agree with the abatement granted.
Specifies that if the abatement granted exceeds the amount of real prop-
erty taxes owed on an eligible property, the excess abatement carries
over to the next year, until the cumulative sum of abated real property
taxes equal's the damage to the eligible property, or until five years
have passed, whichever occurs first. Specifies that abatements may not
be granted if the owner intentionally contributed to the damage.
Provides that improvements made to repair damage shall not constitute a
selective reassessment.
Section 3 contains a severability clause.
Section 4 provides for the effective date and makes the act retroactive
to apply to damages caused by disasters on or after January 1, 2020, if
allowed by local law.
JUSTIFICATION:
As severe weather events become stronger and more frequent due to
climate change, homeowners across New York are experiencing firsthand
the severe toll these disasters are taking on communities. In certain
circumstances, due to constraints in New York law concerning property
taxation, local assessors do not have the legal flexibility to provide
relief to homeowners in time. As a result, some homeowners are stuck
with large property tax bills despite facing housing insecurity and
uncertainty following a severe weather event that may render their home
severely damaged or even uninhabitable.
While the Legislature can address specific events through legislation,
as it did with the "Superstorm Sandy Assessment Relief Act," (Chapter
424 of the Laws of 2013), the legislative process takes time; in some
cases, that time can make all the difference in the world to a family
struggling with their housing situation and expenses piling up as a
result of a natural disaster. As these disasters become more common, a
general authority is needed for local taxing entities to provide real
property tax relief to homeowners in a timely manner when they sustain
damage to their properties. This bill provides that authority at local
option.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2024: S.7515 (Original Print) - Passed Senate 58-0
2023: S.7515 (Original Print) - Passed Senate 61-0
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state or localities.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately, and is retroactive to January 1,
2020.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7748--B
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
June 6, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SHIMSKY -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Real Property Taxation -- recommitted to the Committee on Real
Property Taxation in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 --
committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and
recommitted to said committee -- reported and referred to the Commit-
tee on Ways and Means -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to enacting the
"climate change property tax relief act"
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may be cited as
2 the "climate change property tax relief act".
3 § 2. The real property tax law is amended by adding a new section
4 467-n to read as follows:
5 § 467-n. Assessment relief for disasters. 1. Definitions. For the
6 purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following
7 meanings:
8 (a) "Eligible municipality" shall mean a county, city, town or
9 village, school district, or special district, other than a city with a
10 population of one million or more, who has passed a local law or resol-
11 ution pursuant to subdivision two of this section to adopt the
12 provisions of this section.
13 (b) "Eligible property" shall mean residential real property with
14 three or fewer dwelling units that is owner occupied prior to the date
15 upon which damage is caused by a major disaster, local disaster, or
16 both; provided however, that irrespective of whether the property
17 remains owner occupied, it is not transferred to a new owner prior to
18 relief being granted pursuant to this section.
19 (c) "Damages" shall mean the reduction in assessed value of an eligi-
20 ble property resulting from a major disaster, local disaster, or both.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD11708-14-4
A. 7748--B 2
1 (d) "Local disaster" shall mean, the occurrence or imminent, impending
2 or urgent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life
3 or property resulting from any natural or man-made causes, including,
4 but not limited to, fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, high
5 water, landslide, mudslide, wind, storm, wave action, volcanic activity,
6 epidemic, disease outbreak, air contamination, terrorism, cyber event,
7 blight, drought, infestation, explosion, radiological accident, nuclear,
8 chemical, biological, or bacteriological release, water contamination,
9 bridge failure or bridge collapse, occurring in an area or region that
10 is not proclaimed by the governor of New York or president of the United
11 States to be in a state of emergency.
12 (e) "Major disaster" shall mean the occurrence or imminent, impending
13 or urgent threat of widespread or severe damage, injury, or loss of life
14 or property resulting from any natural or man-made causes, including,
15 but not limited to, fire, flood, earthquake, hurricane, tornado, high
16 water, landslide, mudslide, wind, storm, wave action, volcanic activity,
17 epidemic, disease outbreak, air contamination, terrorism, cyber event,
18 blight, drought, infestation, explosion, radiological accident, nuclear,
19 chemical, biological, or bacteriological release, water contamination,
20 bridge failure or bridge collapse, occurring in an area or region subse-
21 quently proclaimed by the governor of New York or president of the
22 United States to be in a state of emergency.
23 (f) "Maximum benefit ceiling" shall mean the maximum abatement from
24 real property taxes in dollars an eligible property may receive pursuant
25 to this section.
26 (g) "Minimum damage floor" shall mean the reduction in total assessed
27 value of an eligible property, in a dollar amount or a percentage of the
28 total assessed value lost, resulting from a major disaster, local disas-
29 ter, or both below which, an eligible property may not receive an abate-
30 ment pursuant to this section; provided however, that the percentage
31 loss in total assessed value on improvements on such eligible property
32 for this purpose shall be determined by the assessor in the manner
33 provided by this section, subject to review by the board of assessment
34 review, or in special assessing units, such local equivalent as is
35 applicable; and provided further, that an eligible municipality may
36 provide for an exception to the minimum damage floor in the event that
37 the disaster rendered the improvements on the residential real property
38 uninhabitable as determined by the local building inspector.
39 2. Local option. (a) An eligible municipality may exercise the
40 provisions of this section if, after a public hearing, its governing
41 body shall pass a local law or, in the case of a school district, a
42 resolution adopting the provisions of this section. Such local law or
43 resolution may provide for a tax abatement for real property that has
44 sustained damages from a major disaster, a local disaster, or both.
45 (b) Such local law or resolution shall include, but not be limited to:
46 (i) an expiration date after which applications received pursuant to
47 this section shall be invalid. If no expiration date is specified, the
48 abatement established in this section shall remain in effect until
49 repealed;
50 (ii) a specification of the number of days after the occurrence of a
51 major disaster, local disaster, or both after which applications
52 received pursuant to this section are invalid;
53 (iii) the date by which if a local disaster, major disaster, or both
54 occurred prior to, applications received pursuant to this section are
55 invalid, provided however, that such date may be prior to the effective
A. 7748--B 3
1 date of such local law or resolution, and provided further, that such
2 date shall not be prior to January first, two thousand twenty; and
3 (iv) a specification of a minimum damage floor and a maximum benefit
4 ceiling.
5 3. Assessment relief for victims of a local or major disaster in an
6 eligible municipality. (a) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the
7 contrary, where an eligible property that has sustained damages is
8 located within an eligible municipality, an abatement of real property
9 taxes shall be granted equal to the damages to such eligible property,
10 subject to the following:
11 (i) the local assessor shall determine the amount of damages;
12 (ii) any abatement from real property taxes may not exceed the maximum
13 benefit ceiling, if applicable;
14 (iii) the damages to an eligible property shall exceed the minimum
15 damage floor, if applicable; and
16 (iv) if the abatement granted pursuant to this section exceeds the
17 amount of real property taxes owed on an eligible property, the excess
18 abatement shall carry over to the next tax year, until the cumulative
19 sum of abated real property taxes equals the damages to such eligible
20 property, or five years have passed from when the abatement was granted,
21 whichever occurs first.
22 (b) To receive an abatement from real property taxes pursuant to this
23 section, the owner shall submit an application to the local assessor, on
24 a form prescribed by the commissioner, prior to the deadline established
25 pursuant to subparagraph (iii) of paragraph (b) of subdivision two of
26 this section. Such application shall include any supporting documenta-
27 tion and photographs, including any and all documentation outlined in
28 paragraph (c) of this subdivision, and shall describe in reasonable
29 detail the damage caused to and the condition of the property following
30 a major disaster, local disaster, or both.
31 (c) A homeowner may provide evidence of damage to the local assessor
32 as part of the application with the following, provided that the local
33 assessor may take the necessary steps to confirm the validity of such
34 documentation:
35 (i) assessment or reassessment by the eligible county or municipality;
36 (ii) private appraisal;
37 (iii) documentation provided by such homeowner's insurance company;
38 (iv) documentation provided by a public adjuster as defined in section
39 twenty-one hundred eight of the insurance law, if a homeowner does not
40 maintain a homeowner's insurance policy;
41 (v) loss verification reports and other records produced by the small
42 business administration office of disaster assistance or federal emer-
43 gency management agency;
44 (vi) photographic and visual documentation;
45 (vii) affidavits and other sworn statements; and
46 (viii) other government records and reports.
47 (d) The local assessor shall take the necessary steps to determine the
48 damages to the applicable eligible property. An owner of eligible prop-
49 erty may contest the amount of damages determined by the local assessor
50 to the board of assessment review, or in special assessing units, such
51 local equivalent as is applicable as outlined in paragraph (f) of this
52 subdivision; provided further, that a homeowner may contest the determi-
53 nation of the board of assessment review or such local equivalent pursu-
54 ant to article seven of this chapter.
55 (e) Abatements shall only be granted pursuant to this section for
56 eligible properties damaged by a major disaster, local disaster, or both
A. 7748--B 4
1 if the owner of such eligible property has not contributed to such
2 damage through an intentional act.
3 (f) If satisfied that the applicant is entitled to an abatement pursu-
4 ant to this section, the local assessor shall approve the application
5 and apply such abatement as herein provided commencing with the assess-
6 ment roll prepared on the basis of the taxable status date immediately
7 following the date the application was submitted. The abatement granted
8 pursuant to this section shall be entered by the local assessor on the
9 applicable assessment, with the amount of the abatement shown in a sepa-
10 rate column.
11 4. Selective reassessment. Thereafter, any increase in assessed value
12 attributable to the improvements made to real property impacted by a
13 major disaster, a local disaster, or both shall not constitute a selec-
14 tive reassessment.
15 § 3. Severability clause. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdi-
16 vision, section or part of this act shall be adjudged by any court of
17 competent jurisdiction to be invalid, such judgment shall not affect,
18 impair, or invalidate the remainder thereof, but shall be confined in
19 its operation to the clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section
20 or part thereof directly involved in the controversy in which such judg-
21 ment shall have been rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of
22 the legislature that this act would have been enacted even if such
23 invalid provisions had not been included herein.
24 § 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be deemed to
25 have been in full force and effect on and after January 1, 2020;
26 provided however, that abatements provided pursuant to this act shall
27 be limited to damages caused by major disasters, local disasters, or
28 both, which occurred on and after January 1, 2020.
