At press time, state lawmakers were ironing out final details of a bill coined by Albany politicians as “the big ugly,” which, if enacted, was to have sent to the governor for signature the long-sought after 2 percent property tax cap, extension of rent control regulations and some measures linked to mandate relief.
Legislative leaders were working to end the session June 22, but speculation was that votes on key bills, including the “big ugly,” would require lawmakers to stay in Albany perhaps into Thursday, thus extending the legislative session that was scheduled to end June 20.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo was confident on Wednesday the major items before the Legislature, specifically the property tax cap, rent control and mandate relief, would be passed before the end of session. He was also hopeful the Senate would schedule a vote and pass same-sex marriage legislation. At press time the Senate had not scheduled a vote on the measure and was one vote short of approving the bill, according to estimates in published reports. Another major item under consideration was proposed tuition hikes for the SUNY system.
Legislative leaders had also reached a tentative agreement on a new power plant siting law. The bill, which would streamline the approval process for new plants, was expected to be voted on by the Assembly and Senate before the end of the session. New York state has not had a power plant siting law since 2003.
The final property tax cap provisions in the legislation were expected to be similar to those introduced by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver late last month, which would prohibit local governments and school districts from exceeding a 2 percent property tax increase on the total tax levy and would require a 60 percent vote of the electorate to override.
Among the other key features of the Assembly bill are to:
- Provide a carryover provision of up to 1.5 percent from one year to the next of any amount in which the previous year”™s level was below that year”™s 2 percent limit;
- Allow local governments and school districts to adjust the tax levy higher than 2 percent if there is physical or quantity growth in the property base; and
- Include a tax base growth factor to account for any increase in the full value of taxable real property and exempt pension payments over 2 percent from the previous year as well as court orders and judgments that exceed 5 percent of the total levy from the previous year.
Reports had recently surfaced that the Legislature was also considering exempting capital construction costs from the tax cap as well as some mandate relief-oriented provisions.
The bill, as proposed, would take effect for the 2012 fiscal year for local governments and the 2012-2013 school budget cycle. Reports were that the 2 percent property tax cap would have a five-year sunset, while New York City rent control regulations would expire in four years.
Representatives from major business organizations in Westchester County and throughout the state were hopeful the predictions on the passage of the property tax cap would ring true.
“Gov. Cuomo has made the property tax cap the centerpiece of his post-budget agenda and The Business Council of Westchester welcomes its passage,” said Marsha Gordon, president and CEO of The Business Council of Westchester.
“Westchester”™s property taxes are among the highest in the nation and this legislation brings long overdue relief to businesses and homeowners.”
She said if the cap were passed, the Business Council would urge state lawmakers to enact mandate relief so school districts and municipalities “are relieved of the pressure of generating revenue for the myriad of unfunded burdens placed upon them.”
William Mooney, president of the Westchester County Association, was hopeful the end of the legislative session would bring the passage of the 2 percent property tax cap, which he said would “be welcome news for the business community and for all New Yorkers who have been struggling under the weight of an oppressive tax burden.”
“We”™re hopeful the governor and our state legislators move forward with this important step,” Mooney said. “In the future, fiscal restraint and prudent governance will help steer us through difficult times and restore confidence in how New York attracts and retains business.”
Michael Moran, spokesman for the New York State Business Council, said if the Legislature enacted the tax cap in the form that was included in a “framework” agreement reached late in the session, it would be a “major fiscal reform” that brings a hard cap on property taxes in the state. “We think it will bring fiscal discipline and control the costs of local governments and school districts,” he said.
While more work needs to be done on mandate relief, Moran said the Business Council believes the cap”™s passage would force a conversation on the issue.
Not everyone was happy with the expected passage of the tax cap, especially since reports had surfaced that only some mandate relief measures were to be included in the bill.
“If the state Legislature enacts the property tax cap without any meaningful relief from state mandates it will be a major disappointment,” said Peter Baynes, executive director of the New York State Conference of Mayors.
Tim Kremer, executive director of the New York State School Boards Association, said the Legislature missed the mark if it passed the property tax cap without sufficient mandate relief.
“Let”™s be clear: a 2 percent tax cap on school districts fails to address the root causes of our ever-increasing tax burden. Politicians and special interest groups can trumpet the tax cap all they want, but homeowners across New York will find their taxes continuing to rise unless their elected officials get serious about relieving local schools of millions of dollars of costs tied up in state mandates that do nothing to advance student achievement.”
He said that without mandate relief, school districts would be forced to lay off employees and cut spending on classroom programs, sports and other extracurricular activities in order to pay for mandated costs.
“School boards should be able to invest every dollar they can into academic programs and services for students rather than outdated mandates, inflexible rules and expensive procedures,” he said.
