§ 2023-A — Limitations upon school district tax levies

§ 2023-a. Limitations upon school district tax levies. 1. Generally.\nUnless otherwise provided by law, the amount of taxes that may be levied\nby or on behalf of any school district, other than a city school\ndistrict of a city with one hundred twenty-five thousand inhabitants or\nmore, shall not exceed the tax levy limit established pursuant to this\nsection, not including any tax levy necessary to support the\nexpenditures pursuant to subparagraphs (i) through (iv) of paragraph i\nof subdivision two of this section.\n 2. Definitions. As used in this section:\n a. "Allowable levy growth factor" shall be the lesser of: (i) one and\ntwo one-hundredths; or (ii) the sum of one plus the inflation factor;\nprovided, however, that in no case shall the levy growth factor be less\nthan one.\n b. "Available carryover" means the amount by which the tax levy for\nthe prior school year was below the applicable tax levy limit for such\nschool year, if any, but no more than an amount that equals one and\none-half percent of the tax levy limit for such school year.\n c. "Capital local expenditures" means the taxes associated with\nbudgeted expenditures resulting from the financing, refinancing,\nacquisition, design, construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation,\nimprovement, furnishing and equipping of, or otherwise providing for\nschool district capital facilities or school district capital equipment,\nincluding debt service and lease expenditures, and transportation\ncapital debt service, subject to the approval of the qualified voters\nwhere required by law. The commissioner of taxation and finance shall,\nas appropriate, promulgate rules and regulations which may provide for\nadjustment of capital local expenditures to reflect a school district's\nshare of additional budgeted capital expenditures made by a board of\ncooperative educational services.\n d. "Capital tax levy" means the tax levy necessary to support capital\nlocal expenditures, if any.\n e. "Coming school year" means the school year for which tax levy\nlimits are being determined pursuant to this section.\n f. "Inflation factor" means the quotient of: (i) the average of the\nnational consumer price indexes determined by the United States\ndepartment of labor for the twelve-month period preceding January first\nof the current year minus the average of the national consumer price\nindexes determined by the United States department of labor for the\ntwelve-month period preceding January first of the prior year, divided\nby: (ii) the average of the national consumer price indexes determined\nby the United States department of labor for the twelve-month period\npreceding January first of the prior year, with the result expressed as\na decimal to four places.\n g. "Prior school year" means the school year immediately preceding the\ncoming school year.\n h. "School district" means a common school district, union free school\ndistrict, central school district, central high school district or a\ncity school district in a city with less than one hundred twenty-five\nthousand inhabitants.\n i. "Tax levy limit" means the amount of taxes a school district is\nauthorized to levy pursuant to this section, provided, however, that the\ntax levy limit shall not include the following:\n (i) a tax levy necessary for expenditures resulting from court orders\nor judgments against the school district arising out of tort actions for\nany amount that exceeds five percent of the total tax levied in the\nprior school year;\n (ii) in years in which the system average actuarial contribution rate\nof the New York state and local employees' retirement system, as defined\nby paragraph ten of subdivision a of section nineteen-a of the\nretirement and social security law, increases by more than two\npercentage points from the previous year, a tax levy necessary for\nexpenditures for the coming fiscal year for school district employer\ncontributions to the New York state and local employees' retirement\nsystem caused by growth in the system average actuarial contribution\nrate minus two percentage points;\n (iii) in years in which the normal contribution rate of the New York\nstate teachers' retirement system, as defined by paragraph a of\nsubdivision two of section five hundred seventeen of this chapter,\nincreases by more than two percentage points from the previous year, a\ntax levy necessary for expenditures for the coming fiscal year for\nschool district employer contributions to the New York state teachers'\nretirement system caused by growth in the normal contribution rate minus\ntwo percentage points; and\n (iv) a capital tax levy.\n 2-a. Tax base growth factor. a. No later than February fifteenth of\neach year, the commissioner of taxation and finance shall identify those\nschool districts for which tax base growth factors must be determined\nfor the coming school year, and shall notify the commissioner of the tax\nbase growth factors so determined, if any.\n b. The commissioner of taxation and finance shall calculate a quantity\nchange factor for the coming school year for each school district based\nupon the physical or quantity change, as defined by section twelve\nhundred twenty of the real property tax law, reported to the\ncommissioner of taxation and finance by the assessor or assessors\npursuant to section five hundred seventy-five of the real property tax\nlaw. The quantity change factor shall show the percentage by which the\nfull value of the taxable real property in the school district has\nchanged due to physical or quantity change between the second final\nassessment roll or rolls preceding the final assessment roll or rolls\nupon which taxes are to be levied, and the final assessment roll or\nrolls immediately preceding the final assessment roll or rolls upon\nwhich taxes are to be levied. The commissioner of taxation and finance\nshall, as appropriate, promulgate rules and regulations regarding the\ncalculation of the quantity change factor which may adjust the\ncalculation based on the development on tax exempt land.\n c. After determining the quantity change factor for a school district,\nthe commissioner of taxation and finance shall proceed as follows:\n (i) If the quantity change factor is negative, the commissioner of\ntaxation and finance shall not determine a tax base growth factor for\nthe school district.\n (ii) If the quantity change factor is positive, the commissioner of\ntaxation and finance shall determine a tax base growth factor for the\nschool district which is equal to one plus the quantity change factor.\n 3. Computation of tax levy limits. a. Each school district shall\ncalculate the tax levy limit for each school year which shall be\ndetermined as follows:\n (1) Ascertain the total amount of taxes levied for the prior school\nyear.\n (2) Multiply the result by the tax base growth factor, if any.\n (3) Add any payments in lieu of taxes that were receivable in the\nprior school year.\n (4) Subtract the tax levy necessary to support the expenditures\npursuant to subparagraphs (i) and (iv) of paragraph i of subdivision two\nof this section for the prior school year, if any.\n (5) Multiply the result by the allowable levy growth factor.\n (6) Subtract any payments in lieu of taxes receivable in the coming\nfiscal year.\n (7) Add the available carryover, if any.\n b. On or before March first of each year, any school district subject\nto the provisions of this section shall submit to the state comptroller,\nthe commissioner, and the commissioner of taxation and finance, in a\nform and manner prescribed by the state comptroller, any information\nnecessary for the calculation of the tax levy limit; and the school\ndistrict's determination of the tax levy limit pursuant to this section\nshall be subject to review by the commissioner and the commissioner of\ntaxation and finance.\n 4. Reorganized school districts. When two or more school districts\nreorganize, the commissioner shall determine the tax levy limit for the\nreorganized school district for the first school year following the\nreorganization based on the respective tax levy limits of the school\ndistricts that formed the reorganized district from the last school year\nin which they were separate districts, provided that in the event of\nformation of a new central high school district, the tax levy limits for\nthe new central high school district and its component school districts\nshall be determined in accordance with a methodology prescribed by the\ncommissioner.\n 5. Erroneous levies. In the event a school district's actual tax levy\nfor a given school year exceeds the maximum allowable levy as\nestablished pursuant to this section due to clerical or technical\nerrors, the school district shall place the excess amount of the levy in\nreserve in accordance with such requirements as the state comptroller\nmay prescribe, and shall use such funds and any interest earned thereon\nto offset the tax levy for the ensuing school year.\n 6. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, in\nthe event the trustee, trustees or board of education of a school\ndistrict that is subject to the provisions of this section proposes a\nbudget that will require a tax levy that exceeds the tax levy limit for\nthe corresponding school year, not including any levy necessary to\nsupport the expenditures pursuant to subparagraphs (i) through (iv) of\nparagraph i of subdivision two of this section, then such budget shall\nbe approved if sixty percent of the votes cast thereon are in the\naffirmative.\n (b) Where the trustee, trustees or board of education proposes a\nbudget subject to the requirements of paragraph (a) of this subdivision,\nthe ballot for such budget shall include the following statement in\nsubstantially the same form: "Adoption of this budget requires a tax\nlevy increase of which exceeds the statutory tax levy increase\nlimit of for this school fiscal year and therefore exceeds the\nstate tax cap and must be approved by sixty percent of the qualified\nvoters present and voting."\n 7. In the event that the original proposed budget is not approved by\nthe voters, the sole trustee, trustees or board of education may adopt a\nfinal budget pursuant to subdivision eight of this section or resubmit\nto the voters the original or a revised budget at a special district\nmeeting in accordance with subdivision three of section two thousand\nseven of this part. Upon one defeat of such resubmitted budget, the sole\ntrustee, trustees or board of education shall adopt a final budget\npursuant to subdivision eight of this section.\n 8. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, if the\nqualified voters fail to approve the proposed school district budget\nupon resubmission or upon a determination not to resubmit for a second\nvote pursuant to subdivision seven of this section, the sole trustee,\ntrustees or board of education shall levy a tax no greater than the tax\nthat was levied for the prior school year.\n 9. Nothing in this section shall preclude the trustee, trustees, or\nboard of education of a school district, in their discretion, from\nsubmitting additional items of expenditures to the voters for approval\nas separate propositions or the voters from submitting propositions\npursuant to sections two thousand eight and two thousand thirty-five of\nthis part; provided however, except in the case of a proposition\nsubmitted for any expenditure contained within subparagraphs (i) through\n(iv) of paragraph i of subdivision two of this section, if any\nproposition, or propositions collectively that are subject to a vote on\nthe same date, would require an expenditure of money that would require\na tax levy and would result in the tax levy limit being exceeded for the\ncorresponding school year then such proposition shall be approved if\nsixty percent of the votes cast thereon are in the affirmative.\n