§ 485 — Nuclear powered electric generating facilities

New York § 485

• Jurisdiction: New York
• Law RPT: Real Property Tax
• Title 2: Private Property
• Art. 4: Exemptions

Text

§ 485. Nuclear powered electric generating facilities. 1. Nuclear\npowered electric generating facilities shall be exempt from taxation,\nspecial ad valorem levies and special assessments to the extent provided\nin section four hundred ninety of this article upon the adoption of a\nlocal law granting such exemption by the legislative body of the county,\ncity, town or village in which such a facility is located or by\nresolution following a public hearing of the governing body of the\nschool district in which such facility or facilities are located,\nprovided the taxing district may only exempt the facility from real\nproperty taxes imposed by the taxing district granting the exemption.\nThe local law or resolution shall state the date on which such exemption\nshall commence. A copy of such local law or resolution shall be filed no\nlater than thirty days after the adoption thereof with the clerk of each\nmunicipal corporation in which the facility is located and with the\ncommissioner. For purposes of this section, nuclear powered electric\ngenerating facility shall mean a facility that generates or formerly\ngenerated electricity using nuclear power for sale, directly or\nindirectly, to the public, including the land upon which the facility is\nlocated, any equipment used in such generation, and equipment leading\nfrom the facility to the interconnection with the electric transmission\nsystem, but shall not include any equipment in the electric transmission\nsystem.\n 2. (a) If a taxing district and an owner of a nuclear powered electric\ngenerating facility have not signed an agreement for payments in lieu of\ntaxes by the date specified in the resolution or local law, or if an\nowner and a taxing district agree to cancel such an agreement, or if\nsuch an agreement does not apply to an assessment roll upon which a\nfacility is wholly exempt from taxation pursuant to this section, the\nowner of such facility shall be obliged to make payments in lieu of\ntaxes in the base amount, or in the base amount as adjusted pursuant to\nthe provisions of paragraph (c) of this subdivision.\n (b) The base amount shall be the taxes levied against the facility on\nthe last assessment roll on which the facility was assessed as taxable\nreal property, or in the case of a special district, the special ad\nvalorem levies or special assessments levied against or charged to the\nfacility on that assessment roll. However, if no taxes or special ad\nvalorem levies were or will be levied against the facility within one\nyear of the effective date of the local law or resolution authorizing\nthe exemption, the base amount shall be the taxes or special ad valorem\nlevies that would have been levied against the facility on the\nassessment roll based on the first taxable status date occurring on or\nbefore the effective date of the local law or resolution, assuming that\nthe facility had been taxable on that assessment roll, and that the\napplicable tax rate had been determined accordingly. For purposes of\nthis section, the assessment roll which is used to determine the base\namount pursuant to this paragraph shall be referred to as the "base\nassessment roll."\n (c) The base amount for payments on the current assessment roll shall\nbe adjusted as follows:\n (i) by the percentage change between the assessment of the facility on\nthe current roll and on the base assessment roll, adjusted for any\nchange in level of assessment as defined in section twelve hundred of\nthis chapter;\n (ii) in the case of a municipal corporation, by the percentage change\nbetween the total amount of taxes levied against all taxable real\nproperty on the current roll and on the base assessment roll by that\nmunicipal corporation;\n (iii) in the case of a special district, by the percentage change\nbetween the total amount of special ad valorem levies and special\nassessments imposed against all taxable real property on the current\nroll and on the base assessment roll by that special district; and\n (iv) if the municipal corporation also contains a nuclear powered\nelectric generating facility which had been wholly exempt from taxation\non the base assessment roll pursuant to section one thousand twelve of\nthe public authorities law but which is no longer eligible for that\nexemption due to a change in ownership, the base amount shall be\nadjusted to reflect the fact that the formerly exempt facility is now\neither subject to taxation or liable to make payments in lieu of taxes\npursuant to this section, as the case may be.\n (d) In the event the facility was not taxable on a prior assessment\nroll, and no exemption is then in effect, the assessor of each assessing\nunit in which the facility is located is hereby authorized to\nimmediately subject the facility to taxation in the manner prescribed by\nsection five hundred twenty of this chapter.\n (e) For assessment rolls with taxable status dates on or after January\nfirst, two thousand thirty-one, or such earlier year as may be specified\nin the local law or resolution authorizing the exemption, the exemption\nprovided by this section shall no longer apply and any agreement for\npayments in lieu of taxes for any facility theretofore exempt pursuant\nto this section shall no longer be in effect. Upon the request of the\nassessor of an assessing unit containing a nuclear powered electric\ngenerating facility, the commissioner shall provide an advisory\nappraisal of such facility for use on the municipal assessment roll with\na taxable status date on or after January first, two thousand\nthirty-one.\n (f) Nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent the owner of a nuclear\npowered electric generating facility from seeking judicial review of an\nassessment pursuant to article seven of this chapter. Any determination\nof the proper assessment of a facility as a result of such a proceeding\nshall be reflected in any payment in lieu of taxes including the refund\nof such payments, as provided in the judgment and order of the court.\n 3. The owner of a nuclear powered electric generating facility shall\nenter into an agreement with each taxing district which grants the\nfacility the exemption providing for payments in lieu of taxes to be\nmade for no longer than the period during which the facility is exempt\npursuant to this section. Any such agreement must be filed with the\ncommissioner and the clerk of each municipal corporation in which the\nfacility is located within thirty days of being executed. Nothing herein\nshall be deemed to invalidate any existing agreement for payments in\nlieu of taxes.\n 4. Any agreement for payments in lieu of taxes pursuant to this\nsection may be negotiated at any time. Before an agreement for payments\nin lieu of taxes is executed by a taxing district, such taxing district\nmust hold a public hearing on the proposed agreement.\n 5. Any payments in lieu of taxes to be made to a taxing district under\nthis section shall be credited to the amount to be raised in taxes\nbefore determining the tax rates for each taxing district.\n 6. When a school district receives payments in lieu of taxes from a\nnuclear powered electric generating facility, any actual valuation\ncomputed for such school district pursuant to paragraph c of subdivision\none of section thirty-six hundred two of the education law shall include\nthe actual valuation equivalent of those payments. The commissioner\nshall determine such actual valuation equivalent by dividing the payment\nmade, as reported to such commissioner by the commissioner of education,\nby the school tax rate that was applied to real property on that year's\nassessment roll or, if applicable, the special apportionment rate\ndetermined pursuant to section twelve hundred twenty-seven of this\nchapter and dividing such result by the final state equalization rate\nfor that roll. The actual valuation equivalent shall be reported to the\nstate comptroller and the commissioner of education, and shall be used\nby the commissioner of education in the determination of any state\naverage that uses real property taxes levied against and/or actual\nvaluation based upon the corresponding assessment roll. Each school\ndistrict receiving payments in lieu of taxes for nuclear powered\nelectric generating facilities shall annually report those payments to\nthe commissioner of education, with a copy to the commissioner, as a\ncondition to receiving any aid pursuant to section thirty-six hundred\ntwo of the education law.\n 7. Payments in lieu of taxes made pursuant to this section are not\ntaxes and shall not be apportioned to any part of a taxing district in\nthe apportionment of taxes.\n 8. Facilities exempt from taxation pursuant to subdivision one of this\nsection shall not be deemed taxable real property for purposes of any\nequalization rate, product, study or survey conducted or established\npursuant to article twelve of this chapter or any other provision of\nlaw.\n 9. Any payments in lieu of taxes made pursuant to this section shall\nbe paid prior to the expiration of the warrant for collection of the\ntaxes in lieu of which such payments are to be made and of the\ninterest-free period prescribed by law, and the agreement shall so\nprovide. If payments are not made within such period, they shall be\nsubject to the same interest and penalties as unpaid taxes. If the\npayments remain unpaid, the official to whom the payments are to be made\nshall present a statement to that effect to the appropriate tax levying\nbody on or before a date specified by such body for that purpose. Such\nbody shall levy against the facility the amount contained in such\nstatement, together with all applicable interest and penalties, at the\nsame time and in the same manner as taxes. The amounts so levied shall\nbe collected and enforced in the same manner and at the same time as may\nbe provided by law for the collection and enforcement of taxes,\nnotwithstanding the fact that the facility is otherwise wholly exempt\nfrom taxation.\n 10. When restrictions have been imposed upon changing future\nassessments of a facility pursuant to the provisions of either section\nseven hundred twenty-seven of this chapter or a formal agreement between\nthe parties, and the facility becomes exempt pursuant to this section,\nsuch restrictions shall apply to future assessments of the facility to\nthe same extent as if it had not become exempt pursuant to this section.\n 11. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable in a\nspecial assessing unit.\n