BILL NUMBER: S688A
SPONSOR: MARTINEZ
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation to a real proper-
ty tax exemption for surviving 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 surviving spouses of volunteer firefighters or volunteer ambu-
lance 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. The bill also permits municipalities to adopt a local law or
ordinance to increase the exemption for surviving spouses of volunteer
firefighters and volunteer ambulance workers killed in the line of duty.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends section 466-a of the real property tax law, as added
by Chapter 670 of the laws of 2022, to allow surviving spouses of volun-
teer firefighters or volunteer ambulance workers with between two and
five years of service, who are killed in the line of duty, to continue
receiving preexisting property tax exemptions and allows municipalities
to increase exemption for surviving spouses up to fifty percent the
assessed value.
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 surviving 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 surviving 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-exist-
ing property tax exemption; this bill would also allow municipalities to
adopt a local law or ordinance to increase the property tax exemption
for surviving spouses.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New bill.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None to the state.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.

Statutes affected:
S688: 466-a real property tax law, 466-a(4) real property tax law
S688A: 466-a real property tax law