BILL NUMBER: S10112
SPONSOR: WEBER
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act in relation to requiring the refund of excess school taxes
collected by school districts located within Rockland County resulting
from erroneous tax levy increases
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1. Legislative Intent. The legislature hereby finds and declares
that taxpayers are entitled to fair and accurate tax levies imposed by
school districts. When a school district imposes a tax levy increase
based upon materially erroneous financial information miscalculations,
or incorrect determinations, and such increase results in the collection
of excess taxes, taxpayers should be entitled to refunds of such excess
amounts. The purpose of this act is to ensure that taxpayers in school
districts located within Rockland County are refunded any excess taxes
collected as a result of erroneous tax levy increases.
§2. Refund of excess school taxes in Rockland County resulting from
erroneous tax levy increases. 1. This section shall apply to all public
school districts wholly or partially located within Rockland County.
2. For the purposes of this section, "erroneous tax levy increase" shall
mean any increase in a school district tax levy that is subsequently
determined by the commissioner of education, the state comptroller, a
court of competent jurisdiction, or other lawful authority to have been
based upon incorrect financial information, clerical error, mathematical
error, or other substantive miscalculation.
3. Where an erroneous tax levy increase is determined to have resulted
in the collection of excess school taxes for the 2024-2025 school tax
levy, the school district, in cooperation with the appropriate tax-levy-
ing authority, shall:
(a) determine the total amount of excess taxes collected.
(b) calculate the proportional excess amount paid by each affected
taxpayer; and
(c) issue a refund or tax credit to each affected taxpayer in the amount
of such excess payment.
4. Such refund shall be issued either: (a) as a direct payment to the
taxpayer: or (b) as a credit applied to a subsequent school tax bill.
The manner in which such refund is issued shall be determined by the
tax-levying authority.
5. Refunds or credits required pursuant to this section shall be issued
within one hundred eighty days of the final determination that an erro-
neous tax levy increase occurred.
6. The commissioner of taxation and finance is authorized to promulgate
rules and regulations necessary to implement the provisions of this
section.
7. Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit or impair any
other right or remedy otherwise available to taxpayers under law.
§ 3. If any clause, sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part of
this act shall be adjudged by any court of competent jurisdiction to be
invalid, such judgment shall not affect, impair, or invalidate the
remainder thereof, but shall be confined in its operation to the clause,
sentence, paragraph, subdivision, section or part thereof directly
involved in the controversy in which such judgment shall have been
rendered. It is hereby declared to be the intent of the legislature that
this act would have been enacted even if such invalid provisions had not
been included herein.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to the
2024--2025 school tax levy.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
This bill would establish a clear process to ensure that taxpayers in
Rockland County are refunded when school tax levies are later determined
to have been based on materially incorrect financial information,
miscalculations, or administrative errors. This would apply only to the
2024-2025 school tax levy. In such cases. Excess taxes may be collected
without a defined statutory mechanism for repayment. By. requiring
school districts to calculate and return overpayments within a set time-
frame, this bill would provide consistency, and administrative clarity
while ensuring that tax collections accurately reflect lawful levy
amounts for taxpayers who reside in Rockland County.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
New Bill
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
none
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.