Dear Friends:

As you may know, I am retiring from the New York State Assembly. I have enjoyed my years here, especially as Chair of the Legislative Commission on State-Local Relations, and I would like to thank Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for all the opportunities he has afforded me.

One of the most important tasks of the Commission is its contribution to discussions on how to strengthen the partnership between the State and its local governments. I am very proud that the Commission’s Catalog of State and Federal Programs Aiding New York’s Local Governments is one of the most useful and sought-after State documents. In addition, I have received good feedback and comments on the newsletters that the Commission issued regarding main street revitalization and updated legislation that affects local government.

Although I am leaving to pursue other challenges, the Assembly Majority will continue working to make New York a better place to live, work and raise a family. It is expected that a new commission chair will be named in January. In the meantime, I hope you will feel free to call upon the staff of the Commission on State-Local Relations. For information or assistance, you can reach them at 518-455-5035.

Sincerely,

Sam Colman, Chair
Legislative Commission on State-Local Relations

For more information, contact:
Commission on
State-Local Relations
Agency Building 4
14th Floor
518.455.5035

Assemblyman Sam Colman with some of his young constituents.

Heart Defibrillators
In Public Schools
The Legislature unanimously passed and the Governor approved legislation that would require most public schools to keep heart-defibrillator machines on their premises. Sudden cardiac arrest is generally caused by an electrical malfunction of the heart called ventricular fibrillation. Defibrillators stop ventricular fibrillation by applying an electric pulse to the heart, allowing a normal heart rhythm to resume. Any school with the capacity to hold 1,000 people would be required to have at least one defibrillator on site, particularly during activities such as sporting events. Districts also would be required to have at least one staff member trained to use a defibrillator on hand at all events.

Assemblymen Sam Colman and Alex Gromack with a Red Cross official.

2001-2002 Laws That
Affect Municipalities
Below are brief descriptions of legislation passed and enacted in 2001 and 2002 which affect local government. If you would like additional information on these new laws or other legislative initiatives, please contact the Commission on State-Local Relations.

Emergency Aid for Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers Chapter 91 of the Laws of 2001 provides $26.6 million in emergency aid to Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, and Yonkers.

Bonds Authority for New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers Chapter 118 of the Laws of 2001 authorizes New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers to continue the sale of bonds and notes through negotiated agreement subject to the approval of the State Comptroller. This law helps these cities address unforeseen fiscal problems that may arise in their budgets or to expedite funds for projects that require immediate attention.

Empire Zones Increase Chapter 383 of the Laws of 2001 increases the number of Empire Zones from 6-14. Empire Zones have proven to be highly effective in attracting businesses and creating jobs by providing businesses with tax exemptions, low-cost power, and other economic development incentives.

Binding Arbitration Chapter 58 of the Laws of 2001 extends binding arbitration to police and fire unions in New York City, and extends it for another 2 years to the unions in the rest of the State.

Excelsior Linked Deposit Program Chapter 14 of the Laws of 2001 makes permanent the Department of Economic Development’s Excelsior Linked Deposit Program, which provides low-cost loans to businesses in distressed communities.

Tax Exemptions for Housing Authorities Chapter 352 of the Laws of 2001 continues state and local tax exemptions to housing authorities across the State for another 60 years in order to ensure federal Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding eligibility. This measure is necessary in order to provide affordable housing to the State’s low income population.

Paid Leave for Red Cross Volunteers Chapters 358 and 466 of the Laws of 2001 allow state and local government employees to take paid leave from their jobs for limited periods of time to volunteer for Red Cross disaster assignments. Under the bill, employee emergency leave would be at the discretion of the employer. The measure is retroactive to September 11, 2001, to include the many employees who volunteered to assist in the Red Cross response to the World Trade Center attack.

Dishonored Checks Chapter 474 of the Laws of 2001 allows municipalities to charge $20 for checks that are dishonored by banks or depository institutions. The previous rate was $15, although commercial institutions had been allowed to charge the higher rate. Now, municipalities will have an increased buffer to offset any loss of revenue due to the dishonored checks. Individuals who willfully issue such checks will receive an additional penalty.

Adirondack Park Municipal Actions Chapter 424 of the Laws of 2001 deals with municipalities located within the Adirondack Park. It allows a municipality with more than 30% of taxable State lands located within its boundaries to authorize certain municipal actions, such as approval of fire protection contracts, without the consent of the State Comptroller.

Flood Relief Chapter 37 of the Laws of 2001 authorizes municipalities and school districts especially hard hit by flood, to issue serial bonds to finance flood relief expenses incurred during the 2000 fiscal year.

Snow Storm Relief Chapters 38 and 82 authorize municipalities especially hard hit by the snow and ice storms in 2000 to issue serial bonds to finance extraordinary expenses incurred.

Court Fee Exemption Chapter 489 of the Laws of 2001 exempts towns and villages from court fees paid essentially to themselves. Previously, every party, that brought a case before a town or a village court had to pay a court fee to the town or village. This law will eliminate paperwork and delays.

Second Stop Arm on School Buses Chapter 430 of the Laws of 2001 requires all school buses designed to seat 45 or more persons and manufactured for use in New York State on and after January 1, 2002, to be equipped with a second stop arm. The measure is designed to enhance school bus safety by providing an additional warning to drivers not to pass a stopped school bus.

School Bus Driver Suspension Chapter 475 of the Laws of 2001 prohibits a school bus driver from operating a school bus during the suspension period required by law as a result of a first-time DWI or DWAI conviction.

Senior Citizen Real Property Tax Exemption Chapter 199 of the Laws of 2001 allows school districts the option of granting a senior citizen real property tax exemption to otherwise ineligible seniors who reside with a child attending public school.

IDA Extension Chapter 112 of the Laws of 2002 extends until July 1, 2005, provisions relating to eligible industrial development agency (IDA) projects, hearing requirements, tax exemption policies, and restrictions on the use of IDA funds.

Sewage Facility Construction Indebtedness A.11269 would amend the Constitution to enable counties, cities, towns, and villages to finance the construction and reconstruction of sewage facilities without impairing their ability to finance other essential capital requirements by excluding the indebtedness of the sewage facility projects from their constitutional debt limits. This amendment would become effective on the first day of January, next succeeding approval of both houses of two consecutively elected legislatures and approval of the people in the subsequent general election.

Digital Record Preservation Chapter 368 of the Laws of 2002 enables municipalities to issue debt for the cost of digital record preservation.

Tax Anticipation Notes Extension Chapter 363 of the Laws of 2002 provides greater flexibility to municipalities whose fiscal year is a calendar year by allowing them an additional 20 days to sell their tax anticipation notes, instead of requiring them to sell the notes at the end of the calendar year during the holiday season.

Disaster Relief Volunteer Leave Chapter 505 of the Laws of 2002 provides paid leave for public officers and employees of school districts who volunteer in disaster relief operations.

Collection of Water Fees Chapter 217 of the Laws of 2002 allows municipalities that collect special assessments, water and sewer user fees, to contract with banks or trust companies for the collection of the fees.

Private Activity Bond Allocation Chapter 97 of the Laws of 2002 provides for an orderly and efficient private activity bond allocation process for state and local issuers of private activity bonds and establishes a formula for making such allocations.

Public Employment Earnings Chapter 281 of the Laws of 2001 increases to $20,000 the amount a retiree can earn in public employment without a loss of pension benefits. Chapter 310 of the Laws of 2002 increases the amount to $25,000.

New Fire Prevention and
Building Code Adopted
Development in New York State got a boost this year with the adoption of the new Uniform Fire Prevention and Building Code, which will make it easier both to build new structures and to renovate older ones. The new building code reflects current national and international model codes. It allows developers to use less costly modern building materials and methods for ensuring the safety of homes and workplaces. As the first state in the nation to adopt all eight of the International Building Codes, New York will have several seats on the National Building Code Council, which reviews and modernizes the International Building Code every three years.

Rail Infrastructure
Investment Act Will
Expand NY Rail Lines
By reducing local property taxes on railroad companies that own property in New York State, the Rail Infrastructure Investment Act will encourage the expansion of new rail lines throughout the state — a key factor in economic growth. With a 45% tax reduction over seven years, the rail companies will have the resources to improve services, safety, and access. The legislation also includes transition aid to local governments to offset the loss of revenue.

911 Cell Phone Service
Effectiveness
The 2002-2003 budget contained a $20 million Local Enhanced Wireless Program to increase public safety by improving the ability of emergency personnel to determine the location and identity of wireless callers. The new funding will expedite the roll-out of an enhanced wireless 911 emergency system. This program ensures that some of the funds will be available to municipalities to implement the program.

Funding

• $20 million will be set aside from the existing cellular surcharge to create a local assistance program; $10 million will be recurring, and $10 million would be one-time funding.
• Localities will receive a funding allocation based on a per capita distribution and will be able to receive grants or participate in a bonding program administered by the Dormitory Authority to reimburse eligible 911 expenses.
• Fifteen percent of the funding in the first year will be available to finance prior year costs for counties currently providing wireless service.
• Funding will be available to reimburse "eligible wireless 91l service costs," which include installation and maintenance of equipment and hardware and software designed to help identify the location and identity of wireless callers.

Board composition and powers The program will be administered by a 13-member board, with applicants chosen from a pool including: municipal officials, ambulance, police and fire personnel, and wireless service providers. Board members will develop standards governing the provision of wireless 911 service and function as an appeals board.

Eligibility Counties and municipalities currently operating wireless public safety answering points will be eligible to receive funding. Counties which do not currently provide wireless service and subsequently decide to participate would have to file a service plan and comply with certain minimum standards prior to receiving funding.

2002-03 State Budget
Highlights That Affect Local Government
Revenue Sharing The enacted budget will maintain Revenue Sharing funding at last year’s funding level of $781,322,000. This program funds the general needs of municipalities, except for counties.

Supplemental Municipal Aid This aid program targets funding to specific municipalities with demonstrated need. For fiscal year 2002-2003 the enacted budget contains funding of $182,874,000, which represents a decrease of $6,160,000 in funding from last year’s enacted budget. This decrease represents the elimination of aid to those counties, towns and villages which had previously received funding through this category.

Emergency Financial Aid To Certain Cities In 1975, the Legislature authorized the Emergency Financial Aid to Certain Cities Act (Overburden Aid) to provide special assistance to cities with populations of at least 100,000 but fewer than one million that had to finance a school system as well as general city government, and were at or near their constitutional tax limits (Albany, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Yonkers). These municipalities have a State constitutional real property tax limit of two percent, which restricts the amount of revenue they can raise to support both municipal services and city school districts. The enacted budget contains funding of $26,474,000, which maintains funding at the same level as the previous fiscal year.

Emergency Financial Assistance To Eligible Municipalities The Emergency Financial Assistance to Eligible Municipalities Program was initiated to provide additional aid to Buffalo, Niagara Falls, Yonkers and Erie County. The cities of Syracuse and Rochester were subsequently added to the list of municipalities receiving aid. Since 1980, this program has assisted localities demonstrating financial need and facing fiscal difficulties due to constitutional tax limitations. The enacted budget contains $20,814,000 in funding, which maintains funding at the same level as the previous fiscal year.

Aid To Counties This unrestricted aid program, called Aid to Counties, was enacted in State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2000-2001, to provide counties outside New York City with additional financial aid. Aid distribution is outlined in Section 54-k of the State Finance Law and specifies distribution based on population. For SFY 2002-2003, the enacted budget contained $22 million in funding, an increase of $5 million above the appropriation of $17 million for SFY 2001-2002.

CHIPS Funding The enacted budget transfers $23,888,000 from the Consolidated Highway Improvement Program (CHIPS) operating aid for towns and villages to the CHIPS Capital Program and maintains overall funding at last year’s level.

Volunteer Recruitment Service Scholarship Program The enacted budget includes $2 million in funding for the Volunteer Recruitment Service Scholarship Program to boost the ranks of firefighter and ambulance volunteers. Each volunteer organization may submit one volunteer’s name for the program, and volunteers must continue to be active in the fire or ambulance company while attending college.

Catalog of State and Federal Programs Aiding New York’s Local Governments

Catalog of State and Federal Programs Aiding New York’s Local Governments New York State Legislative Commission on State-Local Relations Sam Colman, Chair

The Legislative Commission on State-Local Relations is pleased to offer local governments and the public a catalog that aids in tracking and taking advantage of Federal and State programs. The catalog is a resource that helps to foster a strong relationship between the State and its counties, cities, towns, villages, school districts, and other units of government. Compiled from information provided by both State and Federal agency sources, the catalog is updated every two years, and is among the most comprehensive publications of local aid programs available for New York. It complements other publications of aid programs that provide more detailed information.

You may order the catalog from The Legislative Commission on State-Local Relations. To access it online click here.

The catalog profiles programs of aid generated from the Federal Government to the State Government, from the Federal Government to local jurisdictions within the State (with or without State participation), and from the State to local jurisdictions. It provides information on financial as well as technical assistance.

Each page includes the objective of the program or grant, the administering agency, specific websites (where available), program and fiscal contacts, eligibility requirements, and a brief history of the amounts appropriated and disbursed.

Listed in alphabetical order by agency, the catalog covers the grants and programs of each agency. The catalog is fairly comprehensive. For example, the list below covers the programs just for the Office for the Aging.

• Caregiver assistance program: caregiver resource centers;
• Community services for the elderly;
• Congregate services initiative;
• Elderly abuse education and outreach;
• Expanded in-home services for the elderly program;
• Federal food and nutrition services;
• Foster grandparent program;
• In-home services for frail individuals;
• Nutrition services for the aging: congregate meals and home-delivered meals;
• Older Americans Act: supportive services and multi-purpose senior centers and preventive health services;
• Senior community service employment program;
• Supplemental nutrition assistance program: frail elderly components;
• Supplemental security income outreach program;
• Technology-related assistance for individuals with disabilities; and,
• Weatherization referral and packaging program.

If you are looking for State or Federal aid, you can refer to this catalog and then contact the appropriate agency and person. In addition, the Grants Action News newsletter is available at www.assembly.state.ny.us/gan/. If you are interested in receiving the Grants Action News by e-mail every month, send an e-mail to signup@assembly.state.ny.us. Please include your name, e-mail address, and mailing address, including your agency or organization.

2002-03 State Budget Highlights
That Stimulate The Economy
The recent economic downturn, along with the devastating aftermath of September 11, has severely weakened New York State’s economy. The Assembly’s primary goal in negotiating this year’s budget was to find an effective strategy to revitalize our State economy and provide funding for the regional economic development programs New York needs to get back on track. Below are some programs funded in the budget.

RESTORE New York Funding will be available to localities and nonprofit organizations for economic development, tourism, agriculture, and cultural and other capital projects through the RESTORE New York capital program. ($100 million)

Centers of Excellence The final Budget includes capital funding for regional Centers of Excellence that will bring together university researchers and businesses to develop new technologies and create jobs. ($250 million)

Minority and Women-Owned Business Development and Lending Program Funding was suballocated for the Community Development Financial Institutions Program, the Entrepreneurial Assistance Program, and for linked deposits in federal and state-chartered credit unions for loans to minority and women-owned businesses. ($2.8 million)

Empire Zones Four new Empire Zones were designated in Franklin County, the City of Mount Vernon in Westchester County, the Village of Laurens in Otsego County, and Schuyler County. The Legislature also authorized the establishment of six new Empire Zones, applications for which were due by August 30, 2002.

Jobs Now Program The Legislature provided a Local Assistance appropriation of $19.6 million, and a Capital Projects appropriation of $14.3 million to assist companies that create or retain 300 or more jobs. ($33.9 million)

Urban and Community Development Program This program, which addresses the needs of main street areas, was awarded $2.8 million, with a suballocation of $2 million for Downtown Development initiatives. ($2.8 million)

N.Y.S. Office of Local Technology Development The Legislature provided a total of $68.1 million, including continued funding for the Centers for Advanced Technologies ($15 million), regional Technology Development Organizations ($1.5 million), the Industrial Technology Extension Service ($1 million), the Manufacturing Extension Partnership Program ($5 million) and High Technology Matching Grants Program ($4.25 million). Also, funding was provided to establish the College Centers for Applied Research and Technology Training ($5.2 million).