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A08479 Summary:

BILL NOA08479
 
SAME ASSAME AS S07798
 
SPONSORMamdani
 
COSPNSRGallagher, Mitaynes, Shrestha, Forrest, Lee, Kim, Epstein, Bichotte Hermelyn, Gonzalez-Rojas, O'Donnell, Simone, Reyes
 
MLTSPNSR
 
Amd §420-a, RPT L
 
Repeals the tax exempt status of private universities that received real property tax exemptions of one hundred million dollars or more during the prior fiscal year.
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A08479 Memo:

NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY
MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION
submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A8479
 
SPONSOR: Mamdani
  TITLE OF BILL: An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation to repealing the tax exempt status of educational institutions costing one hundred million dollars or more a year in real property tax exemptions   PURPOSE: To allow New York State to tax higher education institutions whose real property tax exemptions cost one hundred million dollars or more per year.   SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS: Section 1 amends subdivision 1 of section 420-a of the real property tax law by adding a new paragraph (c) to: *Repeal the real property tax exemption for private institutions used exclusively for educational purposes, whose real property tax exemptions cost one hundred million dollars or more a year. *Direct funds from the property taxes imposed on these private education institutions to the City University of New York. Section 2 sets forth the effective date.   JUSTIFICATION: Private universities benefit from charitable status under New York State law and thus do not pay real property taxes like other private landhold- ers. This exemption costs New York City $659 million in revenue each year. Two universities receive the biggest write-offs: Columbia and NYU. Together, they account fcir almost half of the total cost of real property tax exemptions given to private universities in NYC, totaling $321 million. Columbia and NYU have morphed into big land-owners in New York City; Columbia and NYU respectively own 274 and 148 properties each in the city. In fact, Columbia is the largest private landowner in NYC (1). Through this landholding, these institutions grow their profits and far exceed their roles as educational institutions. The ability to acquire property at this scale is a direct result of their tax-exempt status: because of their designation as charities, these institutions are able to extract more value out of property than others, giving them an advan- tage in the real estate market. Moreover, by evading property taxes. Columbia and NYU shrink the collective revenue pot that funds municipal services-services they also rely on, including Sanitation and the Fire Department. While Columbia & NYU grow their property rolls-with the value of their properties more than tripling since the 1990s-and deplete public coffers, CUNY students have suffered from decades of austerity budgets. CUNY educates New Yorkers from racially and economically diverse back- grounds, and "propels almost six times as many low-income students into the middle class and beyond as all the Ivy League colleges combined," (2) yet CUNY schools are crumbling and perpetually underfunded. This legislation would end this exemption for private universities whose real property taxes annually exceed $100 million, and direct the result- ing revenue to CUNY. All students in NYC must receive quality education; it's long-overdue the legislature return funding to CUNY. (1) https://www.nytimes com/2023/09/26/nyregion/col umbia-university- property-tax-nyc.html (2) https://vvwwl.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2023/09/18/ cuny-draws-top-marks- from-u-s -news/ :-:text=CUNY's%20mix%20of%20qual ity%20and,the%20Ivy%20League%20colleges%20 combined   LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: New bill.   FISCAL IMPLICATIONS: Revenue in excess of $320 million to be generated and allocated to CUNY.   EFFECTIVE DATE: Immediately.
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A08479 Text:



 
                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                          8479
 
                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions
 
                   IN ASSEMBLY
 
                                    December 29, 2023
                                       ___________
 
        Introduced  by M. of A. MAMDANI, GALLAGHER, MITAYNES, SHRESTHA, FORREST,
          TAYLOR, LEE, KIM, EPSTEIN, BICHOTTE HERMELYN -- read once and referred
          to the Committee on Real Property Taxation
 
        AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to repealing  the
          tax  exempt  status  of  educational  institutions costing one hundred
          million dollars or more a year in real property tax exemptions
 
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
 
     1    Section 1. Subdivision 1 of section 420-a of the real property tax law
     2  is amended by adding a new paragraph (c) to read as follows:
     3    (c)  (i) Real property owned by a corporation or association organized
     4  or conducted exclusively for educational purposes, and  which  has  been
     5  used  exclusively  for  educational  purposes,  shall not be exempt from
     6  taxation pursuant to paragraph (a) of this subdivision if the amount  of
     7  real  property  taxes exempted for such property during the prior fiscal
     8  year costs one hundred million dollars or more.
     9    (ii) Moneys from property taxes imposed on  private  higher  education
    10  facilities  pursuant to subparagraph (i) of this paragraph shall be used
    11  for the city university of New  York,  as  established  by  article  one
    12  hundred twenty-five of the education law.
    13    §  2.  This  act  shall  take  effect on the same date as a concurrent
    14  resolution amending the constitution, entitled "CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF
    15  THE SENATE AND ASSEMBLY proposing an amendment to section 1  of  article
    16  16  of the constitution, in relation to real property tax exemptions for
    17  educational institutions", takes effect.
 
 
 
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD13497-04-3
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