Permits a claimant to submit an order determining compensation from the workers' compensation board as proof of disability for purposes of real property tax exemptions.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A7164
SPONSOR: Septimo TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the real property tax law, in relation to tax exemptions
for persons with disabilities
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To include workers compensation certifications of disability as proof of
disability for disabled homeowners property tax exemption programs.
SUMMARY OF PROVISION:
Section one amends paragraph (b) of subdivision two of section 459-c of
the Real Property Tax Law to include workers compensation award letters
for either total or partial permanent disability in the list of docu-
ments which may be used to prove disability for applicants of disabled
homeowners exemption programs.
Section two sets the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Article 4 of the. Real Property Tax Law creates various exemption and
abatement programs property owners may use to reduce tax liability,
based on either characteristics of the property owner, such as limited
income, or of the property, such as green retrofits One of the programs,
called "exemptions for persons with disabilities", helps property owners
reduce the assessed value of their properties by up to 50% if a locality
opts in. This program is known as the Disabled Homeowners' Exemption
(DHE) in New York City and can be claimed for gross household incomes up
to $58,399.
Chapter 315 of 1997, which first created DHE programs, lists a range of
documents which may be submitted by property owners to prove disability,
such as an award letter from the Social Security Administration for
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security
Income (SSI), an award letter from the federal Railroad Retirement Board
certifying railroad retirement disability benefits, or a certificate
from the State Commission for the Blind and Visually Handicapped stating
that the applicant is legally blind. This list was later amended with
Chapter 421 of 2000, which added award letters from the United States
Postal Service (USPS) for a USPS disability pension, and later Chapter
353 of 2009, which added award letters from the US Department of Veter-
ans Affairs for veterans disability pensions. The list has not been
updated since.
This bill adds certifications of disability from the Workers Compen-
sation Board to the list of acceptable documents which may be submitted
to prove disability. Applicants for workers compensation benefits under-
go a rigorous process, which includes submitting proof of medical treat-
ment as well as details of the work-related accident, defending the
claim if the insurer (either a private employer or the NYS Insurance
Fund for the public sector) chooses to dispute the claim, attending
hearings where a judge reviews medical records and wages, and if neces-
sary, filing an appeal. Workers deemed partially or totally permanently
disabled at the end of this process have been found by medical experts
as well as the Workers Compensation Board to have permanently lost some
or all wage-earning capacity. There is no reason why the list of accept-
able documents by which a homeowner may prove disability, last updated
more than a decade ago, should not be amended to include such determi-
nations.
By updating the list of proofs of disability while retaining all exist-
ing requirements for DHE programs, this bill will help disabled homeown-
ers unable to afford sky-high property taxes keep a roof over their
heads. While low- to middle-income homeowners in localities such as New
York City deserve sweeping property tax reform to upend an antiquated,
opaque, and deeply unjust system, a small step such as easing the admin-
istrative process by which they may receive property tax exemptions will
provide immediate, much-needed relief.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2022: A.10395 (Cusick) Referred to Real Property Tax S.8218 Gounardes
Passed Senate
2023: S. 2574 Gounardes Passed Senate FISCAL IMPACT ON THE STATE: TBD
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
7164
2023-2024 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 11, 2023
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SEPTIMO -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Real Property Taxation
AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to tax exemptions
for persons with disabilities
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) and the closing paragraph of subdivision 2 of
2 section 459-c of the real property tax law, as amended by section 2 of
3 part B of chapter 686 of the laws of 2022, are amended to read as
4 follows:
5 (b) a person with a disability is one who has a physical or mental
6 impairment, not due to current use of alcohol or illegal drug use, which
7 substantially limits such person's ability to engage in one or more
8 major life activities, such as caring for one's self, performing manual
9 tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and work-
10 ing, and who (i) is certified to receive social security disability
11 insurance (SSDI) or supplemental security income (SSI) benefits under
12 the federal Social Security Act, or (ii) is certified to receive Rail-
13 road Retirement Disability benefits under the federal railroad Retire-
14 ment Act, or (iii) has received a certificate from the state commission
15 for the blind stating that such person is legally blind, or (iv) is
16 certified to receive a United States Postal Service disability pension,
17 or (v) is certified to receive a United States department of veterans
18 affairs disability pension pursuant to 38 U.S.C. §1521, or (vi) has
19 received an order from the chair of the workers' compensation board
20 pursuant to article two of the workers' compensation law determining an
21 award for compensation for permanent total disability, as such term is
22 defined in subdivision one of section fifteen of the workers' compen-
23 sation law, or of permanent partial disability, as such term is defined
24 in subdivision three of such section fifteen.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06935-01-3
A. 7164 2
1 An award letter from the Social Security Administration or the Rail-
2 road Retirement Board, or a certificate from the state commission for
3 the blind, or an award letter from the United States Postal Service, or
4 an award letter from the United States department of veterans affairs,
5 or an order of determination of an award for compensation for permanent
6 total disability or of permanent partial disability issued by the work-
7 ers' compensation board shall be submitted as proof of disability.
8 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall
9 have become a law.
