N.Y. Real Property Tax Law § 485: Nuclear powered electric generating facilities

§ 485. Nuclear powered electric generating facilities. 1. Nuclear

powered electric generating facilities shall be exempt from taxation,

special ad valorem levies and special assessments to the extent provided

in section four hundred ninety of this article upon the adoption of a

local law granting such exemption by the legislative body of the county,

city, town or village in which such a facility is located or by

resolution following a public hearing of the governing body of the

school district in which such facility or facilities are located,

provided the taxing district may only exempt the facility from real

property taxes imposed by the taxing district granting the exemption.

The local law or resolution shall state the date on which such exemption

shall commence. A copy of such local law or resolution shall be filed no

later than thirty days after the adoption thereof with the clerk of each

municipal corporation in which the facility is located and with the

commissioner. For purposes of this section, nuclear powered electric

generating facility shall mean a facility that generates or formerly

generated electricity using nuclear power for sale, directly or

indirectly, to the public, including the land upon which the facility is

located, any equipment used in such generation, and equipment leading

from the facility to the interconnection with the electric transmission

system, but shall not include any equipment in the electric transmission

system.

2. (a) If a taxing district and an owner of a nuclear powered electric

generating facility have not signed an agreement for payments in lieu of

taxes by the date specified in the resolution or local law, or if an

owner and a taxing district agree to cancel such an agreement, or if

such an agreement does not apply to an assessment roll upon which a

facility is wholly exempt from taxation pursuant to this section, the

owner of such facility shall be obliged to make payments in lieu of

taxes in the base amount, or in the base amount as adjusted pursuant to

the provisions of paragraph (c) of this subdivision.

(b) The base amount shall be the taxes levied against the facility on

the last assessment roll on which the facility was assessed as taxable

real property, or in the case of a special district, the special ad

valorem levies or special assessments levied against or charged to the

facility on that assessment roll. However, if no taxes or special ad

valorem levies were or will be levied against the facility within one

year of the effective date of the local law or resolution authorizing

the exemption, the base amount shall be the taxes or special ad valorem

levies that would have been levied against the facility on the

assessment roll based on the first taxable status date occurring on or

before the effective date of the local law or resolution, assuming that

the facility had been taxable on that assessment roll, and that the

applicable tax rate had been determined accordingly. For purposes of

this section, the assessment roll which is used to determine the base

amount pursuant to this paragraph shall be referred to as the "base

assessment roll."

(c) The base amount for payments on the current assessment roll shall

be adjusted as follows:

(i) by the percentage change between the assessment of the facility on

the current roll and on the base assessment roll, adjusted for any

change in level of assessment as defined in section twelve hundred of

this chapter;

(ii) in the case of a municipal corporation, by the percentage change

between the total amount of taxes levied against all taxable real

property on the current roll and on the base assessment roll by that

municipal corporation;

(iii) in the case of a special district, by the percentage change

between the total amount of special ad valorem levies and special

assessments imposed against all taxable real property on the current

roll and on the base assessment roll by that special district; and

(iv) if the municipal corporation also contains a nuclear powered

electric generating facility which had been wholly exempt from taxation

on the base assessment roll pursuant to section one thousand twelve of

the public authorities law but which is no longer eligible for that

exemption due to a change in ownership, the base amount shall be

adjusted to reflect the fact that the formerly exempt facility is now

either subject to taxation or liable to make payments in lieu of taxes

pursuant to this section, as the case may be.

(d) In the event the facility was not taxable on a prior assessment

roll, and no exemption is then in effect, the assessor of each assessing

unit in which the facility is located is hereby authorized to

immediately subject the facility to taxation in the manner prescribed by

section five hundred twenty of this chapter.

(e) For assessment rolls with taxable status dates on or after January

first, two thousand thirty-one, or such earlier year as may be specified

in the local law or resolution authorizing the exemption, the exemption

provided by this section shall no longer apply and any agreement for

payments in lieu of taxes for any facility theretofore exempt pursuant

to this section shall no longer be in effect. Upon the request of the

assessor of an assessing unit containing a nuclear powered electric

generating facility, the commissioner shall provide an advisory

appraisal of such facility for use on the municipal assessment roll with

a taxable status date on or after January first, two thousand

thirty-one.

(f) Nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent the owner of a nuclear

powered electric generating facility from seeking judicial review of an

assessment pursuant to article seven of this chapter. Any determination

of the proper assessment of a facility as a result of such a proceeding

shall be reflected in any payment in lieu of taxes including the refund

of such payments, as provided in the judgment and order of the court.

3. The owner of a nuclear powered electric generating facility shall

enter into an agreement with each taxing district which grants the

facility the exemption providing for payments in lieu of taxes to be

made for no longer than the period during which the facility is exempt

pursuant to this section. Any such agreement must be filed with the

commissioner and the clerk of each municipal corporation in which the

facility is located within thirty days of being executed. Nothing herein

shall be deemed to invalidate any existing agreement for payments in

lieu of taxes.

4. Any agreement for payments in lieu of taxes pursuant to this

section may be negotiated at any time. Before an agreement for payments

in lieu of taxes is executed by a taxing district, such taxing district

must hold a public hearing on the proposed agreement.

5. Any payments in lieu of taxes to be made to a taxing district under

this section shall be credited to the amount to be raised in taxes

before determining the tax rates for each taxing district.

6. When a school district receives payments in lieu of taxes from a

nuclear powered electric generating facility, any actual valuation

computed for such school district pursuant to paragraph c of subdivision

one of section thirty-six hundred two of the education law shall include

the actual valuation equivalent of those payments. The commissioner

shall determine such actual valuation equivalent by dividing the payment

made, as reported to such commissioner by the commissioner of education,

by the school tax rate that was applied to real property on that year's

assessment roll or, if applicable, the special apportionment rate

determined pursuant to section twelve hundred twenty-seven of this

chapter and dividing such result by the final state equalization rate

for that roll. The actual valuation equivalent shall be reported to the

state comptroller and the commissioner of education, and shall be used

by the commissioner of education in the determination of any state

average that uses real property taxes levied against and/or actual

valuation based upon the corresponding assessment roll. Each school

district receiving payments in lieu of taxes for nuclear powered

electric generating facilities shall annually report those payments to

the commissioner of education, with a copy to the commissioner, as a

condition to receiving any aid pursuant to section thirty-six hundred

two of the education law.

7. Payments in lieu of taxes made pursuant to this section are not

taxes and shall not be apportioned to any part of a taxing district in

the apportionment of taxes.

8. Facilities exempt from taxation pursuant to subdivision one of this

section shall not be deemed taxable real property for purposes of any

equalization rate, product, study or survey conducted or established

pursuant to article twelve of this chapter or any other provision of

law.

9. Any payments in lieu of taxes made pursuant to this section shall

be paid prior to the expiration of the warrant for collection of the

taxes in lieu of which such payments are to be made and of the

interest-free period prescribed by law, and the agreement shall so

provide. If payments are not made within such period, they shall be

subject to the same interest and penalties as unpaid taxes. If the

payments remain unpaid, the official to whom the payments are to be made

shall present a statement to that effect to the appropriate tax levying

body on or before a date specified by such body for that purpose. Such

body shall levy against the facility the amount contained in such

statement, together with all applicable interest and penalties, at the

same time and in the same manner as taxes. The amounts so levied shall

be collected and enforced in the same manner and at the same time as may

be provided by law for the collection and enforcement of taxes,

notwithstanding the fact that the facility is otherwise wholly exempt

from taxation.

10. When restrictions have been imposed upon changing future

assessments of a facility pursuant to the provisions of either section

seven hundred twenty-seven of this chapter or a formal agreement between

the parties, and the facility becomes exempt pursuant to this section,

such restrictions shall apply to future assessments of the facility to

the same extent as if it had not become exempt pursuant to this section.

11. The provisions of this section shall not be applicable in a

special assessing unit.