STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 3461 2023-2024 Regular Sessions IN SENATE January 31, 2023 ___________ Introduced by Sen. SKOUFIS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Local Government AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to establishing local labor requirements as part of the approval to receive a real property tax business investment exemption The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Paragraph (b) of subdivision 2 of section 485-b of the real 2 property tax law, as amended by chapter 305 of the laws of 1994, is 3 amended to read as follows: 4 (b) No such exemption shall be granted unless: 5 (1) such construction, alteration, installation or improvement was 6 commenced subsequent to the first day of January, nineteen hundred 7 seventy-six or such later date as may be specified by local law or 8 resolution; 9 (2) the cost of such construction, alteration, installation or 10 improvement exceeds the sum of ten thousand dollars or such greater 11 amount as may be specified by local law or resolution; [and] 12 (3) such construction, alteration, installation or improvement is 13 completed as may be evidenced by a certificate of occupancy or other 14 appropriate documentation as provided by the owner; 15 (4) such construction, alteration, installation or improvement meets 16 the local labor requirements set forth pursuant to subdivision two-a of 17 this section; and 18 (5) such construction, alteration, installation or improvement is 19 performed by a developer, contractor, or subcontractor who has appren- 20 ticeship agreements appropriate for the type and scope of work to be 21 performed, that have been registered with, and approved by, the commis- 22 sioner of labor pursuant to the requirements found in article twenty- 23 three of the labor law. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD07048-01-3
S. 3461 2 1 § 2. Section 485-b of the real property tax law is amended by adding a 2 new subdivision 2-a to read as follows: 3 2-a. (a) For purposes of this subdivision: 4 (i) "local labor" shall mean workers who reside within the same county 5 or an adjoining county. 6 (ii) "state labor" shall mean workers who reside in the state of New 7 York. 8 (b) Any real property constructed, altered, installed or improved for 9 the purpose of commercial, business or industrial activity shall be 10 exempt from taxation and special ad valorem levies only if eighty-five 11 percent or more of the workforce hired by the contractor or developer 12 who is overseeing such construction, alteration, installation or 13 improvement project are from the local labor market or, if after making 14 a good faith effort such contractor or developer cannot hire enough of 15 their workforce to satisfy the requirements of this subdivision, from 16 the state labor market. 17 (c) The eighty-five percent requirement set forth by paragraph (b) of 18 this subdivision shall be by contractor and in total at the time of 19 completion of such project. A contractor or developer shall be required 20 to keep daily log sheets of all field workers, commencing on the date of 21 application for a real property tax exemption pursuant to this section. 22 Any work performed after an application for such real property tax 23 exemption shall be included in the determination of overall compliance 24 with the requirements set forth in this subdivision. The commissioner 25 shall require every contractor or developer to submit supporting 26 documentation that the requirements of this section have been met when 27 applying for an exemption pursuant to this section. 28 (d) (i) An exemption may be granted pursuant to this section for the 29 following reasons even if the local labor requirements set forth pursu- 30 ant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision are not met: 31 (1) the installation of specialized equipment is required by the 32 manufacturer to be installed by only approved installers; 33 (2) specialized construction is required, and no local or state 34 contractors or local or state construction workers have the required 35 skills, certifications or training to perform such work; 36 (3) there are significant cost differentials in bid prices whereby the 37 use of local or state labor significantly increases the subcontract or 38 contract of a particular trade or work scope by at least twenty percent; 39 (4) no local or state labor is available for the project; or 40 (5) the contractor or developer requires key or core persons such as 41 supervisors, foreman or construction workers to have special skills that 42 are not available in the local or state labor market. 43 (ii) A request for an exemption from local labor requirements set 44 forth pursuant to paragraph (b) of this subdivision shall be submitted 45 to the department prior to any work being commenced. 46 (e) In addition to the local labor requirements set forth pursuant to 47 this section, every contractor or developer shall make reasonable 48 efforts to utilize vendors, material suppliers and professional services 49 from New York state. Real property owners and contractors shall be 50 required to keep records of such local vendors, material suppliers and 51 professional services whom they have solicited and with whom they have 52 contracted with or awarded. The department shall have the authority to 53 request these additional materials as necessary. 54 § 3. This act shall take effect immediately.