2023 New York Laws › RPT - Real Property Tax › Article 4 - Exemptions › Title 2 - Private Property › 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.