S 8549: Establishes a real property tax exemption for police officers who have a one hundred percent service-connected disability.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 8549 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE October 24, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sen. WEIK -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules AN ACT to amend the real property tax law, in relation to establishing a real property tax exemption for police officers who have a one hundred percent service-connected disability The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The real property tax law is amended by adding a new 2 section 459-d to read as follows: 3 § 459-d. Police officers with a service-connected disability. 1. Real 4 property owned by a seriously disabled police officer, and constituting 5 the primary residence of such police officer shall be deemed fully 6 exempt from all taxes imposed upon such property for city, village, 7 town, part town, special district or county purposes, provided that the 8 governing body of a city, village, town or county, after a public hear- 9 ing, adopts a local law, ordinance or resolution providing therefor. 10 2. For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have 11 the following meanings: 12 (a) "police officer" shall have the same meaning as defined in section 13 1.20 of the criminal procedure law; 14 (b) "seriously disabled police officer" shall mean a police officer 15 who, through no fault or misconduct on such officer's part is totally 16 and permanently disabled (i) by injuries received in the discharge of 17 such officer's duties, or, (ii) as a result of illness attributable to 18 the performance of such duties. Such disability shall be certified to by 19 a duly licensed physician or physicians stating that such officer is one 20 hundred percent physically or mentally incapacitated for the performance 21 of police duty. 22 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the 23 provisions of this section shall apply to any real property held in 24 trust solely for the benefit of a person or persons who would otherwise EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD13636-01-5 
 S. 8549 2 1 be eligible for a real property tax exemption, pursuant to subdivision 2 one of this section, were such person or persons the owner or owners of 3 such real property. 4 4. (a) For the purposes of this section, title to that portion of real 5 property owned by a cooperative apartment corporation in which a 6 tenant-stockholder of such corporation resides and which is represented 7 by their share or shares of stock in such corporation as determined by 8 its or their proportional relationship to the total outstanding stock of 9 the corporation, including that owned by the corporation, shall be 10 deemed to be vested in such tenant-stockholder. 11 (b) Provided that all other eligibility criteria of this section are 12 met, that proportion of the assessment of such real property owned by a 13 cooperative apartment corporation determined by the relationship of such 14 real property vested in such tenant-stockholder to such real property 15 owned by such cooperative apartment corporation in which such tenant- 16 stockholder resides shall be subject to exemption from taxation pursuant 17 to this section and any exemption so granted shall be credited by the 18 appropriate taxing authority against the assessed valuation of such real 19 property; the reduction in real property taxes realized thereby shall be 20 credited by the cooperative apartment corporation against the amount of 21 such taxes otherwise payable by or chargeable to such tenant-stockhold- 22 er. 23 (c) Notwithstanding paragraph (b) of this subdivision, a tenant-stock- 24 holder who resides in a dwelling that is subject to the provisions of 25 either article two, four, five or eleven of the private housing finance 26 law shall not be eligible for an exemption pursuant to this section. 27 (d) Notwithstanding paragraph (b) of this subdivision, real property 28 owned by a cooperative apartment corporation may be exempt from taxation 29 pursuant to this section by a municipality in which such real property 30 is located only if the governing body of such municipality, after public 31 hearing, adopts a local law, ordinance or resolution providing therefor. 32 5. The commissioner shall develop a listing of documents to be used to 33 establish eligibility under this section. Such information shall be made 34 available to each city, village, town, part town, special district and 35 county assessor's office. The listing of acceptable records shall be 36 made available on the internet website of the office of real property 37 tax services. 38 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to assess- 39 ment rolls prepared on and after January 1, 2027.