New York S 5755: Relates to agricultural districts and assessments

Bill Text

STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
5755
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
May 14, 2019
___________
Introduced by Sen. METZGER -- (at request of the Department of Agricul-
ture and Markets) -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed
to be committed to the Committee on Agriculture
AN ACT to amend the agriculture and markets law, in relation to certain
definitions and agricultural districts and assessments; and to amend
the real property tax law, in relation to the farm buildings tax
exemption and authorizing farms to challenge the denial of an agricul-
tural value assessment through the small claims assessment review
(SCAR) process
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision 4 of section 301 of the agriculture and markets
2 law, as amended by chapter 445 of the laws of 2002, the opening para-
3 graph as amended by chapter 344 of the laws of 2012, paragraph a-1 as
4 added by chapter 611 of the laws of 2008, paragraph c as amended by
5 chapter 47 of the laws of 2011, paragraph h as amended by chapter 587 of
6 the laws of 2005, paragraph i as added by chapter 252 of the laws of
7 2004, paragraph j as added by chapter 256 of the laws of 2006, paragraph
8 k as added by chapter 341 of the laws of 2008, paragraph l as added by
9 chapter 384 of the laws of 2011, paragraph m as added by chapter 547 of
10 the laws of 2014 and paragraph n as added by chapter 192 of the laws of
11 2018, is amended to read as follows:
12 4. "Land used in agricultural production" means [not less than seven
13 ] land used as a single operation [ ]acres of in the preceding two years
14 for the production for sale of crops, livestock or livestock products
15 [ ] gross sales [ ] of ten thousand dollarsof an average with annual value
16 or more; or, not less than seven acres of land used [in the preceding
17 ] to support a commercial horse boarding operation or a commer-two years
18 cial equine operation with annual gross receipts of ten thousand dollars
19 or more. [Land used in agricultural production shall not include land or
20 portions thereof used for processing or retail merchandising of such
EXPLANATION--Matter in (underscored) is new; matter in bracketsitalics
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD09100-01-9

S. 5755 2
1 ] Land used in agriculturalcrops, livestock or livestock products.
2 production shall also include:
3 a. Rented land which otherwise satisfies the requirements for eligi-
4 bility for an agricultural assessment.
5 a-1. Land used by a not-for-profit institution for the purposes of
6 agricultural research that is intended to improve the quality or quanti-
7 ty of crops, livestock or livestock products. Such land shall qualify
8 for an agricultural assessment upon application made pursuant to para-
9 graph [ ] of subdivision one of section three hundred five of this(a) a
10 article, except that no minimum gross sales value shall beannual
11 required.
12 b. Land of not less than seven acres used as a single operation for
13 the production for sale of crops, livestock or livestock products,
14 exclusive of woodland products, which does not independently satisfy the
15 gross sales [ ] requirement[annual value , where such land was used in
16 ] and [ ] is such production for the preceding two years currently current-
17 being so used under a written rental arrangement of five or morely
18 years in conjunction with land which is eligible for an agricultural
19 assessment.
20 c. Land used in support of a farm operation or land used in agricul-
21 tural production, constituting a portion of a parcel, as identified on
22 the assessment roll, which also contains land qualified for an agricul-
23 tural assessment. Such land shall include land used for agricultural
24 amusements which are produced from crops grown or produced on the farm,
25 provided that such crops are harvested and marketed in the same manner
26 as other crops produced on such farm. Such agricultural amusements shall
27 include, but not be limited to, so-called "corn mazes" or "hay bale
28 mazes".
29 d. Farm woodland which is part of land which is qualified for an agri-
30 cultural assessment, provided, however, that such farm woodland attrib-
31 utable to any separately described and assessed parcel shall not exceed
32 fifty acres.
33 e. Land set aside through participation in a federal conservation
34 program pursuant to title one of the federal food security act of nine-
35 teen hundred eighty-five or any subsequent federal programs established
36 for the purposes of replenishing highly erodible land which has been
37 depleted by continuous tilling or reducing national surpluses of agri-
38 cultural commodities and such land shall qualify for agricultural
39 assessment upon application made pursuant to paragraph a of subdivision
40 one of section three hundred five of this article, except that no mini-
41 mum gross sales [