Section 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
  state board. For purposes of  this  section,  nuclear  powered  electric
  generating  facility  shall  mean  a facility that generates 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 sixteen, or such earlier year as may be specified in
  the local law or resolution authorizing the exemption (provided that the
  term of the exemption shall not be reduced thereby  to  less  than  five
  years), 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  office  of  real property
  services 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 sixteen.
    (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
  office  of  real  property  services  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 office of real
  property services shall determine such actual  valuation  equivalent  by
  dividing   the   payment  made,  as  reported  to  such  office  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  office  of  real
  property  services,  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.