Section 545. State aid; state-owned lands

1. Whenever the state or an
  agency of the state acquires real property which  becomes  exempt  as  a
  result of such acquisition and which constitutes two per cent or more of
  the  total taxable assessed valuation of the latest preceding assessment
  roll or there is a reduction in assessments on taxable state lands,  the
  state  board  shall  establish  a  "transition assessment" which will in
  effect prevent any loss of taxable assessed valuation on the  assessment
  roll  for the first year affected by such occurrence or occurrences. For
  each succeeding year, the  state  board  shall  establish  a  transition
  assessment  which  will  in  effect  limit  to two per cent of the total
  taxable assessed valuation on the latest preceding assessment  roll  the
  loss  in  taxable  assessed  valuation  on such roll as a result of such
  occurrence or occurrences, and (i) further acquisitions by the state  or
  an  agency  of  the  state, or (ii) further reductions in assessments on
  taxable state lands, or (iii) both (i) and (ii).
    2. In the first year of such  occurrence  or  occurrences,  the  state
  board shall establish a transition assessment.
    3.  In  establishing  transition assessments pursuant to this section,
  the state board shall: a. In determining whether real property  acquired
  by  the state or an agency of the state constitutes two per cent or more
  of  the  total  taxable  assessed  valuation  of  the  latest  preceding
  assessment  roll,  the assessed valuation of the property acquired shall
  be determined from  the  second  assessment  roll  preceding  the  first
  assessment roll affected by the acquisition;
    b. In making computations and determinations pursuant to this section,
  take  into  account increases or decreases in level of assessment on the
  assessment rolls involved;
    c. In establishing a transition assessment for a town assessment roll,
  indicate the amount of the transition assessment which is applicable  to
  that  portion  of  the  town located outside of any village and also the
  amount of the transition assessment upon which state aid shall  be  paid
  for county purposes;
    d. Round all transition assessments to the nearest ten dollars.
    4.  The  transition  assessments  as  established and certified by the
  state board shall be entered by the assessor or other appropriate  local
  official  on  the assessment roll and shall be, and shall be treated for
  all purposes as, taxable assessed valuation on such roll.
    5. The  state  board  shall  certify  to  the  state  comptroller  all
  transition  assessments  which  it establishes and the state comptroller
  shall pay as state aid the amounts, equivalent to the taxes,  levied  on
  such  assessments,  in  the  manner  prescribed  by section five hundred
  forty-four of this chapter out of moneys appropriated by the legislature
  for the payment of taxes on state-owned lands.
    6. In making transition assessments pursuant to this section:
    (a) for property acquired by a state public authority or by the  state
  for   the   purposes  of  a  state  public  authority,  such  transition
  assessments shall be reduced to take into account any payments  in  lieu
  of  taxes made pursuant to law by such state public authority to the tax
  district, so that the  total  of  state  aid  paid  on  each  transition
  assessment and the payment in lieu of taxes received by the tax district
  would  be  in  effect  equal to the state aid payable on such transition
  assessment computed without regard to this subdivision; and
    (b) for state lands in which interests have been granted by the  state
  to  others which interests and improvements made to lands in which those
  interests have been granted are taxable pursuant to subdivision  two  of
  section  five  hundred  sixty-four  of  this  article,  such  transition
  assessments shall be reduced by the  taxable  assessed  value  of  those
  interests and improvements.

    (c)   The  assessor  in  each  assessing  unit  for  which  transition
  assessments are made pursuant to this section shall annually  report  to
  the  state  board  the  total  taxable  assessed  value of interests and
  improvements subject to taxation pursuant to subdivision two of  section
  five  hundred sixty-four of this article. This report shall be filed not
  later than ten days  after  the  completion  and  filing  of  the  final
  assessment roll each year.
    7.  Definitions. As used in this section: a. "Agency of the state", in
  the case of public authorities, includes state  public  authorities  but
  excludes all other public authorities.
    b.  "Assessment roll", in the case of a city or town, means the entire
  city or town assessment roll; in the case of a village, means the entire
  village assessment roll, except in the  case  of  a  village  which  has
  enacted a local law as provided in subdivision three of section fourteen
  hundred  two  of this chapter, may also mean that part of the assessment
  roll of the town or county upon which village taxes were or  are  to  be
  levied;  in  the  case  of  a  county,  means  the  entire  city or town
  assessment roll affected by the occurrence or occurrences  described  in
  subdivision  one  of  this  section; in the case of a school district or
  special district, means that portion of the city or town assessment roll
  used for the levy of school or special district taxes which is  affected
  by the occurrence.
    c.  "First year" means a year following a year for which no transition
  assessment was established.
    d. "Lands" or "state lands" as used in  this  section,  shall  include
  lands  acquired  by  the  state or an agency of the state for highway or
  parkway purposes.
    e.  "Latest  preceding  assessment  roll"  means  the  last  preceding
  assessment roll finally completed, verified and filed prior to the final
  completion of the assessment roll for which the transition assessment is
  being  established,  but  shall  not  mean  or  include  a  supplemental
  assessment roll completed, verified and filed  as  provided  in  section
  thirteen hundred thirty-five of this chapter.
    f.  "Reduction  in assessments on state lands" means a loss in taxable
  assessed valuation on an assessment roll as a result of the approval  by
  the  state  board  of  assessed valuations on state lands which in total
  amount to less than the total taxable assessed valuations on such  lands
  in the preceding year, whether or not such lands were owned by the state
  in the preceding year.
    g.  "State  public  authority"  means  a public benefit corporation as
  defined in section sixty-six  of  the  general  construction  law  whose
  membership  is  required  by  law to consist entirely of members who are
  appointed by the governor or other state officer or who serve as members
  as ex officio state officers.
    h. "Tax district" means a county, city, town, village, school district
  or special district.