Bill > A09782

This bill establishes a real property tax exemption for the primary residences of widows and widowers of firefighters killed in the line of duty. The exemption applies to city, village, town, part town, special district, or county taxes, provided the governing body of the municipality adopts a local law, ordinance, or resolution to implement it. The term "firefighter" includes enrolled members of volunteer, municipal, or other fire companies or departments. The exemption also applies to real property held in trust for eligible individuals and, under certain conditions, to the proportion of cooperatively-owned property attributable to an eligible tenant-stockholder. The bill requires the state's real property tax commissioner, in consultation with the state fire administrator, to develop a list of acceptable documents to establish eligibility, which will be made available to local assessors' offices and online.