Recent legislative activity on an expanded Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit bill has proponents sensing a good possibility for enacting the measure into law during this session in Albany.
Assemblyman Sam Hoyt (D-Buffalo) and Senator David Valesky (D-Syracuse) are co-sponsors of the proposal, and Senator Craig Johnson (D-Nassau) passed the bill out of the Senate Investigation and Government Operations Committee on April 21. The bill is expected to be on the Senate Finance Committee agenda by May 5 and if passed, it's likely to receive a vote in the full Senate soon thereafter. Assembly passage is also anticipated.
Both houses passed an earlier version of the expanded rehabilitation tax credit in 2008, but it was subsequently vetoed by Governor Paterson who cited state budget fiscal impacts. Proponents point to an altered political landscape in New York, as well as the predicted economic stimulus value of the legislation, to support their view that a better environment exists this year that may lead to enactment. Other observers are not so sure, citing continuing budget pressures.
The bill text can be viewed at: http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/? bn=A06471
