SPRINGFIELD – Legislation sponsored by State Senator John Connor (D-Lockport) that automatically extends homestead exemptions for civilians and veterans with disabilities, as well as senior citizens, advanced out of the Senate Revenue committee Wednesday evening.

“The past year has been challenging for all of us,” Connor said. “As we work to provide relief, we must lend a helping hand to people who were already struggling before the pandemic.”

House Bill 3289 allows homestead exemptions to be approved for people with disabilities, veterans with disabilities and older adults for the 2020 taxable year without new applications. This legislation applies to any property that was approved for the exemption for the 2019 taxable year, as long as that county declared a local disaster related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Current state law requires exemption recipients to reapply every year, but this requirement was waived in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This legislation would allow recipients who would need assistance reapplying and could therefore potentially be exposed to health risks to skip the process this year.

The legislation now goes before the full Senate for consideration.

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