Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoes bill on IDA board representation
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul emphasized local control while vetoing a bill that would have required representatives from unions and public school districts on industrial development agency boards. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images/TNS) Credit: TNS/Anna Moneymaker
Gov. Kathy Hochul has vetoed legislation that would’ve required industrial development agencies to have representatives from unions and public schools on their boards of directors.
IDAs grant breaks on property taxes, sales taxes and other levies to expanding businesses in return for job creation and capital investment. The tax savings often impact the budgets of school districts by shifting the tax burden to homeowners and other companies not receiving IDA assistance, while unions want the construction jobs for their members.
Statewide, there are more than 100 IDAs, including eight on Long Island.
Proponents of the vetoed bill said it would've make IDAs more accountable to the communities where projects receiving tax breaks are located.
In her Dec. 21 veto message, Hochul said the legislation, which passed overwhelmingly in the state Senate and Assembly in the spring, wasn’t necessary. She said labor leaders and educators are already eligible for IDA board seats, and the agencies must seek input on their tax incentive packages via public hearings and meetings.
“It is most appropriate to ensure specific industrial development agency members are chosen by the municipality to best represent the interests of the community rather than imposing an inflexible statutory requirement,” said Hochul, a Democrat.
Assemb. Michaelle C. Solages (D-Elmont), who sponsored the measure along with Sen. Shelley B. Mayer (D-Yonkers), said she plans to reintroduce the bill in the regular legislative session, which opens on Jan. 8.
“Including a labor representative and a school board member on industrial development agency boards isn’t just good governance; it ensures transparency and accountability for decisions that shape our workforce and local tax base,” Solages told Newsday on Tuesday. “It’s disappointing that this common-sense measure was denied, but we will continue pushing for a system that values the voices of all local stakeholders.”
She represents Valley Stream, home to the Green Acres Mall and the adjacent Green Acres Commons shopping center, which the Hempstead Town IDA awarded tax breaks to in 2014. Homeowners denounced the incentive package three years later, saying it caused their school property taxes to increase. The IDA responded by revoking the tax aid, but a Nassau County judge ruled the decision unlawful in 2018.
The vetoed bill was supported by the state School Boards Association, the Fiscal Policy Institute and the state AFL-CIO, an umbrella group of unions.
David Albert, a spokesman for the school boards association, said the property-tax savings that IDAs award to companies affect school budgets and whether a district must propose a property tax increase that’s above the statewide cap. “It is critical that school districts have a meaningful role in this process,” he said on Tuesday.
The bill’s opponents, including developers and IDAs and their trade group New York State Economic Development Council, have argued that the vetoed bill would stymie business expansions, job creation and the construction of additional housing for workers.
“The governor’s veto has rescued the role of IDAs” to foster job creation and capital investment, said Kyle Strober, executive director of the developers' group Association for a Better Long Island.
“The idea that school boards and unions would determine how or whether IDAs would function would have created an economic wound so serious it would have proven fatal to the type of development vital to the future of our region and the state as a whole,” he added.
On Long Island, unions and public schools are represented on IDA boards to varying degrees, according to a Newsday review of board-member biographies.
At least four of the eight IDAs have a labor representative on their board. The Suffolk County IDA has two, the review found.
At least two IDAs have board members who are retired public school teachers and three have members who served on boards and committees for public or private elementary and secondary educational institutions.
Gov. Kathy Hochul has vetoed legislation that would’ve required industrial development agencies to have representatives from unions and public schools on their boards of directors.
IDAs grant breaks on property taxes, sales taxes and other levies to expanding businesses in return for job creation and capital investment. The tax savings often impact the budgets of school districts by shifting the tax burden to homeowners and other companies not receiving IDA assistance, while unions want the construction jobs for their members.
Statewide, there are more than 100 IDAs, including eight on Long Island.
Proponents of the vetoed bill said it would've make IDAs more accountable to the communities where projects receiving tax breaks are located.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- A bill that would have required industrial development agencies to reserve board seats for representatives of unions and public schools has been vetoed by Gov. Kathy Hochul.
- Hochul said the requirement wasn’t needed because those representatives are eligible to serve on IDA boards if they are appointed.
- Bill sponsor Assemb. Michaelle C. Solages said she would reintroduce the measure in the regular legislative session that starts on Jan. 8.
In her Dec. 21 veto message, Hochul said the legislation, which passed overwhelmingly in the state Senate and Assembly in the spring, wasn’t necessary. She said labor leaders and educators are already eligible for IDA board seats, and the agencies must seek input on their tax incentive packages via public hearings and meetings.
“It is most appropriate to ensure specific industrial development agency members are chosen by the municipality to best represent the interests of the community rather than imposing an inflexible statutory requirement,” said Hochul, a Democrat.
Assemb. Michaelle C. Solages (D-Elmont), who sponsored the measure along with Sen. Shelley B. Mayer (D-Yonkers), said she plans to reintroduce the bill in the regular legislative session, which opens on Jan. 8.
“Including a labor representative and a school board member on industrial development agency boards isn’t just good governance; it ensures transparency and accountability for decisions that shape our workforce and local tax base,” Solages told Newsday on Tuesday. “It’s disappointing that this common-sense measure was denied, but we will continue pushing for a system that values the voices of all local stakeholders.”
Assemb. Michaelle C. Solages (D-Elmont) said she plans to reintroduce a vetoed bill she argued would have made IDAs more accountable to communities. Credit: Jeff Bachner
She represents Valley Stream, home to the Green Acres Mall and the adjacent Green Acres Commons shopping center, which the Hempstead Town IDA awarded tax breaks to in 2014. Homeowners denounced the incentive package three years later, saying it caused their school property taxes to increase. The IDA responded by revoking the tax aid, but a Nassau County judge ruled the decision unlawful in 2018.
The vetoed bill was supported by the state School Boards Association, the Fiscal Policy Institute and the state AFL-CIO, an umbrella group of unions.
David Albert, a spokesman for the school boards association, said the property-tax savings that IDAs award to companies affect school budgets and whether a district must propose a property tax increase that’s above the statewide cap. “It is critical that school districts have a meaningful role in this process,” he said on Tuesday.
The bill’s opponents, including developers and IDAs and their trade group New York State Economic Development Council, have argued that the vetoed bill would stymie business expansions, job creation and the construction of additional housing for workers.
“The governor’s veto has rescued the role of IDAs” to foster job creation and capital investment, said Kyle Strober, executive director of the developers' group Association for a Better Long Island.
“The idea that school boards and unions would determine how or whether IDAs would function would have created an economic wound so serious it would have proven fatal to the type of development vital to the future of our region and the state as a whole,” he added.
On Long Island, unions and public schools are represented on IDA boards to varying degrees, according to a Newsday review of board-member biographies.
At least four of the eight IDAs have a labor representative on their board. The Suffolk County IDA has two, the review found.
At least two IDAs have board members who are retired public school teachers and three have members who served on boards and committees for public or private elementary and secondary educational institutions.
James T. Madore writes about Long Island business news including the economy, development, and the relationship between government and business. He previously served as Albany bureau chief.
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