NY Lawmakers Approve Increased Oversight of Local Tax Breaks

New York lawmakers approved a bill that would guarantee school districts are represented in tax-break negotiations that threaten education funding, sending it to Gov. Kathy Hochul’s desk for her signature.

The move comes after government watchdog groups, the powerful teachers union, and state Democratic leaders unsuccessfully pushed a bill to curb the powers of industrial development agencies, entities empowered by the state to offer tax incentives to encourage economic development in their respective regions. The bill, S89, which would have blocked IDAs from waiving property taxes that otherwise fund schools, failed to advance out of committee for the second ...