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The legislature made the move on the recommendation of consulting attorneys from Buffalo-based Hodgson Russ LLP.
Opting out of the state law exemption would mean solar developers would have to be responsible for taxes on their projects. It could presumably also push developers to negotiate Payment in Lieu of Taxes Agreements (PILOTs) with the Cortland Industrial Development Agency.
Victor Siegel, a resident of Homer, said on Thursday the county must opt out. He noted it would have the county stand in solidarity with municipalities like the towns of Cincinnatus, Homer, and Preble. All those municipalities have opted out of the tax exemption. Siegel added there are 500 municipalities in the state that had opted out of the exemption.
“Please follow the guidance of these 500 tax jurisdictions and opt out now,” he said.
Kim Cameron, a county resident, spoke against the county opting out. She said she was worried about the environmental impacts of climate change and that the tax exemption could spur the proliferation of renewable energy.
“The tax exemption is designed to incentivize that movement. Encouraging homeowners with tax incentives to put solar panels on their roofs is one way to do that,” she said. “Opting out of this law needs a lot more thought.”
Legislative Minority Leader Beau Harbin (D-LD-2) unsuccessfully tried to get the Legislature to refer the item to the Agriculture Planning and Environmental Committee given that it deals with renewable energy. The motion failed.
“We have the expertise and the time to actually dig into all the issues with regards to solar,” Harbin said. “Our report from our outside council leaves a lot of open questions, a lot of benefits that were outlined. But there are also a lot of potential drawbacks and unintended consequences.”
Legislator Paul Heider (R-LD-16), and legislative chair Kevin Fitch (R-LD-8), both said the project belongs on the Finance and Administration committee, as it deals with the financial implications of opting out of a tax exemption.
One of the issues that is still unresolved, Harbin said, is that property value assessors tend to not commit a higher amount to properties that have solar energy.
“We hear anecdotally that assessors don’t take that into account. But there’s nothing saying that they can’t,” he said. “There’s no discussion about what that’s going to be. That was a question I'd had for outside counsel and it was never answered in the report. This is about getting it right.”
