Press release:
Congressman Chris Jacobs (NY-27) introduced the Property Tax Reduction Act of 2022. The legislation would prohibit state governments from shifting their Medicaid burden onto local county governments.
“New York State is the only state to impose this Medicaid burden onto their local county governments, forcing property taxes higher and putting unnecessary financial strain on residents across the state. County governments in New York must devote massive amounts of their property tax revenue to this Medicaid obligation – it costs Erie County over 70 percent of its local property tax revenue annually. This legislation corrects this inequity, demands much-needed state fiscal responsibility, and provides tax relief to families and homeowners,” said Jacobs.
“Since taking office, I have made it a priority to do everything I can to once again make New York an affordable place to live, work, and raise a family. By passing this legislation, county governments and their taxpayers will be financially liberated from this oppressive burden. In turn, they would be able to put these saved local funds toward cutting local taxes and making critical investments to bring prosperity and growth back to their regions,” Jacobs said.
“The cost of living has risen exponentially for New Yorkers. From sky high property taxes to today’s 41-year-high inflation, people across our state just cannot catch a break. I’m honored to join the Property Tax Reduction Act once again to ensure counties across New York are not burdened with the State’s high costs of Medicaid spending. This will lower property taxes and force the State to live within its means and finally make important decisions about how to allocate and reduce spending. Enough unfunded mandates and costly burdens have been passed down to our local governments, it’s time we set New York on a path toward fiscal responsibility,” Rep. Tenney said.
The Property Tax Reduction Act would require New York State to absorb the full costs of its Medicaid spending by reducing the state’s Federal Financial Participation (FFP) commensurate with the counties’ share of spending. This reduction is phased in over four years starting in 2025. In 2020, New York counties outside of New York City collectively are forced to contribute $2.3 billion towards the state’s share of Medicaid.
Rep. Jacobs was joined by Representatives Zeldin (NY-01), Stefanik (NY-21), and Tenney (NY-22) in introducing the legislation.
Background
The federal Medicaid program is jointly funded by the federal government and states. New York State shifts a significant portion of its obligation onto local county governments. New York is the only state in the nation to place this significant financial burden on counties. New York counties have no say in how the Medicaid program is run but are required to pay a significant amount of its costs. In 2020, Erie County was forced to pay the state $215 million – or 73% of its property tax revenues – for this Medicaid obligation. Niagara County paid $46 million – or 50% of the county’s property tax revenues.
