92-Y - Upstate New York tourism council fund.
* § 92-y. Upstate New York tourism council fund. 1. There is hereby established in the joint custody of the state comptroller and the commissioner of taxation and finance a special fund to be known as the "upstate New York tourism council fund." The upstate New York tourism council shall administer such fund. The council shall adopt rules and regulations for the administration of the fund to carry out the purpose and provisions of this section and of article twenty-eight of the executive law. Such regulations shall be adopted in accordance with article two of the state administrative procedure act. 2. Subject to the provisions of subdivisions four and eight of this section, such fund shall consist of (a) an amount of moneys equal, as appropriated pursuant to subdivision three of this section, to the following amount of revenues from sales taxes imposed on receipts, rent and amusement charges by section eleven hundred five of the tax law at the rate of four percent and collected by vendors (other than show and entertainment vendors unless such vendors have a regular place of business in such premises and other than temporary vendors), operators and recipients in premises located in the expanded carousel center, as defined in section eight hundred twenty-seven of the executive law, including any moneys collected purportedly as tax thereunder, with respect to sales from, occupancy at, and admission charges and dues at or to, such premises, as such amounts of tax are required to be reported with respect to Onondaga county on the tax returns required to be filed pursuant to section eleven hundred thirty-seven of the tax law: of the first twenty million dollars so collected and reported in a fiscal year, one hundred percent; of the next five million dollars, ninety percent; of the next five million dollars, eighty percent; and ten percent of any amount greater than thirty million dollars; and (b) any other moneys appropriated for the purpose of such fund and all moneys transferred to such fund pursuant to law. Any interest earned by the investment of moneys in such fund shall be added to such fund, become a part of such fund, and be used for the purpose of such fund. Moneys of such fund shall be available for appropriation and allocation only to the upstate New York tourism council for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of article twenty-eight of the executive law. The terms "receipt," "rent," "amusement charge," "vendor," "show vendor," "entertainment vendor," "temporary vendor," "operator," "recipient," "sale," "occupancy," "admission," "charge," "admission charge" and "dues" shall have the same meaning or usage that they have in article twenty-eight of the tax law. 3. The amount of moneys equal to the revenues described in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of this section, after deducting the amount which the commissioner of taxation and finance shall determine to be necessary for reasonable costs of the commissioner of taxation and finance in administering, collecting and distributing such taxes and moneys, shall be appropriated to the upstate New York tourism council in order to enable such council to carry out its purposes. 4. On or before the twelfth day of each month, the commissioner of taxation and finance shall certify to the comptroller the amounts specified in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of this section relating to the preceding month, including any such moneys collected purportedly as tax. The amount of revenues so certified, subject to the percentages prescribed in such paragraph (a) of subdivision two of this section, shall be deposited by the comptroller in the upstate New York tourism council fund. The commissioner of taxation and finance shall not be held liable for any inaccuracy in any certification under this subdivision. Such commissioner shall hereby be authorized to require additional returns or schedules for the vendors, operators and recipients describedin subdivision two of this section to file in conjunction with returns required to be filed under section eleven hundred thirty-six or twelve hundred fifty-one of the tax law, in such form and containing such information as the commissioner deems necessary or desirable to effect the purposes of this section and the commissioner's duties under this section and articles twenty-eight and twenty-nine of the tax law; and such persons shall be required to file such additional returns or schedules, or both, with such returns. Such additional returns or schedules, or both, shall be deemed to be a return or a report under such article twenty-eight and article thirty-seven of the tax law, subject to all the provisions of such articles twenty-eight and thirty-seven, as if the requirement to file such additional returns or schedules was in such article twenty-eight and as if the provisions of such articles twenty-eight and thirty-seven and other provisions of law referring to such article twenty-eight specifically referred to the additional returns or schedules authorized to be proscribed by and required to be filed pursuant to this section. Also, such commissioner shall be hereby authorized to require such persons required to file such additional returns or schedules, or both, to provide such additional information upon or in conjunction with registration under section eleven hundred thirty-four of the tax law as such commissioner deems necessary or desirable to effect the purposes of this section, such articles twenty-eight and thirty-seven of the tax law and such other provisions of law referring to such article twenty-eight. 5. Moneys in the upstate New York tourism fund shall be kept separate and shall not be commingled with any other moneys in the custody of the comptroller. All deposits of such moneys shall, if required by the comptroller, be secured by obligations of the United States or of the state having a market value equal at all times to the amount of such deposits and all banks and trust companies are authorized to give security for such deposits. Any such moneys in such fund may, in the discretion of the comptroller, be invested in obligations of the United States or of the state or in obligations the principal of and interest on which are guaranteed by the United States or by the state. 6. All payments of moneys from the upstate New York tourism council fund shall be made on the audit and warrant of the state comptroller on vouchers certified or approved by the chairperson of such council. 7. Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law, no moneys shall be available from the fund until a certificate of allocation and a schedule of amounts to be available therefor shall have been issued by the director of the budget, and a copy of such certificate filed with the comptroller. Such certificate may be amended from time to time by the director of the budget and a copy of each such amendment shall be filed with the state comptroller. 8. The fund established by subdivision one of this section shall include the amount of moneys described in paragraph (a) of subdivision two of this section, the amount of moneys described in subdivision three of this section shall be appropriated to such fund, and the commissioner of taxation and finance shall certify amounts and the state comptroller shall deposit such amounts in such fund as provided in subdivision four of this section, only if the expanded carousel center, consisting of a minimum of three million two hundred thousand square feet, has been built by October first, two thousand eight, and the city of Syracuse has sent a notice to the commissioner of taxation and finance at the commissioner's Albany office by certified or registered mail postmarked no later than November first, two thousand eight, indicating that such minimum three million two hundred thousand square feet has been built by October first, two thousand eight, and that certificates of occupancywith respect to such minimum three million two hundred thousand square feet have been issued by the appropriate authorities by such date. * NB Effective on the first day of the sales tax quarterly period, as described in subdivision (b) of section 1136 of the tax law, next commencing at least 90 days after the commissioner of taxation and finance has received notice from the city of Syracuse as described in subdivision 8 of section 92-y of the state finance law