October 23, 2007 — Speaker Sheldon Silver said today that the Assembly approved legislation to extend the application deadline for the Middle Class STAR rebate program to December 31 of this year.
The legislation (A.9479) ensures that the nearly 60,000 homeowners in Suffolk County will have sufficient time to apply for their STAR rebates. Due to an administrative error, many of these households did not receive their application information with sufficient time to submit their applications by the original deadline of November 30.
“Every New Yorker who is entitled to a Middle Class STAR rebate should have the opportunity to get it, and this legislation will help to ensure that happens,” Silver said. “The extended deadline means that busy working families will have sufficient time to review materials and submit their STAR applications.”
“Every New Yorker who is eligible for the rebate should have a reasonable amount of time to complete the application,” said Robert K. Sweeney (D-Lindenhurst). “I know that it has been difficult for some people to reach the STAR HOTLINE at 1-877-678-2769. This legislation gives some people extra time to complete the application and receive the rebate. Property taxes are too high, the STAR rebate helps hard-pressed homeowners and no one should be denied their rebate due to a short application period.”
In order to submit applications for the Middle Class STAR rebate program, homeowners must use a personal identification code included in materials mailed by the state. Once they have the identification code, homeowners can apply for the STAR rebate by mail or on-line.
An administrative error led to a delay in distributing this information to some eligible homeowners, primarily in Suffolk County. While most of these homeowners are expected to receive this information soon, the legislation approved today will ensure that all will have sufficient time to review the material and submit their applications.
This legislation was approved in the Senate (S.6485) earlier this week.
