Although I am definitely not an attorney, my reading of this bill is that it is essentially toothless.

Most of the wording in the bill addresses how a co-op can avoid having to pay the fine. It can claim that that it received the STAR abatement list late, that there are errors in the notice, or that it (the co-op) has an action pending in the courts. Good luck in proving otherwise.

I'm not sure how anyone could prove that the co-op "used the credits for other purposes." For abatements like STAR or the Real Estate Tax abatement, no money is actually sent from the Dept of Finance to the co-op. Instead, the co-op receives a list showing the value of each apartment's total abatement. It is then the responsibility of the co-op to disburse funds from its own accounts to the shareholders. In practice, this is usually done via a credit against monthly maintenance. To make up for the lost of maintenance income, co-op boards usually approve a one-time assessment of approximately the same dollar amount as the total for the abatements.

I cannot see any value or purpose for this bill unless the author is trying to win points with her/his constituents. In practicality, shareholders will receive little to no financial value from it.

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