Assemblyman David G. McDonough (R,C,I-Merrick) is calling on his fellow Assembly Members and Speaker Sheldon Silver to follow the lead of the Senate and pass important property tax exemption bill. The proposal would exempt property taxes for homeowners over the age of 75 who have lived in the school district for at least 30 years.

“Property tax is the pressing issue here on Long Island and this bill makes perfect sense,” said McDonough. “Will it solve the tax crisis? No, but for seniors it will help turn their financially burdensome homes, which are forcing the senior population out of this state, back into their sanctuaries.”

While the Senate bill passed with minimal opposition, the Assembly version has yet to be brought to the floor for a vote. Presently, it is in the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, after unanimously passing the Aging Committee this past week. “In 2006, the same bill passed the Senate only to be committed to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, where it sat and was not brought to the agenda for a vote,” McDonough noted. “And it is not in the best interest of our seniors to replicate last year’s results. After all, 28 members of this Assembly House reported it out of the Aging Committee. The fate of a measure with this much support and magnitude should be determined by a vote, not by being held captive in Committee.”