SECTION OVERVIEW

New York State agencies (agencies) acquire real property (i.e., land) either voluntarily, by purchasing the land from the landowner at an agreed upon price, or involuntarily, pursuant to the New York State Eminent Domain Procedure Law.

Whether acquired voluntarily or involuntarily (i.e., by eminent domain), agencies must enter into a contract with the landowner(s) to acquire the land, subject to approval by the Office of the Attorney General (OAG). Land acquisition contracts exceeding $50,000 also require approval by the Office of the State Comptroller (OSC) Bureau of Contracts after they are approved by the OAG.

The OAG also prepares the deeds and various other closing documents necessary to facilitate voluntary acquisitions, handles the state’s eminent domain acquisitions and certifies all legal interests entitled to compensation and payment for land acquisitions.

Once the contract is approved by the OAG, the agency must obtain a Special Use Vendor ID to add the landowner to the Statewide Vendor File prior to processing the payment voucher. For eminent domain purchases, the agency must also obtain a ChartField 3 value for coding certain payment vouchers and may have to process an additional allowance payment voucher if a court awards the landowner additional funds separate from the eminent domain judgment amount. If the landowner rejects an eminent domain offer or a conflict occurs during the acquisition process, agencies must process a land acquisition deposit voucher to deposit the full amount of the offer in OSC’s Eminent Domain Fund until the Court of Claims resolves the matter.

This section informs agencies how to: (i) obtain a Special Use Vendor ID and a ChartField 3 value to assist with voucher processing and (ii) process voluntary and eminent domain land acquisition vouchers, including additional allowance and land acquisition deposit vouchers that supplement eminent domain acquisitions. It also specifies the documentation agencies acquiring land must submit to OSC to support the land acquisition and provides a link to a spreadsheet to facilitate the voucher coding necessary for federal reporting and interest payment calculations.

For information on record retention requirements specific to land acquisition payments, see Section 3 - Record Retention - Accounts Payable Vouchers and Land Claims of this Chapter.

VOUCHER PROCESSING

Agencies are required to process voluntary, eminent domain, additional allowance, and land acquisition deposit vouchers through the Statewide Financial System (SFS) and submit documentation to support the payment to the OSC Bureau of State Expenditures (BSE) for contract liquidation and payment processing. BSE audits each voucher to ensure payment amounts are distributed in accordance with the OAG certification letter and the agency submitted the relevant, required documentation. BSE will adjust or redirect payments to affected parties per the OAG certification letter, as necessary. In addition, OSC will also create and mail IRS Form 1099-S to the seller of the land for federal reporting purposes.

Document Preparation for Voluntary and Involuntary Land Acquisitions:

Special Use Vendor ID

Agencies must request a Special Use Vendor ID from the OSC Bureau of State Expenditures’ Vendor Management Unit (VMU) for each land acquisition. Please refer to Guide to Financial Operations Section X.6.A – Requesting a Special Use Vendor ID for instructions on obtaining a Special Use Vendor ID.

VMU assigns a Special Use Vendor ID starting with “06,” indicating it will be used for land acquisition. The agency must use the Special Use Vendor ID to process each land acquisition voucher, or the landowners cannot be paid. The agency must also use the Special Use Vendor ID when submitting the land acquisition contract, if required, to OSC’s Bureau of Contracts for approval.

ChartField 3 Values

The ChartField 3 value is used by agencies to identify and track financial transactions for a land purchase. Agencies must use a ChartField 3 value when coding eminent domain payment vouchers that reference funds 60602, 60606, 60612, and 60613. For land purchases made from any other fund, agencies may choose to use a Chartfield 3 value for their own tracking purposes. To obtain a Chartfield 3 value, agencies must send an email request to the SFS Help Desk ([email protected]).

Vouchering for a Land Acquisition Payment – Voluntary or Eminent Domain

Agencies must follow these steps to process voluntary or eminent domain land acquisition vouchers.

1. If the OAG’s certification letter states that all, or a portion of, a land acquisition payment will be made to an additional payee or a payee other than the individual or entity on the vendor record, email a request to OSC’s Vendor Management Unit ([email protected]) to add the additional/other payee to the vendor record for the associated Special Use Vendor ID. Include a copy of the OAG certification letter with the request.
2. Complete AC 1366-S (Claim for Payment – Purchase of Land or Property) and create a Regular Voucher using the Special Use Vendor ID assigned for the specific purchase of land. Refer to the voucher coding spreadsheet when coding the voucher.

   The voucher coding spreadsheet lists the unique coding to use when processing an online or bulk load land acquisition voucher, including coding for the real estate tax reimbursement, the interest on the purchase, temporary easements, eminent domain acquisitions, and additional allowances under an eminent domain purchase. Separate vouchers are required for each purpose. Agencies have discretion regarding the values used for all fields not listed in the voucher coding spreadsheet. The voucher coding spreadsheet lists the unique coding to use when processing an online or bulk load land acquisition voucher, including coding for the real estate tax reimbursement, the interest on the purchase, temporary easements, eminent domain acquisitions, and additional allowances under an eminent domain purchase. Separate vouchers are required for each purpose. Agencies have discretion regarding the values used for all fields not listed in the voucher coding spreadsheet.

   Refer to Section 5 - Agency Payment Preparation and Submittal of this Chapter for instructions on how to submit a Regular Voucher.

3. Ensure the correct Claimant Location and Address Sequence Number is entered on each voucher. This information can be found on the voucher coding spreadsheet.
4. Submit the voucher to OSC for review and approval using the SFS.
5. Agencies processing vouchers online should submit the documentation necessary to support the payment to OSC by attaching the documents to the voucher in the SFS. Agencies bulkloading vouchers should scan and email copies of the documentation to OSC’s Customer Service Help Desk mailbox ([email protected]).

Required Documentation

Voluntary Land Acquisition

• AC 1366-S (Claim for Payment – Purchase of Land or Property)
• OAG Certification Letter (affirming the payee is entitled to payment)
• Agreement of Adjustment or Agreement of Purchase
• Copy of deed
• Report of Title
• Report of Physical Inspection
• Release of Owner
• Title Search
• Affidavit of Title
• Assignment of Claim (if necessary)

Acquisition by Eminent Domain

In addition to the documents listed in the Voluntary Land Acquisition section, agencies must also submit the following documents when processing a payment related to an eminent domain purchase:

• Copy of judgment
• Attorney General's Certificate of No Appeal
• Copy of Assistant Attorney General's letter directing payment
• Waiver of Attorney's Lien
• Satisfaction of Judgment
• Abstract of Title
• Certificate of Search (encumbrances

Document Preparation for Eminent Domain Additional Allowance Payments and Land Acquisition Deposits:

Eminent Domain Additional Allowance Payments

In accordance with the New York State Eminent Domain Procedure Law (EDPL) a court has the discretion to award a landowner an additional amount, separate from the eminent domain judgment amount. These include amounts for actual and necessary costs, such as disbursements and expenses for reasonable attorney, appraiser, and engineer fees actually incurred by the landowner. Courts send the associated paperwork directly to the originating agency. Agencies are responsible for processing the additional allowance award paperwork and the associated payment voucher.

To process an additional allowance payment voucher, agencies must follow steps 1. through 5., above, but submit only the following documents to OSC:

• Copy of the Court Award
• Certificate of No Appeal
• Waiver of Attorney’s Lien
• Satisfaction of Additional Judgment

Eminent Domain Land Acquisition Deposits

The EDPL also requires New York State to make every reasonable and expeditious effort to “justly compensate persons” for real property acquired by eminent domain. New York State must have the real property appraised and make a written offer to the landowner(s) to acquire the property equal to 100 percent of the appraised valuation.

The landowner may: (i) accept the offer as payment in full; (ii) reject the offer as payment in full but elect to accept the offer as an advance payment; or (iii) reject the offer. Upon the acceptance of the written offer, either as payment in full or as an advance payment, New York State will enter into an agreement with the landowner. If the landowner rejects the offer; or the OAG determines there is a conflict of title; or if any other conflict arises during the land acquisition, the agency must deposit the full offer amount in OSC’s eminent domain fund.

Agencies must process a Regular Accounts Payable Voucher in the SFS to charge the appropriation dedicated to the land purchase and deposit the funds into the eminent domain fund. The final judgment of the distribution of funds determined by the court will be final and conclusive upon the owners and persons claiming interest in the real property. Upon certification by the OAG, the purchasing agency will enter into a contract with the landowner and follow the regular land acquisition payment process.

Agencies must follow these steps to deposit funds into the eminent domain fund:

1. Create a Regular Voucher using the Special Use Vendor ID and ChartField 3 value assigned for the specific purchases of land (see the Special Use Vendor ID and ChartField 3 Value sections above).

   The voucher must total $0 and have two distribution lines: a Positive Line to charge the agency’s appropriation and an equal Negative Line to deposit the funds into the eminent domain fund. Both lines must reference the associated ChartField 3 value, and each line must include the following coding:

   1. Positive Line – Account Code 60701
   2. Negative Line – Account Code 35500; Fund 60602
   Agencies have discretion regarding the remaining values used in the distribution lines for internal tracking purpose.

2. Submit the voucher to OSC for review and approval using the SFS.
3. OSC will review and approve the transaction to complete the deposit of funds into the eminent domain fund.

When the court renders a judgment on the amount New York State will pay the landowner(s) who rejected an offer (including rejected offers that resulted in advance payments) or to resolve a conflict, the agency will create a Regular Voucher payable from eminent domain fund 60602 using the Special Use Vendor ID, ChartField 3 value, and SFS Contract ID associated with the land acquisition.

Other Land Acquisition information:

Land Acquisitions Completed Without Payment

If a land acquisition is completed and there is no payment due the landowner(s), the agencies do not process a voucher or submit documentation to OSC. This generally occurs when the landowner donates the property to the state.

For questions regarding the processing or payment of vouchers for a land acquisition, please contact the BSE’s Customer Service Help Desk at (518) 474-4868, or by email addressed to [email protected].

Guide to Financial Operations

REV. 11/17/2021