members of such boards shall be made for such shorter terms as at any time may be necessary, in order that the terms of two appointed members shall expire annually. The board shall appoint a competent physician, not one of its members, to be the health officer of the city. In villages the board shall consist of not less than three nor more than seven persons, not trustees of the village, who shall be appointed at the first meeting of the board of trustees of such village, after the next annual election of the village; the members of said board of health shall at their first meeting divide themselves by lot into three classes, whose terms of office shall expire respectively in one, two and three years from the annual election held prior to their appointment; from and after the appointment of said board ás above provided, the appointment of the suc cessors of said members shall be made immediately after the an nual elections of said village and shall continue in office until their successors are appointed unless removed therefrom; provided, however, that upon failure to appoint such board of health at such first. meeting such appointment may be made at any subsequent meeting, in the event of no appointment having been made by the county judge as hereinafter provided. Every such village board shall elect a president and appoint a competent physician, not a member of the board, to be the health officer of the village. In towns the board of health shall consist of the town board and another citizen of the town of full age, annually appointed by the town board at a meeting thereof after each annual town meeting, for the term of one year from and after such town meeting and until his successor is appointed. Such board of health shall annually appoint a competent physician to be the health officer of the town. If the proper authorities shall not fill any vacancies occurring in any local board within thirty days after the happening of such vacancy, the county judge of the county shall appoint a competent person to fill the vacancy for the unexpired term, which appointment shall be immediately filed in the office of the county clerk, and a duplicate thereof filed with the clerk of the municipality for which such appointment is made. Notice of the membership and organization of every local board of health shall be forthwith given by such board to the state board of health. The term "municipality," when used in this article, means the city, village or town for which any such local board may be or is appointed.

§ 2. This act shall take effect immediately.

Chap. 284.

AN ACT to amend certain sections of article ten of chapter nine hundred and eight of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-six, entitled "An act in relation to taxation, constituting chapter twenty-four of the general laws," relating to taxable transfers of property.

Became a law April 16, 1897, with the approval of the Governor. Passed, three-fifths being present.

The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:

Section 1. The following sections of chapter nine hundred and eight of the laws of eighteen hundred and ninety-six, entitled "An act in relation to taxation, constituting chapter twenty-four of the general laws," relating to taxable transfers of property, are hereby amended to take effect immediately, and to read as follows: § 2. Section two hundred and twenty of said act is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

§ 220. Taxable transfers.- A tax shall be and is hereby imposed upon the transfer of any property, real or personal, of the value of five hundred dollars or over, or of any interest therein or income therefrom, in trust or otherwise, to persons or corporations not exempt by law from taxation on real or personal property, in the following cases:

1. When the transfer is by will or by the intestate laws of this state from any person dying seized or possessed of the property while a resident of the state.

2. When the transfer is by will or intestate law, of property within the state, and the decedent was a nonresident of the state at the time of his death.

3. When the transfer is of property made by a resident or by a nonresident when such nonresident's property is within this state, by deed, grant, bargain, sale or gift made in contemplation of the death of the grantor, vendor or donor, or intended to take effect in possession or enjoyment at or after such death.

4. (Such tax shall be imposed) When any such person or corporation becomes beneficially entitled, in possession or expectancy, to any property or the income thereof by any such transfer, whether made before or after the passage of this act.

5. Whenever any person or corporation shall exercise a power cf appointment derived from any disposition of property made either before or after the passage of this act, such appointment

when made shall be deemed a transfer taxable under the provis ions of this act in the same manner as though the property to which such appointment relates belonged absolutely to the donee of such power and had been bequeathed or devised by such donee by will; and whenever any person or corporation possessing such a power of appointment so derived shall omit or fail to exercise the same. within the time provided therefor, in whole or in part, a transfer taxable under the provisions of this act shall be deemed to take place to the extent of such omissions or failure, in the same manner as though the persons or corporations thereby becoming entitled to the possession or enjoyment of the property to which such power related had succeeded thereto by a will of the donee of the power failing to exercise such power, taking effect at the time of such omission or failure.

6. The tax imposed thereby shall be at the rate of five per centum upon the clear market value of such property, except as otherwise prescribed in the next section.

§ 3. Section two hundred and twenty-two of said act is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

§ 222. Lien of tax and payment thereof.- Every such tax shall be and remain a lien upon the property transferred until paid and the person to whom the property is so transferred, and the administrators, executors and trustees of every estate so transferred shall be personally liable for such tax until its payment. The tax shall be paid to the treasurer or the comptroller of the county of the surrogate having jurisdiction as herein provided; and said treas urer or comptroller shall give, and every executor, administrator, or trustees, shall take duplicate receipts from him of such payment, one of which he shall immediately send to the comptroller of the state, whose duty it shall be to charge the treasurer or comptroller so receiving the tax with the amount thereof and to seal said receipt with the seal of his office and countersign the same and return it to the executor, administrator or trustee, whereupon it shall be a proper voucher in the settlement of his accounts; but no executor, administrator or trustee shall be entitled to a final accounting of an estate in settlement of which a tax is due under the provisions. of this act, unless he shall produce a receipt so sealed and countersigned by the state comptroller or a copy thereof certified by him, or unless a bond shall have been filed as prescribed by section two hundred and twenty-six of this chapter. All taxes imposed by this article shall be due and payable at the time of the transfer,

except as hereinafter provided. Taxes upon the transfer of any estate, property or interest therein limited, conditioned, dependent or determinable upon the happening of any contingency or future event by reason of which the fair market value thereof can not be ascertained at the time of the transfer as herein provided, shall accrue and become due and payable when the persons or corporations beneficially entitled thereto shall come into actual possession or enjoyment thereof.

§ 4. Section two hundred and twenty-five of said act is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

§ 225. Refund of tax erroneously paid. If any debts shall be proven against the estate of a decedent after the payment of any legacy or distributive share thereof, from which any such tax has been deducted or upon which it has been paid by the person entitled to such legacy or distributive share, and such person is required by order of the surrogate having jurisdiction, on notice to the state comptroller, to refund the amount of such debts or any part thereof, an equitable proportion of the tax shall be repaid. to him by the executor, administrator or trustee, if the tax has not been paid to the county treasurer, or comptroller of the city of New York, or if such tax has been paid to such treasurer or comptroller of the city of New York, he shall refund out of the funds in his hands or custody to the credit of such taxes such equitable proportion of the tax, and credit himself with the same in his quarterly account rendered to the comptroller of the state under this act. If after the payment of any tax in pursuance of an order fixing such tax, made by the surrogate having jurisdiction, such order be modified or reversed, on due notice to the comptroller of the state, the state comptroller shall, by order, direct and allow the treasurer of the county, or the comptroller of the city of New York, to refund to the executor, administrator, trustee, person or persons, by whom such tax had been paid, the amount of any moneys paid or deposited on account of such tax in excess of the amount of the tax fixed by the order modified or reversed, out of the funds in his hands or custody, to the credit of such taxes, and to credit himself with the same in his quarterly account rendered to the comptroller of the state under this act; but no application for such refund shall be made after one year from such reversal or modification, and the comptroller of the state, shall deduct from the fees allowed by this article to the comptroller of the city of New York or the county treasurer the amount theretofore allowed

bim upon such overpayment. Where it shall be proved to the satisfaction of the surrogate who has assessed the tax upon the transfer of property under this article that deductions for debts were allowed upon the appraisal, since proved to have been erroneously allowed, it shall be lawful for such surrogate to enter an order assessing the tax upon the amount wrongfully or erroneously deducted.

§ 5. Section two hundred and twenty-six of said act is hereby amended so as to read as follows

§ 226. Deferred payment.- Any person or corporation beneficially interested in any property chargeable with a tax under this article, and executors, administrators and trustees thereof may elect within eighteen months from the date of the transfer thereof as herein provided, not to pay such tax until the person or persons beneficially interested therein shall come into the actual possession or enjoyment thereof. If it be personal property, the person or persons so electing shall give a bond to th state in penalty of three times the amount of any such tax, with such sureties as the surrogate of the proper county may approve, conditioned for the payment of such tax and interest thereon, at such time or period as the person or persons beneficially interested therein may come into the actual possession or enjoyment of such property, which bond shall be filed in the office of the surrogate. Such bond must be executed and filed and a full return of such property upon oath made to the surrogate within one year from the date of transfer thereof as herein provided, and such bond must be renewed every five years.

§ 6. Section two hundred and thirty of said act is hereby amended so as to read as follows:

§ 230. Appointment of appraisers.-The surrogate, upon the ap plication of any interested party, including the state comptroller, county treasurers, or the comptroller of New York city, or upon his own motion, shall, as often as, and whenever occasion may require, appoint a competent person as appraiser, to fix the fair mar ket value (at the time of the transfer thereof) of property of persons whose estates shall be subject to the payment of any tax imposed by this article. If the property upon the transfer of which a tax is imposed shall be an estate, income or interest, or shall be a remainder or reversion or other expectancy, real or personal, the title to which is fixed, absolute and indefeasible, such estate or estates shall be appraised immediately after such transfer, or as soon Vol I 20