The New York State tax department sends STAR school tax relief checks to tax-delinquent homeowners because it does not have the legal authority to stop it, a top tax official acknowledged at a state Assembly hearing Tuesday.

“We’re not in a position to withhold that advance payment based on the statute as it is today,” Andrew Morris, executive deputy commissioner for the tax department, said in an answer to a question posed by Assemblywoman Sandy Galef, D-Ossining.

Galef, chair of the Committee on Real Property Taxation, questioned Morris in response to a November story by Syracuse | The Post-Standard that exposed the flaw in the program. The state is sending tax relief checks to homeowners

“You wouldn’t know. It could be anybody. It could be any of us doing that,” Galef said. “How do you investigate people whether they really pay taxes or not, from your office?

Morris said the tax department can recover payment if a taxpayer is caught during an audit.

Morris said there is no requirement that local government officials forward information to the state that would show who is delinquent before the state sends a check.

“Should we pass a law that requires them to do that?” Galef asked.

Morris said he was not in a position to tell the legislature what to do.

“We’ll see what comes out of session,” he said.

Local government assessors who also testified at the hearing Tuesday in Albany said it would be as simple as reviewing the data from local tax collectors.

“I think there should be a cross-check,” Queensbury Assessor Teri Ross said. “You don’t pay your taxes last year, you don’t get a check this year.”