HB4890 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB093 19041 SJM 44776 b

93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2003 and 2004
HB4890

Introduced 2/4/2004, by Kevin Joyce

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

35 ILCS 200/15-168 new
30 ILCS 805/8.28 new

Amends the Property Tax Code. Creates the retired firefighters and police officers tax freeze homestead exemption. Provides that, beginning with taxable year 2004, a person receiving a retirement pension or retirement annuity under the Illinois Pension Code as a retired firefighter or police officer and who resides in the jurisdiction where he or she was a firefighter or police officer shall receive an exemption from property taxes in an amount equal to the difference between what the property tax bill for the residence would be in the taxable year minus the base amount. "Base amount" is defined as the property tax bill for the first year of eligibility for this exemption, plus any increase in the bill resulting from any added improvements thereafter. Amends the State Mandates Act to require implementation without reimbursement from the State. Effective immediately.

CORRECTIONAL BUDGET AND IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY	FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY	HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
	STATE MANDATES ACT MAY REQUIRE REIMBURSEMENT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning taxes.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by adding Section 15-168 as follows:

(35 ILCS 200/15-168 new)

Sec. 15-168. Retired firefighters and police officers tax freeze homestead exemption.

(a) This Section may be cited as the retired firefighters and police officers tax freeze homestead exemption.

(b) As used in this Section:

"Applicant" means an individual who has filed an application under this Section.

"Base amount" means the base year property tax bill for the residence plus any increase in the property tax bill due to any added improvements that increased the assessed value of the residence after the base year.

"Base year" means the taxable year prior to the taxable year for which the applicant first qualifies and applies for the exemption under this Section, provided that in the prior taxable year the property was improved with a permanent structure that was occupied as a residence by the applicant who was liable for paying real property taxes on the property and who was either (i) an owner of record of the property or had legal or equitable interest in the property as evidenced by a written instrument or (ii) had a legal or equitable interest as a lessee in the parcel of property that was single family residence. If in any subsequent taxable year for which the applicant applies and qualifies for the exemption the property tax bill for the residence would be less than the property tax bill in the existing base year (provided that the reduced property tax bill is not based on an assessed value that results from a temporary irregularity in the property that reduces the assessed value for one or more taxable years), then that subsequent taxable year shall become the base year until a new base year is established under the terms of this paragraph.

"Chief county assessment officer" means the county assessor or supervisor of assessments of the county in which the property is located.

"Equalized assessed value" means the assessed value as equalized by the Illinois Department of Revenue.

"Household" means the applicant, the spouse of the applicant, and all persons using the residence of the applicant as their principal place of residence.

"Life care facility that qualifies as a cooperative" means a facility as defined in Section 2 of the Life Care Facilities Act.

"Residence" means the principal dwelling place and appurtenant structures used for residential purposes in this State occupied on January 1 of the taxable year by a household and so much of the surrounding land, constituting the parcel upon which the dwelling place is situated, as is used for residential purposes. If the chief county assessment officer has established a specific legal description for a portion of property constituting the residence, then that portion of property shall be deemed the residence for the purposes of this Section.

"Taxable year" means the calendar year during which ad valorem property taxes payable in the next succeeding year are levied.

(c) Beginning in taxable year 2004, a retired firefighters and police officers tax freeze homestead exemption is granted for real property that is improved with a permanent structure that is occupied as a residence by an applicant who (i) is receiving a retirement pension under Article 4 of the Illinois Pension Code, a retirement annuity under Article 6 of the Illinois Pension Code, a retirement pension under Article 3 of the Illinois Pension Code, or a retirement annuity under Article 5 of the Illinois Pension Code during the taxable year, (ii) is liable for paying real property taxes on the property, (iii) is an owner of record of the property or has a legal or equitable interest in the property as evidenced by a written instrument, and (iv) resides in the same jurisdiction in which he or she served as a firefighter or police officer. This homestead exemption shall also apply to a leasehold interest in a parcel of property improved with a permanent structure that is a single family residence that is occupied as a residence by a person who (i) is receiving a retirement pension under Article 4 of the Illinois Pension Code, a retirement annuity under Article 6 of the Illinois Pension Code, a retirement pension under Article 3 of the Illinois Pension Code, or a retirement annuity under Article 5 of the Illinois Pension Code during the taxable year, (ii) has a legal or equitable ownership interest in the property as lessee, and (iii) is liable for the payment of real property taxes on that property.

The amount of this exemption shall be what the property tax bill for the residence would be in the taxable year for which application is made minus the base amount.

When the applicant is a surviving spouse of an applicant for a prior year for the same residence for which an exemption under this Section has been granted, the base year and base amount for that residence are the same as for the applicant for the prior year.

Each year at the time the assessment books are certified to the county clerk, the board of review shall give to the county clerk a list of the assessed values of improvements on each parcel qualifying for this exemption that were added after the base year for this parcel and that increased the assessed value of the property.

In the case of land improved with an apartment building owned and operated as a cooperative or a building that is a life care facility that qualifies as a cooperative, the maximum reduction in the property tax bill for the property is limited to the sum of the reductions calculated for each unit occupied as a residence by a person receiving a retirement pension under Article 4 of the Illinois Pension Code, a retirement annuity under Article 6 of the Illinois Pension Code, a retirement pension under Article 3 of the Illinois Pension Code, or a retirement annuity under Article 5 of the Illinois Pension Code who is liable, by contract with the owner or owners of record, for paying real property taxes on the property and who is an owner of record of a legal or equitable interest in the cooperative apartment building, other than a leasehold interest. In the instance of a cooperative where a homestead exemption has been granted under this Section, the cooperative association or its management firm shall credit the savings resulting from that exemption only to the apportioned tax liability of the owner who qualified for the exemption. Any person who willfully refuses to credit that savings to an owner who qualifies for the exemption is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor.

When a homestead exemption has been granted under this Section and an applicant then becomes a resident of a facility licensed under the Nursing Home Care Act, the exemption shall be granted in subsequent years so long as the residence (i) continues to be occupied by the qualified applicant's spouse or (ii) if remaining unoccupied, is still owned by the qualified applicant for the homestead exemption.

When an individual dies who would have qualified for an exemption under this Section, and the surviving spouse does not independently qualify for this exemption because he or she is not a retired firefighter or police officer, the exemption under this Section shall be granted to the surviving spouse for the taxable year preceding and the taxable year of the death and for all subsequent taxable years, provided that, except for not being a retired firefighter or police officer, the surviving spouse meets all qualifications for the granting of this exemption for those years.

When married persons maintain separate residences, the exemption provided for in this Section may be claimed by only one of such persons and for only one residence.

In counties having 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, to receive the exemption, a person may submit an application to the chief county assessment officer of the county in which the property is located during such period as may be specified by the chief county assessment officer. The chief county assessment officer in counties of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants shall annually give notice of the application period by mail or by publication. In counties having less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, to receive the exemption, a person shall submit an application by July 1 of each taxable year to the chief county assessment officer of the county in which the property is located. A county may, by ordinance, establish a date for submission of applications that is different than July 1. The applicant shall submit with the application an affidavit of the applicant's pension or annuity, marital status (and if married the name and address of the applicant's spouse, if known), and principal dwelling place of members of the household on January 1 of the taxable year. The Department shall establish, by rule, a method for verifying the accuracy of affidavits filed by applicants under this Section. The applications shall be clearly marked as applications for the firefighters and police officers tax freeze homestead exemption.

Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, in counties having fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an applicant fails to file the application required by this Section in a timely manner and this failure to file is due to a mental or physical condition sufficiently severe so as to render the applicant incapable of filing the application in a timely manner, the chief county assessment officer may extend the filing deadline for a period of 3 months. In order to receive the extension provided in this paragraph, the applicant shall provide the chief county assessment officer with a signed statement from the applicant's physician stating the nature and extent of the condition, and that, in the physician's opinion, the condition was so severe that it rendered the applicant incapable of filing the application in a timely manner.

For purposes of this Section, a person who begins receiving a pension or annuity during the current taxable year shall be eligible to apply for the homestead exemption under this Section during that taxable year. Application shall be made during the application period in effect for the county of his or her residence.

The chief county assessment officer may determine the eligibility of a life care facility that qualifies as a cooperative to receive the benefits provided by this Section by use of an affidavit, application, visual inspection, questionnaire, or other reasonable method in order to ensure that the tax savings resulting from the exemption are credited by the management firm to the apportioned tax liability of each qualifying resident. The chief county assessment officer may request reasonable proof that the management firm has so credited that exemption.

Except as provided in this Section, all information received by the chief county assessment officer or the Department from applications filed under this Section, or from any investigation conducted under the provisions of this Section, shall be confidential, except for official purposes or pursuant to official procedures for collection of any State or local tax or enforcement of any civil or criminal penalty or sanction imposed by this Act or by any statute or ordinance imposing a State or local tax. Any person who divulges any such information in any manner, except in accordance with a proper judicial order, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

Nothing contained in this Section shall prevent the Director or chief county assessment officer from publishing or making available reasonable statistics concerning the operation of the exemption contained in this Section in which the contents of claims are grouped into aggregates in such a way that information contained in any individual claim shall not be disclosed.

(d) Each chief county assessment officer shall annually publish a notice of availability of the exemption provided under this Section. The notice shall be published at least 60 days but no more than 75 days prior to the date on which the application must be submitted to the chief county assessment officer of the county in which the property is located. The notice shall appear in a newspaper of general circulation in the county.

(e) A person who receives an exemption under this Section is not eligible to receive an exemption under Section 15-170 or 15-172.

(f) Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of the State Mandates Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the implementation of any mandate created by this Section.

Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding Section 8.28 as follows:

(30 ILCS 805/8.28 new)

Sec. 8.28. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the implementation of any mandate created by the retired firefighters and police officers tax freeze homestead exemption under Section 15-168 of the Property Tax Code.