Full Text of HB4890 93rd General Assembly
HB4890 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
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
|
|
|
|
|
HB4890 |
|
LRB093 19041 SJM 44776 b |
|
| 1 |
| AN ACT concerning taxes.
| 2 |
| Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
| 3 |
| represented in the General Assembly:
| 4 |
| Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by adding | 5 |
| Section 15-168 as follows: | 6 |
| (35 ILCS 200/15-168 new) | 7 |
| Sec. 15-168. Retired firefighters and police officers tax | 8 |
| freeze homestead exemption. | 9 |
| (a) This Section may be cited as the retired firefighters | 10 |
| and police officers tax
freeze homestead exemption.
| 11 |
| (b) As used in this Section:
| 12 |
| "Applicant" means an individual who has filed an | 13 |
| application under this
Section.
| 14 |
| "Base amount" means the base year property tax bill for the | 15 |
| residence
plus any increase in the property tax bill due to any | 16 |
| added improvements that
increased the assessed value of the | 17 |
| residence after the base year.
| 18 |
| "Base year" means the taxable year prior to the taxable | 19 |
| year for which the
applicant first qualifies and applies for | 20 |
| the exemption under this Section, provided that in the
prior | 21 |
| taxable year the property was improved with a permanent | 22 |
| structure that
was occupied as a residence by the applicant who | 23 |
| was liable for paying real
property taxes on the property and | 24 |
| who was either (i) an owner of record of the
property or had | 25 |
| legal or equitable interest in the property as evidenced by a
| 26 |
| written instrument or (ii) had a legal or equitable interest as | 27 |
| a lessee in the
parcel of property that was single family | 28 |
| residence.
If in any subsequent taxable year for which the | 29 |
| applicant applies and
qualifies for the exemption the property | 30 |
| tax bill for the residence would be
less than the property tax | 31 |
| bill in the existing base year
(provided that the reduced | 32 |
| property tax bill is not
based
on an
assessed value that |
|
|
|
HB4890 |
- 2 - |
LRB093 19041 SJM 44776 b |
|
| 1 |
| results from a temporary irregularity in the property that
| 2 |
| reduces the
assessed value for one or more taxable years), then | 3 |
| that
subsequent taxable year shall become the base year until a | 4 |
| new base year is
established under the terms of this paragraph. | 5 |
| "Chief county assessment officer" means the county | 6 |
| assessor or supervisor of
assessments of the county in which | 7 |
| the property is located.
| 8 |
| "Equalized assessed value" means the assessed value as | 9 |
| equalized by the
Illinois Department of Revenue.
| 10 |
| "Household" means the applicant, the spouse of the | 11 |
| applicant, and all persons
using the residence of the applicant | 12 |
| as their principal place of residence.
| 13 |
| "Life care facility that qualifies as a cooperative" means | 14 |
| a facility as
defined in Section 2 of the Life Care Facilities | 15 |
| Act.
| 16 |
| "Residence" means the principal dwelling place and | 17 |
| appurtenant structures
used for residential purposes in this | 18 |
| State occupied on January 1 of the
taxable year by a household | 19 |
| and so much of the surrounding land, constituting
the parcel | 20 |
| upon which the dwelling place is situated, as is used for
| 21 |
| residential purposes. If the chief county assessment officer | 22 |
| has established a
specific legal description for a portion of | 23 |
| property constituting the
residence, then that portion of | 24 |
| property shall be deemed the residence for the
purposes of this | 25 |
| Section.
| 26 |
| "Taxable year" means the calendar year during which ad | 27 |
| valorem property taxes
payable in the next succeeding year are | 28 |
| levied.
| 29 |
| (c) Beginning in taxable year 2004, a retired firefighters | 30 |
| and police officers tax freeze
homestead exemption is granted | 31 |
| for real property that is improved with a
permanent structure | 32 |
| that is occupied as a residence by an applicant who (i) is
| 33 |
| receiving a retirement pension under Article 4 of the Illinois | 34 |
| Pension Code, a retirement annuity under Article 6 of the | 35 |
| Illinois Pension Code, a retirement pension under Article 3 of | 36 |
| the Illinois Pension Code, or a retirement annuity under |
|
|
|
HB4890 |
- 3 - |
LRB093 19041 SJM 44776 b |
|
| 1 |
| Article 5 of the Illinois Pension Code during the taxable year, | 2 |
| (ii) is liable for paying
real property taxes on
the
property, | 3 |
| (iii) is an owner of record of the property or has a legal or
| 4 |
| equitable interest in the property as evidenced by a written | 5 |
| instrument, and (iv) resides in the same jurisdiction in which | 6 |
| he or she served as a firefighter or police officer. This
| 7 |
| homestead exemption shall also apply to a leasehold interest in | 8 |
| a parcel of
property improved with a permanent structure that | 9 |
| is a single family residence
that is occupied as a residence by | 10 |
| a person who (i) is receiving a retirement pension under | 11 |
| Article 4 of the Illinois Pension Code, a retirement annuity | 12 |
| under Article 6 of the Illinois Pension Code, a retirement | 13 |
| pension under Article 3 of the Illinois Pension Code, or a | 14 |
| retirement annuity under Article 5 of the Illinois Pension Code | 15 |
| during the taxable year, (ii)
has a legal or equitable | 16 |
| ownership interest in the property as lessee, and
(iii)
is | 17 |
| liable for the payment of real property taxes on that property.
| 18 |
| The amount of this exemption shall be what the property tax | 19 |
| bill for the
residence would be in the taxable year for which | 20 |
| application is made minus the
base
amount.
| 21 |
| When the applicant is a surviving spouse of an applicant | 22 |
| for a prior year for
the same residence for which an exemption | 23 |
| under this Section has been granted,
the base year and base | 24 |
| amount for that residence are the same as for the
applicant for | 25 |
| the prior year.
| 26 |
| Each year at the time the assessment books are certified to | 27 |
| the county clerk,
the board of review shall give to the county | 28 |
| clerk a list
of the assessed values of improvements on each | 29 |
| parcel qualifying for this
exemption that were added after the | 30 |
| base year for this parcel and that
increased the assessed value | 31 |
| of the property.
| 32 |
| In the case of land improved with an apartment building | 33 |
| owned and operated as
a cooperative or a building that is a | 34 |
| life care facility that qualifies as a
cooperative, the maximum | 35 |
| reduction in the property tax bill for the
property is limited | 36 |
| to the sum of the reductions calculated for each unit
occupied |
|
|
|
HB4890 |
- 4 - |
LRB093 19041 SJM 44776 b |
|
| 1 |
| as a residence by a person receiving a retirement pension under | 2 |
| Article 4 of the Illinois Pension Code, a retirement annuity | 3 |
| under Article 6 of the Illinois Pension Code, a retirement | 4 |
| pension under Article 3 of the Illinois Pension Code, or a | 5 |
| retirement annuity under Article 5 of the Illinois Pension Code
| 6 |
| who is liable, by contract with the
owner
or owners of record, | 7 |
| for paying real property taxes on the property and who is
an | 8 |
| owner of record of a legal or equitable interest in the | 9 |
| cooperative
apartment building, other than a leasehold | 10 |
| interest. In the instance of a
cooperative where a homestead | 11 |
| exemption has been granted under this Section,
the cooperative | 12 |
| association or its management firm shall credit the savings
| 13 |
| resulting from that exemption only to the apportioned tax | 14 |
| liability of the
owner who qualified for the exemption. Any | 15 |
| person who willfully refuses to
credit that savings to an owner | 16 |
| who qualifies for the exemption is guilty of a
Class B | 17 |
| misdemeanor.
| 18 |
| When a homestead exemption has been granted under this | 19 |
| Section and an
applicant then becomes a resident of a facility | 20 |
| licensed under the Nursing Home
Care Act, the exemption shall | 21 |
| be granted in subsequent years so long as the
residence (i) | 22 |
| continues to be occupied by the qualified applicant's spouse or
| 23 |
| (ii) if remaining unoccupied, is still owned by the qualified | 24 |
| applicant for the
homestead exemption.
| 25 |
| When an individual dies who would have qualified
for an | 26 |
| exemption under this Section, and the surviving spouse does not
| 27 |
| independently qualify for this exemption because he or she is | 28 |
| not a retired firefighter or police officer, the exemption | 29 |
| under
this Section shall be granted to the surviving spouse for | 30 |
| the taxable year
preceding and the taxable
year of the death | 31 |
| and for all subsequent taxable years, provided that, except for | 32 |
| not being a retired firefighter or police officer, the | 33 |
| surviving spouse meets
all qualifications for the granting of | 34 |
| this exemption for those years.
| 35 |
| When married persons maintain separate residences, the | 36 |
| exemption provided for
in this Section may be claimed by only |
|
|
|
HB4890 |
- 5 - |
LRB093 19041 SJM 44776 b |
|
| 1 |
| one of such persons and for only one
residence.
| 2 |
| In counties having 3,000,000
or more inhabitants, to
| 3 |
| receive the exemption, a person may submit an application to | 4 |
| the chief county assessment officer of the county in which the | 5 |
| property is located during such
period as may be specified by | 6 |
| the chief county assessment officer. The chief county | 7 |
| assessment officer in counties of 3,000,000 or more inhabitants | 8 |
| shall
annually give notice of the application period by mail or | 9 |
| by publication. In
counties having less than 3,000,000 | 10 |
| inhabitants, to receive the exemption, a
person shall submit an
| 11 |
| application by July 1 of each taxable year to the chief county | 12 |
| assessment officer of the county in which the property is | 13 |
| located. A county may, by
ordinance, establish a date for | 14 |
| submission of applications that is
different than
July 1.
The | 15 |
| applicant shall submit with the
application an affidavit of the | 16 |
| applicant's pension or annuity,
marital status (and if married | 17 |
| the name and address of the applicant's spouse,
if known), and | 18 |
| principal dwelling place of members of the household on January
| 19 |
| 1 of the taxable year. The Department shall establish, by rule, | 20 |
| a method for
verifying the accuracy of affidavits filed by | 21 |
| applicants under this Section.
The applications shall be | 22 |
| clearly marked as applications for the firefighters and police | 23 |
| officers tax freeze homestead exemption.
| 24 |
| Notwithstanding any other provision to the
contrary, in | 25 |
| counties having fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an | 26 |
| applicant
fails to file the application required by this | 27 |
| Section in a timely manner and
this failure to file is due to a | 28 |
| mental or physical condition sufficiently
severe so as to | 29 |
| render the applicant incapable of filing the application in a
| 30 |
| timely manner, the chief county assessment officer may extend | 31 |
| the filing
deadline for a period of 3 months. In order to | 32 |
| receive the extension provided
in this paragraph, the applicant | 33 |
| shall provide the chief county assessment officer with a signed | 34 |
| statement from the applicant's physician stating the
nature and | 35 |
| extent of the condition, and that, in the physician's opinion, | 36 |
| the
condition was so severe that it rendered the applicant |
|
|
|
HB4890 |
- 6 - |
LRB093 19041 SJM 44776 b |
|
| 1 |
| incapable of filing the
application in a timely manner.
| 2 |
| For purposes of this Section, a person who begins receiving | 3 |
| a pension or annuity during the
current taxable year shall be | 4 |
| eligible to apply for the homestead exemption
under this | 5 |
| Section during that taxable year. Application shall be made | 6 |
| during
the application
period in effect for the county of his | 7 |
| or her residence.
| 8 |
| The chief county assessment officer may determine the | 9 |
| eligibility of a life
care facility that qualifies as a | 10 |
| cooperative to receive the benefits
provided by this Section by | 11 |
| use of an affidavit, application, visual
inspection, | 12 |
| questionnaire, or other reasonable method in order to ensure | 13 |
| that
the tax savings resulting from the exemption are credited | 14 |
| by the management
firm to the apportioned tax liability of each | 15 |
| qualifying resident. The chief county assessment officer may | 16 |
| request reasonable proof that the management firm
has so | 17 |
| credited that exemption.
| 18 |
| Except as provided in this Section, all information | 19 |
| received by the chief
county assessment officer or the | 20 |
| Department from applications filed under this
Section, or from | 21 |
| any investigation conducted under the provisions of this
| 22 |
| Section, shall be confidential, except for official purposes or
| 23 |
| pursuant to official procedures for collection of any State or | 24 |
| local tax or
enforcement of any civil or criminal penalty or | 25 |
| sanction imposed by this Act or
by any statute or ordinance | 26 |
| imposing a State or local tax. Any person who
divulges any such | 27 |
| information in any manner, except in accordance with a proper
| 28 |
| judicial order, is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
| 29 |
| Nothing contained in this Section shall prevent the | 30 |
| Director or chief county
assessment officer from publishing or | 31 |
| making available reasonable statistics
concerning the | 32 |
| operation of the exemption contained in this Section in which
| 33 |
| the contents of claims are grouped into aggregates in such a | 34 |
| way that
information contained in any individual claim shall | 35 |
| not be disclosed.
| 36 |
| (d) Each chief county assessment officer shall annually |
|
|
|
HB4890 |
- 7 - |
LRB093 19041 SJM 44776 b |
|
| 1 |
| publish a notice
of availability of the exemption provided | 2 |
| under this Section. The notice
shall be published at least 60 | 3 |
| days but no more than 75 days prior to the date
on which the | 4 |
| application must be submitted to the chief county assessment | 5 |
| officer of the county in which the property is located. The | 6 |
| notice shall
appear in a newspaper of general circulation in | 7 |
| the county.
| 8 |
| (e) A person who receives an exemption under this Section | 9 |
| is not eligible to receive an exemption under Section 15-170 or | 10 |
| 15-172.
| 11 |
| (f) Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 of the State Mandates | 12 |
| Act, no
reimbursement by the State is required for the | 13 |
| implementation of any mandate
created by
this Section.
| 14 |
| | 15 |
| Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding | 16 |
| Section 8.28 as
follows:
| 17 |
| (30 ILCS 805/8.28 new)
| 18 |
| Sec. 8.28. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 and 8 | 19 |
| of this
Act, no reimbursement by the State is required for the | 20 |
| implementation of
any mandate created by the retired | 21 |
| firefighters and police officers tax
freeze homestead | 22 |
| exemption under Section 15-168 of the Property Tax Code.
|
|