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| [ Introduced ] | [ Enrolled ] | [ Senate Amendment 001 ] |
91_SB0861eng SB861 Engrossed LRB9100581PTpk 1 AN ACT regarding senior citizens. 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 changing 5 Section 15-172 as follows: 6 (35 ILCS 200/15-172) 7 Sec. 15-172. Senior Citizens Assessment Freeze Homestead 8 Exemption. 9 (a) This Section may be cited as the Senior Citizens 10 Assessment 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 equalized assessed 15 value of the residence plus the first year's equalized 16 assessed value of any added improvements which increased the 17 assessed value of the 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 provided that in the prior taxable year the 21 property was improved with a permanent structure that was 22 occupied as a residence by the applicant who was liable for 23 paying real property taxes on the property and who was either 24 (i) an owner of record of the property or had legal or 25 equitable interest in the property as evidenced by a written 26 instrument or (ii) had a legal or equitable interest as a 27 lessee in the parcel of property that was single family 28 residence. 29 "Chief County Assessment Officer" means the County 30 Assessor or Supervisor of Assessments of the county in which 31 the property is located. SB861 Engrossed -2- LRB9100581PTpk 1 "Equalized assessed value" means the assessed value as 2 equalized by the Illinois Department of Revenue. 3 "Household" means the applicant, the spouse of the 4 applicant, and all persons using the residence of the 5 applicant as their principal place of residence. 6 "Household income" means the combined income of the 7 members of a household for the calendar year preceding the 8 taxable year. 9 "Income" has the same meaning as provided in Section 3.07 10 of the Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Property Tax 11 Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act. 12 "Internal Revenue Code of 1986" means the United States 13 Internal Revenue Code of 1986 or any successor law or laws 14 relating to federal income taxes in effect for the year 15 preceding the taxable year. 16 "Life care facility that qualifies as a cooperative" 17 means a facility as defined in Section 2 of the Life Care 18 Facilities Act. 19 "Residence" means the principal dwelling place and 20 appurtenant structures used for residential purposes in this 21 State occupied on January 1 of the taxable year by a 22 household and so much of the surrounding land, constituting 23 the parcel upon which the dwelling place is situated, as is 24 used for residential purposes. If the Chief County Assessment 25 Officer has established a specific legal description for a 26 portion of property constituting the residence, then that 27 portion of property shall be deemed the residence for the 28 purposes of this Section. 29 "Taxable year" means the calendar year during which ad 30 valorem property taxes payable in the next succeeding year 31 are levied. 32 (c) Beginning in taxable year 1994, a senior citizens 33 assessment freeze homestead exemption is granted for real 34 property that is improved with a permanent structure that is SB861 Engrossed -3- LRB9100581PTpk 1 occupied as a residence by an applicant who (i) is 65 years 2 of age or older during the taxable year, (ii) has a household 3 income of $35,000 or less prior to taxable year 1999 or 4 $40,000 or less in taxable year 1999 and thereafter, (iii) is 5 liable for paying real property taxes on the property, and 6 (iv) is an owner of record of the property or has a legal or 7 equitable interest in the property as evidenced by a written 8 instrument. This homestead exemption shall also apply to a 9 leasehold interest in a parcel of property improved with a 10 permanent structure that is a single family residence that is 11 occupied as a residence by a person who (i) is 65 years of 12 age or older during the taxable year, (ii) has a household 13 income of $35,000 or less prior to taxable year 1999 or 14 $40,000 or less in taxable year 1999 and thereafter, (iii) 15 has a legal or equitable ownership interest in the property 16 as lessee, and (iv) is liable for the payment of real 17 property taxes on that property. 18 The amount of this exemption shall be the equalized 19 assessed value of the residence 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 23 exemption under this Section has been granted, the base year 24 and base amount for that residence are the same as for the 25 applicant for the prior year. 26 Each year at the time the assessment books are certified 27 to the County Clerk, the Board of Review or Board of Appeals 28 shall give to the County Clerk a list of the assessed values 29 of improvements on each parcel qualifying for this exemption 30 that were added after the base year for this parcel and that 31 increased the assessed value 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 SB861 Engrossed -4- LRB9100581PTpk 1 maximum reduction from the equalized assessed value of the 2 property is limited to the sum of the reductions calculated 3 for each unit occupied as a residence by a person or persons 4 65 years of age or older with a household income of $35,000 5 or less prior to taxable year 1999 or $40,000 or less in 6 taxable year 1999 and thereafter who is liable, by contract 7 with the owner or owners of record, for paying real property 8 taxes on the property and who is an owner of record of a 9 legal or equitable interest in the cooperative apartment 10 building, other than a leasehold interest. In the instance of 11 a cooperative where a homestead exemption has been granted 12 under this Section, the cooperative association or its 13 management firm shall credit the savings resulting from that 14 exemption only to the apportioned tax liability of the owner 15 who qualified for the exemption. Any person who willfully 16 refuses to credit that savings to an owner who qualifies for 17 the exemption is guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. 18 When a homestead exemption has been granted under this 19 Section and an applicant then becomes a resident of a 20 facility licensed under the Nursing Home Care Act, the 21 exemption shall be granted in subsequent years so long as the 22 residence (i) continues to be occupied by the qualified 23 applicant's spouse or (ii) if remaining unoccupied, is still 24 owned by the qualified applicant for the homestead exemption. 25 Beginning January 1, 1997, when an individual dies who 26 would have qualified for an exemption under this Section, and 27 the surviving spouse does not independently qualify for this 28 exemption because of age, the exemption under this Section 29 shall be granted to the surviving spouse for the taxable year 30 preceding and the taxable year of the death, provided that, 31 except for age, the surviving spouse meets all other 32 qualifications for the granting of this exemption for those 33 years. 34 When married persons maintain separate residences, the SB861 Engrossed -5- LRB9100581PTpk 1 exemption provided for in this Section may be claimed by only 2 one of such persons and for only one residence. 3 For taxable year 1994 only, in counties having less than 4 3,000,000 inhabitants, to receive the exemption, a person 5 shall submit an application by February 15, 1995 to the Chief 6 County Assessment Officer of the county in which the property 7 is located. In counties having 3,000,000 or more 8 inhabitants, for taxable year 1994 and all subsequent taxable 9 years, to receive the exemption, a person may submit an 10 application to the Chief County Assessment Officer of the 11 county in which the property is located during such period as 12 may be specified by the Chief County Assessment Officer. The 13 Chief County Assessment Officer in counties of 3,000,000 or 14 more inhabitants shall annually give notice of the 15 application period by mail or by publication. In counties 16 having less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, beginning with 17 taxable year 1995 and thereafter, to receive the exemption, a 18 person shall submit an application by July 1 of each taxable 19 year to the Chief County Assessment Officer of the county in 20 which the property is located. A county may, by ordinance, 21 establish a date for submission of applications that is 22 different than July 1. The applicant shall submit with the 23 application an affidavit of the applicant's total household 24 income, age, marital status (and if married the name and 25 address of the applicant's spouse, if known), and principal 26 dwelling place of members of the household on January 1 of 27 the taxable year. The Department shall establish, by rule, a 28 method for verifying the accuracy of affidavits filed by 29 applicants under this Section. The applications shall be 30 clearly marked as applications for the Senior Citizens 31 Assessment Freeze Homestead Exemption. 32 Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, in 33 counties having fewer than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an 34 applicant fails to file the application required by this SB861 Engrossed -6- LRB9100581PTpk 1 Section in a timely manner and this failure to file is due to 2 a mental or physical condition sufficiently severe so as to 3 render the applicant incapable of filing the application in a 4 timely manner, the Chief County Assessment Officer may extend 5 the filing deadline for a period of 30 days after the 6 applicant regains the capability to file the application, but 7 in no case may the filing deadline be extended beyond 3 8 months of the original filing deadline. In order to receive 9 the extension provided in this paragraph, the applicant shall 10 provide the Chief County Assessment Officer with a signed 11 statement from the applicant's physician stating the nature 12 and extent of the condition, that, in the physician's 13 opinion, the condition was so severe that it rendered the 14 applicant incapable of filing the application in a timely 15 manner, and the date on which the applicant regained the 16 capability to file the application. 17 Beginning January 1, 1998, notwithstanding any other 18 provision to the contrary, in counties having fewer than 19 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an applicant fails to file the 20 application required by this Section in a timely manner and 21 this failure to file is due to a mental or physical condition 22 sufficiently severe so as to render the applicant incapable 23 of filing the application in a timely manner, the Chief 24 County Assessment Officer may extend the filing deadline for 25 a period of 3 months. In order to receive the extension 26 provided in this paragraph, the applicant shall provide the 27 Chief County Assessment Officer with a signed statement from 28 the applicant's physician stating the nature and extent of 29 the condition, and that, in the physician's opinion, the 30 condition was so severe that it rendered the applicant 31 incapable of filing the application in a timely manner. 32 In counties having less than 3,000,000 inhabitants, if an 33 applicant was denied an exemption in taxable year 1994 and 34 the denial occurred due to an error on the part of an SB861 Engrossed -7- LRB9100581PTpk 1 assessment official, or his or her agent or employee, then 2 beginning in taxable year 1997 the applicant's base year, for 3 purposes of determining the amount of the exemption, shall be 4 1993 rather than 1994. In addition, in taxable year 1997, the 5 applicant's exemption shall also include an amount equal to 6 (i) the amount of any exemption denied to the applicant in 7 taxable year 1995 as a result of using 1994, rather than 8 1993, as the base year, (ii) the amount of any exemption 9 denied to the applicant in taxable year 1996 as a result of 10 using 1994, rather than 1993, as the base year, and (iii) the 11 amount of the exemption erroneously denied for taxable year 12 1994. 13 For purposes of this Section, a person who will be 65 14 years of age during the current taxable year shall be 15 eligible to apply for the homestead exemption during that 16 taxable year. Application shall be made during the 17 application period in effect for the county of his or her 18 residence. 19 The Chief County Assessment Officer may determine the 20 eligibility of a life care facility that qualifies as a 21 cooperative to receive the benefits provided by this Section 22 by use of an affidavit, application, visual inspection, 23 questionnaire, or other reasonable method in order to insure 24 that the tax savings resulting from the exemption are 25 credited by the management firm to the apportioned tax 26 liability of each qualifying resident. The Chief County 27 Assessment Officer may request reasonable proof that the 28 management firm has so credited that exemption. 29 Except as provided in this Section, all information 30 received by the chief county assessment officer or the 31 Department from applications filed under this Section, or 32 from any investigation conducted under the provisions of this 33 Section, shall be confidential, except for official purposes 34 or pursuant to official procedures for collection of any SB861 Engrossed -8- LRB9100581PTpk 1 State or local tax or enforcement of any civil or criminal 2 penalty or sanction imposed by this Act or by any statute or 3 ordinance imposing a State or local tax. Any person who 4 divulges any such information in any manner, except in 5 accordance with a proper judicial order, is guilty of a Class 6 A misdemeanor. 7 Nothing contained in this Section shall prevent the 8 Director or chief county assessment officer from publishing 9 or making available reasonable statistics concerning the 10 operation of the exemption contained in this Section in which 11 the contents of claims are grouped into aggregates in such a 12 way that information contained in any individual claim shall 13 not be disclosed. 14 (d) Each Chief County Assessment Officer shall annually 15 publish a notice of availability of the exemption provided 16 under this Section. The notice shall be published at least 17 60 days but no more than 75 days prior to the date on which 18 the application must be submitted to the Chief County 19 Assessment Officer of the county in which the property is 20 located. The notice shall appear in a newspaper of general 21 circulation in the county. 22 (Source: P.A. 89-62, eff. 1-1-96; 89-426, eff. 6-1-96; 23 89-557, eff. 1-1-97; 89-581, eff. 1-1-97; 89-626, eff. 24 8-9-96; 90-14, eff. 7-1-97; 90-204, eff. 7-25-97; 90-523, 25 eff. 11-13-97; 90-524, eff. 1-1-98; 90-531, eff. 1-1-98; 26 90-655, eff. 7-30-98.) 27 Section 90. The State Mandates Act is amended by adding 28 Section 8.23 as follows: 29 (30 ILCS 805/8.23 new) 30 Sec. 8.23. Exempt mandate. Notwithstanding Sections 6 31 and 8 of this Act, no reimbursement by the State is required 32 for the implementation of any mandate created by this SB861 Engrossed -9- LRB9100581PTpk 1 amendatory Act of the 91st General Assembly. 2 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 3 becoming law.