House Bill 0291c2

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999           CS/CS/HB 291

        By the Committees on General Government Appropriations,
    Real Property & Probate and Representative Villalobos





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to homestead exemption;

  3         creating s. 196.075, F.S.; authorizing boards

  4         of county commissioners and municipal governing

  5         authorities to grant by ordinance an additional

  6         homestead exemption for persons 65 and older

  7         whose household income does not exceed a

  8         specified amount; defining the terms

  9         "household" and "household income"; providing

10         requirements for the ordinances; providing an

11         effective date.

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13  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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15         Section 1.  Section 196.075, Florida Statutes, is

16  created to read:

17         196.075  Additional homestead exemption for persons 65

18  and older.--

19         (1)  As used in this section, the term:

20         (a)  "Household" means a person or group of persons

21  living together in a room or group of rooms as a housing unit,

22  but the term does not include persons boarding in or renting a

23  portion of the dwelling.

24         (b)  "Household income" means the adjusted gross

25  income, as defined in s. 62 of the United States Internal

26  Revenue Code, of all members of a household.

27         (2)  In accordance with s. 6(f), Art. VII of the State

28  Constitution, the board of county commissioners of any county

29  or the governing authority of any municipality may adopt an

30  ordinance to allow an additional homestead exemption of up to

31  $25,000 for any person who has the legal or equitable title to

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999           CS/CS/HB 291

    610-238-99






  1  real estate and maintains thereon the permanent residence of

  2  the owner, who has attained age 65, and whose household income

  3  does not exceed $20,000.

  4         (3)  Beginning January 1, 2001, the $20,000 income

  5  limitation shall be adjusted annually, on January 1, by the

  6  percentage change in the average cost-of-living index in the

  7  period January 1 through December 31 of the immediate prior

  8  year compared with the same period for the year prior to that.

  9  The index is the average of the monthly consumer-price-index

10  figures for the stated 12-month period, relative to the United

11  States as a whole, issued by the United States Department of

12  Labor.

13         (4)  An ordinance granting additional homestead

14  exemption as authorized by this section must meet the

15  following requirements:

16         (a)  It must be adopted under the procedures for

17  adoption of a nonemergency ordinance specified in chapter 125

18  by a board of county commissioners, or chapter 166 by a

19  municipal governing authority.

20         (b)  It must specify that the exemption applies only to

21  taxes levied by the unit of government granting the exemption.

22  Unless otherwise specified by the county or municipality, this

23  exemption will apply to all tax levies of the county or

24  municipality granting the exemption, including dependent

25  special districts and municipal service taxing units.

26         (c)  It must specify the amount of the exemption, which

27  may not exceed $25,000. If the county or municipality

28  specifies a different exemption amount for dependent special

29  districts or municipal service taxing units the exemption

30  amount must be uniform in all dependent special districts or

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999           CS/CS/HB 291

    610-238-99






  1  municipal service taxing units within the county or

  2  municipality.

  3         (d)  It must require that a taxpayer claiming the

  4  exemption annually submit to the property appraiser, not later

  5  than March 1, a sworn statement of household income on a form

  6  prescribed by the Department of Revenue.

  7         (5)  The department must require by rule that the

  8  filing of the statement be supported by copies of any federal

  9  income tax returns for the prior year, any wage and earnings

10  statements (W-2 forms), and any other documents it finds

11  necessary, for each member of the household, to be submitted

12  by June 1. The taxpayer's statement shall attest to the

13  accuracy of such copies. The property appraiser may not grant

14  the exemption without the required documentation.

15         (6)  The board of county commissioners or municipal

16  governing authority must deliver a copy of any ordinance

17  adopted under this section to the property appraiser no later

18  than December 1 of the year prior to the year the exemption

19  will take effect. If the ordinance is repealed, the board of

20  county commissioners or municipal governing authority shall

21  notify the property appraiser no later than December 1 of the

22  year prior to the year the exemption expires.

23         (7)  Those persons entitled to the homestead exemption

24  in s. 196.031 may apply for and receive an additional

25  homestead exemption as provided in this section. Receipt of

26  the additional homestead exemption provided for in this

27  section shall be subject to the provisions of ss. 196.131 and

28  196.161, if applicable.

29         (8)  If title is held jointly with right of

30  survivorship, the person residing on the property and

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    Florida House of Representatives - 1999           CS/CS/HB 291

    610-238-99






  1  otherwise qualifying may receive the entire amount of the

  2  additional homestead exemption.

  3         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.

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