Senate Bill sb0474c1

    Florida Senate - 2001                            CS for SB 474

    By the Committee on Comprehensive Planning, Local and Military
    Affairs; and Senator Mitchell




    316-1515-01

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to ad valorem homestead tax

  3         exemption; creating s. 196.032, F.S.; providing

  4         an exemption from the tax for law enforcement

  5         officers, correctional officers, correctional

  6         probation officers, and full-time professional

  7         firefighters who are totally and permanently

  8         disabled in the line of duty; providing

  9         applicability; providing definitions; providing

10         an effective date.

11

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

13

14         Section 1.  Section 196.032, Florida Statutes, is

15  created to read:

16         196.032  Exemption of homesteads of law enforcement

17  officers, correctional officers, correctional probation

18  officers, and firefighters disabled in line of duty.--

19         (1)  Every full-time or part-time law enforcement

20  officer, correctional officer, correctional probation officer,

21  auxiliary law enforcement officer, auxiliary correctional

22  officer, or auxiliary correctional probation officer, or

23  full-time firefighter, who has become totally and permanently

24  disabled in the line of duty while appointed or employed by

25  the state or any political subdivision thereof, or by any

26  private entity that has contracted with the state or political

27  subdivision, and who, on January 1, has the legal title or

28  beneficial title in equity to real property in this state and

29  resides on that property and in good faith makes that property

30  his or her permanent residence is entitled to an exemption

31  from all taxation, except for assessments for special

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    Florida Senate - 2001                            CS for SB 474
    316-1515-01




  1  benefits, up to the assessed valuation on the residence and

  2  contiguous real property, as defined in s. 6, Art. VII of the

  3  State Constitution. Such title may be held by the entireties,

  4  jointly or in common with others, and the exemption may be

  5  apportioned among such of the owners as reside thereon, as

  6  their respective interests appear. If a person who meets the

  7  qualifications set forth in this section is only one of the

  8  owners of an estate held by the entireties or held jointly

  9  with the right of survivorship and such person resides on the

10  property, that owner is allowed the exemption. Except for

11  owners of an estate held by the entireties or held jointly

12  with the right of survivorship, the amount of the exemption

13  may not exceed the proportion that the assessed valuation of

14  the qualifying person's ownership interest bears to the

15  assessed valuation of the entire property. This exemption

16  applies to each apartment or mobile home occupied by a

17  tenant-stockholder or member of a cooperative corporation and

18  to each condominium parcel occupied by its owner, if the owner

19  is qualified under this section.  Before this exemption may be

20  granted, the deed or instrument attesting ownership must be

21  recorded in the official records of the county in which the

22  property is located, and documentation of the qualifying

23  owner's disability must be filed with the property appraiser

24  in that county. The property appraiser may request the

25  applicant to provide additional ownership documents to

26  establish title.

27         (2)  As used in this section, the term:

28         (a)  "Auxiliary correctional officer" means any person

29  employed or appointed, with or without compensation, who aids

30  or assists a full-time or part-time correctional officer and

31  who, while under the supervision of a full-time or part-time

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    Florida Senate - 2001                            CS for SB 474
    316-1515-01




  1  correctional officer, has the same authority as a full-time or

  2  part-time correctional officer for the purpose of providing

  3  supervision, protection, care, custody, and control of inmates

  4  within a correctional institution or a county or municipal

  5  detention facility.

  6         (b)  "Auxiliary correctional probation officer" means

  7  any person employed or appointed, with or without

  8  compensation, who aids or assists a full-time or part-time

  9  correctional probation officer and who, while under the

10  supervision of a full-time or part-time correctional probation

11  officer, has the same authority as a full-time or part-time

12  correctional probation officer for the purpose of providing

13  supervision of offenders in the community.

14         (c)  "Auxiliary law enforcement officer" means any

15  person employed or appointed, with or without compensation,

16  who aids or assists a full-time or part-time law enforcement

17  officer and who, while under the direct supervision of a

18  full-time or part-time law enforcement officer, has the

19  authority to arrest and perform law enforcement functions.

20         (d)  "Correctional officer" means any person who is

21  appointed or employed by the state or any political

22  subdivision thereof, or by any private entity which has

23  contracted with the state or county, and whose primary

24  responsibility is the supervision, protection, care, custody,

25  and control, or investigation, of inmates within a

26  correctional institution; however, the term "correctional

27  officer" does not include any secretarial, clerical, or

28  professionally trained personnel.

29         (e)  "Correctional probation officer" means a person

30  who is employed by the state and whose primary responsibility

31  is the supervised custody, surveillance, and control of

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    Florida Senate - 2001                            CS for SB 474
    316-1515-01




  1  assigned inmates, probationers, parolees, or community

  2  controllees within institutions of the Department of

  3  Corrections or within the community.  The term includes

  4  supervisory personnel whose duties include, in whole or in

  5  part, the supervision, training, and guidance of correctional

  6  probation officers, but excludes management and administrative

  7  personnel above, but not including, the probation and parole

  8  regional administrator level.

  9         (f)  "Firefighter" means any person who is employed as

10  a full-time professional firefighter by any municipality or

11  county, the state, or any political subdivision of the state,

12  including authorities and special districts, and whose primary

13  responsibility is the prevention and extinguishment of fires,

14  the protection and saving of life and property, and the

15  enforcement of municipal, county, and state fire prevention

16  codes, as well as of any law pertaining to the prevention and

17  control of fires.

18         (g)  "Law enforcement officer" means any person who is

19  elected, appointed, or employed by any municipality or the

20  state or any political subdivision thereof; who is vested with

21  authority to bear arms and make arrests; and whose primary

22  responsibility is the prevention and detection of crime or the

23  enforcement of the penal, criminal, traffic, or highway laws

24  of the state.  This definition includes all certified

25  supervisory and command personnel whose duties include, in

26  whole or in part, the supervision, training, guidance, and

27  management responsibilities of full-time law enforcement

28  officers, part-time law enforcement officers, or auxiliary law

29  enforcement officers but does not include support personnel

30  employed by the employing agency.

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    Florida Senate - 2001                            CS for SB 474
    316-1515-01




  1         (h)  A person shall be considered "totally and

  2  permanently disabled" when certified to be totally and

  3  permanently disabled by two licensed physicians of this state

  4  who are professionally unrelated. It must be documented that

  5  the person's medical condition was caused by a job-related

  6  illness or accident that occurred while the person was in an

  7  employee/employer relationship with his or her employer, and

  8  that the person has not been employed with any other employer

  9  after becoming disabled.

10         Section 2.  This act shall take effect on the effective

11  date of SJR 472, which amends Section 6 of Article VII of the

12  State Constitution, to allow the Legislature to exempt from ad

13  valorem taxation on his or her homestead a person who was

14  totally and permanently disabled in the line of duty as a law

15  enforcement officer, correctional officer, correctional

16  probation officer, or full-time professional firefighter.

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18          STATEMENT OF SUBSTANTIAL CHANGES CONTAINED IN
                       COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR
19                              SB 474

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21  The CS clarifies that the property tax exemption is only
    available to persons who became disabled while they were
22  employed in Florida; includes a provision that defines how one
    is determined to be disabled; and provides a reference to SJR
23  472, the resolution placing the issue on the ballot.

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