House Bill hb0573c1

    Florida House of Representatives - 2001              CS/HB 573

        By the Committee on Local Government & Veterans Affairs
    and Representatives Gibson and Rubio





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to ad valorem taxation;

  3         creating s. 193.703, F.S.; providing for a

  4         reduction in assessment for living quarters of

  5         parents or grandparents of homestead property

  6         owners or of their spouses; providing

  7         limitations; providing application procedures;

  8         providing penalties for making a willfully

  9         false statement in the application; providing

10         for adjustment of the assessed value of

11         property when the property owner is no longer

12         eligible for the reduction in assessment;

13         providing a contingent effective date.

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

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17         Section 1.  Section 193.703, Florida Statutes, is

18  created to read:

19         193.703  Reduction in assessment for living quarters of

20  parents or grandparents.--

21         (1)  In accordance with s. 4(e), Art. VII of the State

22  Constitution, a county may provide for a reduction in the

23  assessed value of homestead property which results from the

24  construction or reconstruction of the property for the purpose

25  of providing living quarters for one or more natural or

26  adopted parents or grandparents of the owner of the property

27  or of the owner's spouse if at least one of the parents or

28  grandparents for whom the living quarters are provided is at

29  least 62 years of age.

30         (2)  A reduction may be granted under subsection (1)

31  only to the owner of homestead property where the construction

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001              CS/HB 573

    171-655-01






  1  or reconstruction is consistent with local land development

  2  regulations.

  3         (3)  A reduction in assessment which is granted under

  4  this section applies only to construction or reconstruction to

  5  an existing homestead that occurred after the effective date

  6  of this section and applies only during taxable years during

  7  which at least one such parent or grandparent maintains his or

  8  her primary place of residence in such living quarters within

  9  the homestead property of the owner.

10         (4)  Such a reduction in assessment may be granted only

11  upon an application filed annually with the county property

12  appraiser. The application must be made before March 1 of the

13  year for which the reduction is to be granted. If the property

14  appraiser is satisfied that the property is entitled to a

15  reduction in assessment under this section, the property

16  appraiser shall approve the application, and the value of such

17  residential improvements shall be excluded from the value of

18  the property for purposes of ad valorem taxation. The value

19  excluded may not exceed the lesser of the following:

20         (a)  The increase in assessed value resulting from

21  construction or reconstruction of the property; or

22         (b)  Twenty percent of the total assessed value of the

23  property as improved.

24         (5)  If the owner of a residential property for which

25  such a reduction in assessed value has been granted is found

26  to have made any willfully false statement in the application

27  for the reduction, the reduction shall be revoked, the owner

28  shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $1,000,

29  and the owner shall be disqualified from receiving any such

30  reduction for a period of 5 years.

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    Florida House of Representatives - 2001              CS/HB 573

    171-655-01






  1         (6)  When the property owner no longer qualifies for

  2  the reduction in assessed value for living quarters of parents

  3  or grandparents, the just value of such improvements as of the

  4  first January 1 after the improvements were substantially

  5  completed shall be added back to the assessed value of the

  6  property.

  7         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon the

  8  effective date of an amendment to Section 4 of Article VII of

  9  the State Constitution which allows counties to provide for a

10  reduction in assessed value of living quarters constructed for

11  parents or grandparents.

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