HB 0083

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to property tax exemptions; amending s.
3196.012, F.S.; defining the term "ex-service member";
4amending s. 196.081, F.S.; exempting from ad valorem
5taxation homestead real estate of certain permanently and
6totally disabled veterans under certain circumstances;
7amending s. 196.24, F.S.; entitling certain honorably
8discharged disabled ex-service members to an exemption
9from taxation of the value of certain property under
10certain circumstances; entitling certain unremarried
11surviving spouses of such ex-service members to the
12exemption under certain circumstances; providing an
13effective date.
14
15Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17     Section 1.  Subsection (20) is added to section 196.012,
18Florida Statutes, to read:
19     196.012  Definitions.--For the purpose of this chapter, the
20following terms are defined as follows, except where the context
21clearly indicates otherwise:
22     (20)  "Ex-service member" means any person who has served
23as a member of the United States Armed Forces on active duty or
24state active duty, a member of the Florida National Guard, or a
25member of the United States Armed Forces Reserve.
26     Section 2.  Subsections (1) and (2) of section 196.081,
27Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
28     196.081  Exemption for certain permanently and totally
29disabled veterans and for surviving spouses of veterans.--
30     (1)(a)  Any real estate that is owned and used as a
31homestead by a veteran who was honorably discharged with a
32service-connected total and permanent disability and for whom a
33letter from the United States Government or United States
34Department of Veterans Affairs or its predecessor has been
35issued certifying that the veteran is totally and permanently
36disabled is exempt from taxation, if the veteran is a permanent
37resident of this state on January 1 of the tax year for which
38exemption is being claimed or was a permanent resident of this
39state on January 1 of the year the veteran died.
40     (b)  Any real estate that is owned and used as a homestead
41by a veteran who, while a citizen of the United States, served
42as a member of the armed services of a nation that was an ally
43of the United States, was honorably discharged with a service-
44connected total and permanent disability, and for whom a letter
45from the government, or that government's veterans service
46agency, in whose armed services the veteran served has been
47issued certifying that the veteran is totally and permanently
48disabled, is exempt from taxation if the veteran is a permanent
49resident of this state on January 1 of the tax year for which
50exemption is being claimed or was a permanent resident of this
51state on January 1 of the year the veteran died.
52     (2)  The production by a veteran or the spouse or surviving
53spouse of a letter of total and permanent disability required in
54paragraph (1)(a) from the United States Government or United
55States Department of Veterans Affairs or its predecessor before
56the property appraiser of the county in which property of the
57veteran lies is prima facie evidence of the fact that the
58veteran or the surviving spouse is entitled to the exemption.
59     Section 3.  Section 196.24, Florida Statutes, is amended to
60read:
61     196.24  Exemption for disabled ex-service member or
62surviving spouse; evidence of disability.--Any ex-service
63member, as defined in s. 196.012, who is a bona fide resident of
64the state, who was honorably discharged, and who has been
65disabled to a degree of 10 percent or more while serving during
66a period of wartime service as defined in s. 1.01(14), or by
67misfortune, is entitled to the exemption from taxation provided
68for in s. 3(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution as provided
69in this section. Property to the value of $5,000 of such a
70person is exempt from taxation. The production by him or her of
71a certificate of disability from the United States Government or
72the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its
73predecessor before the property appraiser of the county wherein
74the ex-service member's property lies is prima facie evidence of
75the fact that he or she is entitled to the exemption. The
76unremarried surviving spouse of such a disabled ex-service
77member who, on the date of the disabled ex-service member's
78death, had been married to the disabled ex-service member for at
79least 5 years is also entitled to the exemption.
80     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2005.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.