Amendment
Bill No. 0003B

Amendment No. 609407

CHAMBER ACTION
Senate		House
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1	Representative(s) Altman offered the following:
2
3	Amendment (with ballot statement amendment)
4	Remove line(s) 175-332 and insert:
5	special benefits, on thirty percent of up to the just assessed
6	valuation of such property of five thousand dollars, upon
7	establishment of right thereto in the manner prescribed by law.
8	The exemption shall not be less than fifty thousand dollars but,
9	for low-income seniors who meet the eligibility criteria under
10	subsection (d), the exemption shall not be less than one hundred
11	thousand dollars. The real estate may be held by legal or
12	equitable title, by the entireties, jointly, in common, as a
13	condominium, or indirectly by stock ownership or membership
14	representing the owner's or member's proprietary interest in a
15	corporation owning a fee or a leasehold initially in excess of
16	ninety-eight years. The exemption shall not apply with respect
17	to any assessment roll until such roll is first determined to be
18	in compliance with the provisions of section 4 by a state agency
19	designated by general law. This exemption is repealed on the
20	effective date of any amendment to this Article which provides
21	for the assessment of homestead property at less than just
22	value.
23	(b)  Not more than one exemption shall be allowed any
24	individual or family unit or with respect to any residential
25	unit. No exemption shall exceed the value of the real estate
26	assessable to the owner or, in case of ownership through stock
27	or membership in a corporation, the value of the proportion
28	which the interest in the corporation bears to the assessed
29	value of the property.
30	(c)  By general law and subject to conditions specified
31	therein, the exemption shall be increased to a total of twenty-
32	five thousand dollars of the assessed value of the real estate
33	for each school district levy. By general law and subject to
34	conditions specified therein, the exemption for all other levies
35	may be increased up to an amount not exceeding ten thousand
36	dollars of the assessed value of the real estate if the owner
37	has attained age sixty-five or is totally and permanently
38	disabled and if the owner is not entitled to the exemption
39	provided in subsection (d).
40	(d)  By general law and subject to conditions specified
41	therein, the exemption shall be increased to a total of the
42	following amounts of assessed value of real estate for each levy
43	other than those of school districts: fifteen thousand dollars
44	with respect to 1980 assessments; twenty thousand dollars with
45	respect to 1981 assessments; twenty-five thousand dollars with
46	respect to assessments for 1982 and each year thereafter.
47	However, such increase shall not apply with respect to any
48	assessment roll until such roll is first determined to be in
49	compliance with the provisions of section 4 by a state agency
50	designated by general law. This subsection shall stand repealed
51	on the effective date of any amendment to section 4 which
52	provides for the assessment of homestead property at a specified
53	percentage of its just value.
54	(c)(e)  By general law and subject to conditions specified
55	therein, the Legislature may provide to renters, who are
56	permanent residents, ad valorem tax relief on all ad valorem tax
57	levies. Such ad valorem tax relief shall be in the form and
58	amount established by general law.
59	(d)(f)  The legislature may, by general law, allow counties
60	or municipalities, for the purpose of their respective tax
61	levies and subject to the provisions of general law, to grant an
62	additional homestead tax exemption not exceeding fifty thousand
63	dollars to any person who has the legal or equitable title to
64	real estate and maintains thereon the permanent residence of the
65	owner and who has attained age sixty-five and whose household
66	income, as defined by general law, does not exceed twenty
67	thousand dollars. The general law must allow counties and
68	municipalities to grant this additional exemption, within the
69	limits prescribed in this subsection, by ordinance adopted in
70	the manner prescribed by general law, and must provide for the
71	periodic adjustment of the income limitation prescribed in this
72	subsection for changes in the cost of living.
73	(e)(g)  Each veteran who is age 65 or older who is
74	partially or totally permanently disabled shall receive a
75	discount from the amount of the ad valorem tax otherwise owed on
76	homestead property the veteran owns and resides in if the
77	disability was combat related, the veteran was a resident of
78	this state at the time of entering the military service of the
79	United States, and the veteran was honorably discharged upon
80	separation from military service. The discount shall be in a
81	percentage equal to the percentage of the veteran's permanent,
82	service-connected disability as determined by the United States
83	Department of Veterans Affairs. To qualify for the discount
84	granted by this subsection, an applicant must submit to the
85	county property appraiser, by March 1, proof of residency at the
86	time of entering military service, an official letter from the
87	United States Department of Veterans Affairs stating the
88	percentage of the veteran's service-connected disability and
89	such evidence that reasonably identifies the disability as
90	combat related, and a copy of the veteran's honorable discharge.
91	If the property appraiser denies the request for a discount, the
92	appraiser must notify the applicant in writing of the reasons
93	for the denial, and the veteran may reapply. The Legislature
94	may, by general law, waive the annual application requirement in
95	subsequent years. This subsection shall take effect December 7,
96	2006, is self-executing, and does not require implementing
97	legislation.
98	SECTION 9.  Local taxes.--
99	(a)  Counties, school districts, and municipalities shall,
100	and special districts may, be authorized by law to levy ad
101	valorem taxes and may be authorized by general law to levy other
102	taxes, for their respective purposes, except ad valorem taxes on
103	intangible personal property and taxes prohibited by this
104	constitution.
105	(b)  Ad valorem taxes, exclusive of taxes levied for the
106	payment of bonds and taxes levied for periods not longer than
107	two years when authorized by vote of the electors who are the
108	owners of freeholds therein not wholly exempt from taxation,
109	shall not be levied in excess of the following millages upon the
110	assessed value of real estate and tangible personal property:
111	for all county purposes, ten mills; for all municipal purposes,
112	ten mills; for all school purposes, ten mills; for water
113	management purposes for the northwest portion of the state lying
114	west of the line between ranges two and three east, 0.05 mill;
115	for water management purposes for the remaining portions of the
116	state, 1.0 mill; and for all other special districts a millage
117	authorized by law approved by vote of the electors who are
118	owners of freeholds therein not wholly exempt from taxation. A
119	county furnishing municipal services may, to the extent
120	authorized by law, levy additional taxes within the limits fixed
121	for municipal purposes.
122	(c)  By general law, the legislature shall limit the
123	authority of counties, municipalities, and special districts to
124	increase ad valorem taxes.
125	ARTICLE XII
126	SCHEDULE
127	SECTION 27.  Transitional assessments of homestead
128	property; effective date.--
129	(a)  Each person entitled to a homestead exemption under
130	Section 6 of Article VII on January 1, 2008, shall continue to
131	have the person's current homestead assessed under Section 4(c)
132	of Article VII so long as, on January 1 of each year, the sum of
133	the exemption the person would have received under Section 6(a)-
134	(d) of Article VII, as it existed on December 31, 2007, plus the
135	difference between the homestead's just value and its assessed
136	value determined pursuant to Section 4(c) of Article VII is
137	greater than the exemption provided by Section 6(a) of Article
138	VII. After the exemption provided in Section 6(a) of Article VII
139	exceeds such sum in any year, the homestead may not be assessed
140	under Section 4(c) of Article VII.
141	(b)  The exemption provided in Section 6(a) of Article VII
142	to each person entitled to have the person's homestead assessed
143	under Section 4(c) of Article VII pursuant to subsection (a)
144	shall be limited to the exemption the person would have been
145	entitled to under Section 6(a)-(d) of Article VII as it existed
146	on December 31, 2007.
147	(c)  The amendments to Sections 3, 4, 6, and 9 of Article
148	VII, providing an exemption from ad valorem taxation for
149	tangible personal property, revising provisions limiting an
150	increase in the assessed value of homestead property, providing
151	for assessing rent-restricted affordable housing and commercial
152	and public-access waterfront property pursuant to general law,
153	increasing the homestead exemption, and requiring the
154	legislature to limit
155
156	== B A L L O T  S T A T E M E N T  A M E N D M E N T ==
157	Remove line(s) 346-351 and insert:
158	30 percent of the just value of the property and to

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