| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to an ad valorem tax exemption for |
| 3 | deployed servicemembers; creating s. 196.173, F.S.; |
| 4 | providing for certain servicemembers who receive a |
| 5 | homestead exemption and who are deployed in certain |
| 6 | military operations to receive an additional ad valorem |
| 7 | tax exemption; designating military operations to receive |
| 8 | the additional ad valorem tax exemption; requiring the |
| 9 | Department of Revenue to notify property appraisers and |
| 10 | tax collectors of the designated military operations; |
| 11 | requiring the Department of Military Affairs to submit a |
| 12 | report annually of military operations to the President of |
| 13 | the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, |
| 14 | and the tax committees of each house of the Legislature; |
| 15 | specifying the calculation to be used in determining the |
| 16 | exemption amount; requiring that a servicemember apply to |
| 17 | the property appraiser to receive the exemption in the |
| 18 | year following the year of a qualifying deployment; |
| 19 | providing for the application forms to be prescribed by |
| 20 | the Department of Revenue and furnished to an applicant by |
| 21 | the property appraiser; authorizing certain persons to |
| 22 | apply to the property appraiser to receive an exemption on |
| 23 | behalf of a servicemember; requiring that a property |
| 24 | appraiser consider applications for an exemption within a |
| 25 | certain time; providing a definition; amending s. 194.011, |
| 26 | F.S.; requiring a person appealing the denial of a |
| 27 | deployed service member exemption to the value adjustment |
| 28 | board to file the appeal within a certain time; amending |
| 29 | s. 196.011, F.S.; providing requirements for the forms |
| 30 | used for claims for the exemption for deployed |
| 31 | servicemembers; authorizing the Department of Revenue to |
| 32 | adopt emergency rules; providing for application of the |
| 33 | act to qualifying deployments in the 2010 calendar year; |
| 34 | providing for the act to apply to tax rolls beginning in |
| 35 | 2011; providing an effective date. |
| 36 |
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| 37 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 38 |
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| 39 | Section 1. Section 196.173, Florida Statutes, is created |
| 40 | to read: |
| 41 | 196.173 Exemption for deployed servicemembers.- |
| 42 | (1) A servicemember who receives a homestead exemption may |
| 43 | receive an additional ad valorem tax exemption on that homestead |
| 44 | property as provided in this section. |
| 45 | (2) The exemption is available to servicemembers who were |
| 46 | deployed during the preceding calendar year on active duty |
| 47 | outside the continental United States, Alaska, or Hawaii in |
| 48 | support of: |
| 49 | (a) Operation Enduring Freedom, which began on October 7, |
| 50 | 2001; |
| 51 | (b) Operation Iraqi Freedom, which began on March 19, |
| 52 | 2003, and ended on August 31, 2010; or |
| 53 | (c) Operation New Dawn, which began on September 1, 2010. |
| 54 |
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| 55 | The Department of Revenue shall notify all property appraisers |
| 56 | and tax collectors in this state of the designated military |
| 57 | operations. |
| 58 | (3) By January 15 of each year, the Department of Military |
| 59 | Affairs shall submit to the President of the Senate, the Speaker |
| 60 | of the House of Representatives, and the tax committees of each |
| 61 | house of the Legislature a report of all known and unclassified |
| 62 | military operations outside the continental United States, |
| 63 | Alaska, or Hawaii for which servicemembers based in the |
| 64 | continental United States have been deployed during the previous |
| 65 | calendar year. The report must include: |
| 66 | (a) The official and common names of the military |
| 67 | operations; |
| 68 | (b) The general location and purpose of each military |
| 69 | operation; |
| 70 | (c) The date each military operation commenced; and |
| 71 | (d) The date each military operation terminated, unless |
| 72 | the operation is ongoing. |
| 73 | (4) The amount of the exemption is equal to the taxable |
| 74 | value of the homestead of the servicemember on January 1 of the |
| 75 | year in which the exemption is sought multiplied by the number |
| 76 | of days that the servicemember was on a qualifying deployment in |
| 77 | the preceding calendar year and divided by the number of days in |
| 78 | that year. |
| 79 | (5)(a) An eligible servicemember who seeks to claim the |
| 80 | additional tax exemption as provided in this section must file |
| 81 | an application for exemption with the property appraiser on or |
| 82 | before March 1 of the year following the year of the qualifying |
| 83 | deployment. The application for the exemption must be made on a |
| 84 | form prescribed by the department and furnished by the property |
| 85 | appraiser. The form must require a servicemember to include or |
| 86 | attach proof of a qualifying deployment, the dates of that |
| 87 | deployment, and other information necessary to verify |
| 88 | eligibility for and the amount of the exemption. |
| 89 | (b) An application may be filed on behalf of an eligible |
| 90 | servicemember by his or her spouse if the homestead property to |
| 91 | which the exemption applies is held by the entireties or jointly |
| 92 | with the right of survivorship, by a person who has been |
| 93 | designated by the servicemember to take actions on his or her |
| 94 | behalf pursuant to chapter 709, or by the personal |
| 95 | representative of the servicemember's estate. |
| 96 | (6) The property appraiser shall consider each application |
| 97 | for a deployed servicemember exemption within 30 days after |
| 98 | receipt or within 30 days after receiving notice of the |
| 99 | designation of qualifying deployments by the Legislature, |
| 100 | whichever is later. A property appraiser who finds that the |
| 101 | taxpayer is entitled to the exemption shall approve the |
| 102 | application and file the application in the permanent records. A |
| 103 | property appraiser who finds that the taxpayer is not entitled |
| 104 | to the exemption shall send a notice of disapproval no later |
| 105 | than July 1, citing the reason for disapproval. The original |
| 106 | notice of disapproval shall be sent to the taxpayer and shall |
| 107 | advise the taxpayer of the right to appeal the decision to the |
| 108 | value adjustment board and shall inform the taxpayer of the |
| 109 | procedure for filing such an appeal. |
| 110 | (7) As used in this section, the term "servicemember" |
| 111 | means a member or former member of any branch of the United |
| 112 | States military or military reserves, the United States Coast |
| 113 | Guard or its reserves, or the Florida National Guard. |
| 114 | Section 2. Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section |
| 115 | 194.011, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 116 | 194.011 Assessment notice; objections to assessments.- |
| 117 | (3) A petition to the value adjustment board must be in |
| 118 | substantially the form prescribed by the department. |
| 119 | Notwithstanding s. 195.022, a county officer may not refuse to |
| 120 | accept a form provided by the department for this purpose if the |
| 121 | taxpayer chooses to use it. A petition to the value adjustment |
| 122 | board shall describe the property by parcel number and shall be |
| 123 | filed as follows: |
| 124 | (d) The petition may be filed, as to valuation issues, at |
| 125 | any time during the taxable year on or before the 25th day |
| 126 | following the mailing of notice by the property appraiser as |
| 127 | provided in subsection (1). With respect to an issue involving |
| 128 | the denial of an exemption, an agricultural or high-water |
| 129 | recharge classification application, an application for |
| 130 | classification as historic property used for commercial or |
| 131 | certain nonprofit purposes, or a deferral, the petition must be |
| 132 | filed at any time during the taxable year on or before the 30th |
| 133 | day following the mailing of the notice by the property |
| 134 | appraiser under s. 193.461, s. 193.503, s. 193.625, s. 196.173, |
| 135 | or s. 196.193 or notice by the tax collector under s. 197.253. |
| 136 | Section 3. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section |
| 137 | 196.011, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 138 | 196.011 Annual application required for exemption.- |
| 139 | (1) |
| 140 | (b) The form to apply for an exemption under s. 196.031, |
| 141 | s. 196.081, s. 196.091, s. 196.101, s. 196.173, or s. 196.202 |
| 142 | must include a space for the applicant to list the social |
| 143 | security number of the applicant and of the applicant's spouse, |
| 144 | if any. If an applicant files a timely and otherwise complete |
| 145 | application, and omits the required social security numbers, the |
| 146 | application is incomplete. In that event, the property appraiser |
| 147 | shall contact the applicant, who may refile a complete |
| 148 | application by April 1. Failure to file a complete application |
| 149 | by that date constitutes a waiver of the exemption privilege for |
| 150 | that year, except as provided in subsection (7) or subsection |
| 151 | (8). |
| 152 | Section 4. The Department of Revenue is authorized, and |
| 153 | all conditions are deemed met, to adopt emergency rules pursuant |
| 154 | to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54, Florida Statutes, to administer |
| 155 | the provisions of this act. The emergency rules shall remain in |
| 156 | effect for 6 months after the rules are adopted and the rules |
| 157 | may be renewed during the pendency of procedures to adopt |
| 158 | permanent rules addressing the subject of the emergency rules. |
| 159 | Section 5. Notwithstanding the application deadline in s. |
| 160 | 196.173(5), Florida Statutes, the deadline for an eligible |
| 161 | servicemember to file a claim for an additional ad valorem tax |
| 162 | exemption for a qualifying deployment during the 2010 calendar |
| 163 | year is June 1, 2011. Any applicant who seeks to claim the |
| 164 | additional exemption and who fails to file an application by |
| 165 | June 1 must file an application for the exemption with the |
| 166 | property appraiser on or before the 25th day following the |
| 167 | mailing by the property appraiser of the notices required under |
| 168 | s. 194.011(1), Florida Statutes. Upon receipt of sufficient |
| 169 | evidence, as determined by the property appraiser, demonstrating |
| 170 | the applicant was unable to apply for the exemption in a timely |
| 171 | manner or otherwise demonstrating extenuating circumstances |
| 172 | judged by the property appraiser to warrant granting the |
| 173 | exemption, the property appraiser may grant the exemption. If |
| 174 | the applicant fails to produce sufficient evidence demonstrating |
| 175 | the applicant was unable to apply for the exemption in a timely |
| 176 | manner or otherwise demonstrating extenuating circumstances as |
| 177 | judged by the property appraiser, the applicant may file, |
| 178 | pursuant to s. 194.011(3), Florida Statutes, a petition with the |
| 179 | value adjustment board requesting that the exemption be granted. |
| 180 | Such petition must be filed during the taxable year on or before |
| 181 | the 25th day following the mailing of the notice by the property |
| 182 | appraiser as provided in s. 194.011(1), Florida Statutes. |
| 183 | Notwithstanding the provisions of s. 194.013, Florida Statutes, |
| 184 | the applicant must pay a nonrefundable fee of $15 upon filing |
| 185 | the petition. Upon reviewing the petition, if the applicant is |
| 186 | qualified to receive the exemption and demonstrates particular |
| 187 | extenuating circumstances judged by the value adjustment board |
| 188 | to warrant granting the exemption, the value adjustment board |
| 189 | may grant the exemption for the current year. |
| 190 | Section 6. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law, |
| 191 | and first applies to ad valorem tax rolls for 2011. |