Florida Senate - 2012 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1058
Barcode 469824
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
01/27/2012 .
.
.
.
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————
The Committee on Military Affairs, Space, and Domestic Security
(Norman) recommended the following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 55 - 152
4 and insert:
5 (4)(a) Any real estate that is owned and used as a
6 homestead by the surviving spouse of a veteran who died from
7 service-connected causes while on active duty as a member of the
8 United States Armed Forces and for whom a letter from the United
9 States Government or United States Department of Veterans
10 Affairs or its predecessor has been issued certifying that the
11 veteran who died from service-connected causes while on active
12 duty is exempt from taxation if the veteran was a permanent
13 resident of this state on January 1 of the year in which the
14 veteran died.
15 (a)(b) The production of the letter by the surviving spouse
16 which of a letter that was issued as required under paragraph
17 (a) and that attests to the veteran’s death while on active duty
18 is prima facie evidence of the fact that the surviving spouse is
19 entitled to the an exemption under paragraph (a).
20 (b)(c) The tax exemption that applies under paragraph (a)
21 to the surviving spouse carries over to the benefit of the
22 veteran’s surviving spouse as long as the spouse holds the legal
23 or beneficial title to the homestead, permanently resides
24 thereon as specified in s. 196.031, and does not remarry. If the
25 surviving spouse sells the property, an exemption not to exceed
26 the amount granted under from the most recent ad valorem tax
27 roll may be transferred to his or her new residence as long as
28 it is used as his or her primary residence and he or she does
29 not remarry.
30 (5) Any real estate that is owned and used as a homestead
31 by the surviving spouse of a first responder who died in the
32 line of duty while employed by the state or any political
33 subdivision of the state, including authorities and special
34 districts, and for whom a letter from the state or appropriate
35 political subdivision of the state, or other authority or
36 special district, has been issued which legally recognizes and
37 certifies that the first responder died in the line of duty
38 while employed as a first responder is exempt from taxation if
39 the first responder and his or her surviving spouse were
40 permanent residents of this state on January 1 of the year in
41 which the first responder died.
42 (a) The production of the letter by the surviving spouse
43 which attests to the first responder’s death in the line of duty
44 is prima facie evidence that the surviving spouse is entitled to
45 the exemption.
46 (b) The tax exemption carries over to the benefit of the
47 first responder’s surviving spouse as long as the spouse holds
48 the legal or beneficial title to the homestead, permanently
49 resides thereon as specified in s. 196.031, and does not
50 remarry. If the surviving spouse sells the property, an
51 exemption not to exceed the amount granted under the most recent
52 ad valorem tax roll may be transferred to his or her new
53 residence if it is used as his or her primary residence and he
54 or she does not remarry.
55 (c) As used in this subsection only, and not applicable to
56 the payment of benefits under s. 112.19 or s. 112.191, the term:
57 1. “First responder” means a law enforcement officer or
58 correctional officer as defined in s. 943.10, a firefighter as
59 defined in s. 633.30, or an emergency medical technician or
60 paramedic as defined in s. 401.23 who is a full-time paid
61 employee, part-time paid employee, or unpaid volunteer.
62 2. “In the line of duty” means:
63 a. While engaging in law enforcement;
64 b. While performing an activity relating to fire
65 suppression and prevention;
66 c. While responding to a hazardous material emergency;
67 d. While performing rescue activity;
68 e. While providing emergency medical services;
69 f. While performing disaster relief activity;
70 g. While otherwise engaging in emergency response activity;
71 or
72 h. While engaging in a training exercise related to any of
73 the events or activities enumerated in this subparagraph if the
74 training has been authorized by the employing entity.
75
76 A heart attack or stroke that causes death or causes an injury
77 resulting in death must occur within 24 hours after an event or
78 activity enumerated in this subparagraph and must be directly
79 and proximately caused by the event or activity in order to be
80 considered as having occurred in the line of duty.
81 Section 3. Construction.—
82 (1) The revisions to s. 196.081, Florida Statutes, made by
83 this act operate prospectively to the 2013 tax roll and do not
84 provide a basis for relief from an assessment of taxes not paid
85 or create a right to a refund of taxes paid before January 1,
86 2013.
87 (2) The provisions of s. 196.081(5), Florida Statutes, as
88 created by this act apply to the homestead exemption of the
89 surviving spouse of a first responder whose deaths occurs
90 before, on, or after the effective date of this act.
91 Section 3. Effective July 1, 2012, the sum of $100,302 in
92 nonrecurring funds is appropriated from the General Revenue Fund
93 to the Department of State for purposes of publishing, as
94 required under s. 5(d), Article XI of the State Constitution,
95 the proposed constitutional amendment contained in Senate Joint
96 Resolution 1056, or a similar joint resolution having
97 substantially the same specific intent and purpose.
98 Section 4. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
99 act, this act shall take effect on the same date that Senate
100 Joint Resolution 1056, or a similar joint resolution having
101 substantially the same specific intent and purpose, takes effect
102 if approved by the electors at the general election held in
103 November 2012 or at an earlier special election specifically
104 authorized by law for that purpose.
105
106 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
107 And the title is amended as follows:
108 Delete lines 4 - 15
109 and insert:
110 exempting from taxation the homestead property of the
111 surviving spouse of a first responder who dies in the
112 line of duty; providing definitions for “first
113 responder” and “line of duty”; providing construction
114 with respect the applicable tax roll and the date of
115 death; providing an appropriation; providing effective
116 dates, one of which is contingent.