2000 Legislation
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HOUSE BILL NO. 428 – Property tax relief, owner defined

HOUSE BILL NO. 428

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Daily Data Tracking History



H0428...............................................by REVENUE AND TAXATION
PROPERTY TAX - CIRCUIT BREAKER - Amends existing law to redefine "owner"
for circuit breaker property tax relief purposes.
                                                                        
01/25    House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/26    Rpt prt - to Rev/Tax
02/08    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/09    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/11    3rd rdg - PASSED - 63-0-7
      AYES -- Alltus, Barraclough, Barrett, Bell, Bieter, Black, Boe,
      Bruneel, Callister, Chase, Cheirrett, Clark, Cuddy, Deal, Denney,
      Ellsworth, Field(13), Field(20), Gagner, Geddes, Gould, Hadley,
      Hansen(23), Henbest, Hornbeck, Jaquet, Jones, Judd, Kellogg, Kempton,
      Kendell, Kunz, Lake, Loertscher, Mader, Marley, McKague, Meyer,
      Montgomery, Mortensen, Moyle, Pearce, Pischner, Reynolds, Ridinger,
      Ringo, Robison, Sali, Schaefer, Sellman, Shepherd, Smith, Smylie,
      Stevenson, Stoicheff, Stone, Taylor, Tilman, Trail(Miller), Wheeler,
      Wood, Zimmermann, Mr Speaker
      NAYS -- None
      Absent and excused -- Campbell, Crow, Hammond, Hansen(29), Linford,
      Moss Pomeroy
    Floor Sponsor - Gagner
    Title apvd - to Senate
02/14    Senate intro - 1st rdg - to Loc Gov
02/24    Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/25    2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
03/24    3rd rdg - PASSED - 35-0-0
      AYES -- Andreason, Boatright, Branch, Bunderson, Burtenshaw, Cameron,
      Crow, Danielson, Darrington, Davis, Deide, Dunklin, Frasure, Geddes,
      Hawkins, Ingram, Ipsen, Keough, King-Barrutia, Lee, McLaughlin, Noh,
      Parry, Richardson, Riggs, Risch, Sandy, Schroeder, Sorensen, Stegner,
      Stennett, Thorne, Wheeler, Whitworth, Williams
      NAYS -- None
      Absent and excused -- None
    Floor Sponsor - Hawkins
    Title apvd - to House
03/27    To enrol
03/28    Rpt enrol - Sp signed
03/29    Pres signed
03/30    To Governor
    Governor signed
         Session Law Chapter 109
         Effective: 01/01/00

Bill Text


 H0428
                                                                        
                                                                        
  ||||              LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO             ||||
 Fifty-fifth Legislature                  Second Regular Session - 2000
                                                                        
                                                                        
                              IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
                                                                        
                                     HOUSE BILL NO. 428
                                                                        
                             BY REVENUE AND TAXATION COMMITTEE
                                                                        
  1                                        AN ACT
  2    RELATING TO THE CIRCUIT BREAKER PROPERTY TAX RELIEF; AMENDING SECTION  63-701,
  3        IDAHO CODE, TO FURTHER DEFINE THE TERM "OWNER"; DECLARING AN EMERGENCY AND
  4        PROVIDING RETROACTIVE APPLICATION.
                                                                        
  5    Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
                                                                        
  6        SECTION  1.  That  Section  63-701, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
  7    amended to read as follows:
                                                                        
  8        63-701.  DEFINITIONS. As used in this chapter:
  9        (1)  "Claimant" means a person who has filed a claim under the  provisions
 10    of  sections  63-701 through 63-710, Idaho Code. Except as provided in section
 11    63-702(2), Idaho Code, on January 1 of the year in which the claim was filed a
 12    claimant must be an owner of a homestead and be:
 13        (a)  Not less than sixty-five (65) years old; or
 14        (b)  A fatherless or motherless child under the age of eighteen (18) years
 15        of age; or
 16        (c)  A widow or widower; or
 17        (d)  A disabled person who is recognized as disabled by the  social  secu-
 18        rity  administration pursuant to title 42 of the United States Code, or by
 19        the railroad retirement board pursuant to title 45 of  the  United  States
 20        Code, or by the office of management and budget pursuant to title 5 of the
 21        United States Code; or
 22        (e)  A  disabled veteran of any war engaged in by the United States, whose
 23        disability is recognized as a service-connected disability of a degree  of
 24        ten  percent  (10%) or more, or who has a pension for nonservice-connected
 25        disabilities, in accordance with laws and regulations administered by  the
 26        United States veterans administration; or
 27        (f)  A  person  as  specified  in  42  USC 1701, who was or is entitled to
 28        receive benefits because he is known to have been taken by a hostile force
 29        as a prisoner, hostage or otherwise; or
 30        (g)  Blind.
 31        (2)  "Homestead" means the dwelling, owner-occupied by  the  claimant  and
 32    used as the primary dwelling place of the claimant and occupied by any members
 33    of  the  household  as their home, and so much of the land surrounding it, not
 34    exceeding one (1) acre, as is reasonably necessary for the use of the dwelling
 35    as a home. It may consist of a part of a multidwelling or multipurpose  build-
 36    ing  and  part  of the land upon which it is built. Homestead does not include
 37    personal property such as furniture, furnishings or appliances, but a manufac-
 38    tured home may be a homestead.
 39        (3)  "Household" means the claimant and any person or persons who live  in
 40    the  same  dwelling, and share its furnishings, facilities,  accommodations or
 41    expenses. The term includes any person owing a duty of support to  the  appli-
 42    cant pursuant to section 32-1002, Idaho Code, unless the person qualifies as a
 43    "nonhousehold  member"  pursuant  to  subsection (6) of this section. The term
                                                                        
                                           2
                                                                        
  1    does not include bona fide lessees, tenants, or roomers and boarders  on  con-
  2    tract.  "Household"  includes  persons  described in subsection (9)(b) of this
  3    section.
  4        (4)  "Household income" means all income received  by  all  persons  of  a
  5    household in a calendar year while members of the household.
  6        (5)  "Income" means the sum of federal adjusted gross income as defined in
  7    the  internal  revenue code, as defined in section 63-3004, Idaho Code, and to
  8    the extent not already included in federal  adjusted  gross  income,  alimony,
  9    support  money, income from inheritances, nontaxable strike benefits, the non-
 10    taxable amount of any  individual  retirement  account,  pension  or  annuity,
 11    (including  railroad retirement benefits, all payments received under the fed-
 12    eral social security act, state unemployment insurance laws, and veterans dis-
 13    ability pensions and compensation, excluding rollovers as provided in  section
 14    402  or  403  of the internal revenue code), nontaxable interest received from
 15    the federal government or any of its instrumentalities or a  state  government
 16    or any of its instrumentalities, worker's compensation and the gross amount of
 17    loss of earnings insurance. It does not include capital gains, gifts from non-
 18    governmental  sources  or  inheritances. To the extent not reimbursed, cost of
 19    medical care as defined in section 213(d) of the internal revenue code, incur-
 20    red by the household may be deducted from income. "Income"  does  not  include
 21    veterans  disability  pensions  received  by  a person described in subsection
 22    (1)(e) who is a claimant or a claimant's spouse, provided  however,  that  the
 23    disability pension is received pursuant to a service-connected disability of a
 24    degree  of  forty percent (40%) or more. Documentation of medical expenses may
 25    be required by the county assessor, board of equalization and state  tax  com-
 26    mission. "Income" shall be that received in the calendar year immediately pre-
 27    ceding  the  year  in which a claim is filed. Where a claimant does not file a
 28    federal tax return the claimant's federal adjusted gross income, for  purposes
 29    of  this  section,  shall  be  an  income equivalent to federal adjusted gross
 30    income had the claimant filed a federal tax return.
 31        (6)  "Nonhousehold member" means any nonspouse who lives in the claimant's
 32    dwelling for the purpose of providing  protective  oversight,  caregiving,  or
 33    personal  care  services to the claimant, or who is receiving disability bene-
 34    fits pursuant to subsection (1)(d) or (e) of this section, or who is over  age
 35    sixty-five  (65)  and lives in the claimant's dwelling and receives protective
 36    oversight, caregiving or personal care services provided by the claimant.
 37        (7)  "Occupied" means actual use and possession.
 38        (8)  "Owner" means a person holding title in fee simple or holding a  cer-
 39    tificate  of  motor vehicle title (either of which may be subject to mortgage,
 40    deed of trust or other lien) or who has retained or been granted a life estate
 41    or who is a person entitled to file a claim under section 63-702, Idaho  Code.
 42    "Owner"  shall  also  include any person who as grantor created a revocable or
 43    irrevocable trust and named himself as beneficiary of that trust, or who is  a
 44    partner  of  a  limited  partnership, member of a limited liability company or
 45    shareholder of a corporation which holds title in fee simple or holds  a  cer-
 46    tificate  of  motor  vehicle title and who has retained or been granted a life
 47    estate. "Owner" shall not include any person that otherwise occupies  property
 48    as  beneficiary  of  a  trust. "Owner" includes a vendee in possession under a
 49    land sale contract.  Any partial ownership shall be considered  ownership  for
 50    determining  qualification  for  property tax reduction benefits, however, the
 51    amount of property tax reduction under section 63-704, Idaho Code,  and  rules
 52    promulgated  pursuant  to section 63-705, Idaho Code, shall be computed on the
 53    value of the claimant's partial ownership. "Partial ownership," for  the  pur-
 54    poses  of  this section, means any one (1) person's ownership when property is
 55    owned by more than one (1) person. A person holding either  partial  title  in
                                                                        
                                           3
                                                                        
  1    fee  simple  or  holding  a  certificate  of motor vehicle title together with
  2    another person but who does not occupy the dwelling as  his  primary  dwelling
  3    place, shall not  be considered an owner for purposes of this section, if such
  4    person  is  a cosignatory of a note secured by the dwelling in question and at
  5    least one (1) of the other cosignatories of the note occupies the dwelling  as
  6    his  primary dwelling place. The combined community property interests of both
  7    spouses shall not be considered partial ownership. The proportional  reduction
  8    required  under  this  subsection shall not apply to community property inter-
  9    ests. Where title to property is held by a person who has died without  timely
 10    filing a claim for property tax reduction, the estate shall be the "owner."
 11        (9)  (a) "Primary  dwelling  place" means the claimant's dwelling place on
 12        January 1 of the year for which the claim is made. The  primary   dwelling
 13        place  is the single place where a claimant has his true, fixed and perma-
 14        nent home and principal establishment, and to which whenever the  individ-
 15        ual is absent he has the intention of returning. A claimant must establish
 16        the  dwelling  to which the claim relates as his primary dwelling place by
 17        clear and convincing evidence or by  establishing  that  the  dwelling  is
 18        where the claimant resided on January 1 and:
 19             (i)   At least six (6) months during the prior year; or
 20             (ii)  The  majority  of  the  time the claimant owned the dwelling if
 21             owned by the claimant less than one (1) year; or
 22             (iii) The majority of the time after the claimant first occupied  the
 23             dwelling if occupied by the claimant less than one (1) year.
 24        (b)  Notwithstanding  the  provisions of paragraph (a) of this subsection,
 25        the property upon which the claimant makes application shall be deemed  to
 26        be  the  claimant's  primary  dwelling  place if the claimant is otherwise
 27        qualified and resides in a care facility and does not allow  the  property
 28        upon  which  the  claimant  has made application to be occupied by persons
 29        paying a consideration to occupy the dwelling.  A  claimant's  spouse  who
 30        resides  in  a  care  facility shall be deemed to reside at the claimant's
 31        primary dwelling place and to be a part of  the  claimant's  household.  A
 32        care  facility  is a hospital, skilled nursing facility, intermediate care
 33        facility or intermediate  care  facility  for  the  mentally  retarded  as
 34        defined  in  section 39-1301, Idaho Code, or a facility as defined in sec-
 35        tion 39-3302(16), Idaho Code, or a dwelling other than the  one  (1)  upon
 36        which  the  applicant  makes application where a claimant who is unable to
 37        reside in the dwelling upon  which  the  application  is  made  lives  and
 38        receives help in daily living, protection and security.
                                                                        
 39        SECTION  2.  An  emergency  existing  therefor,  which emergency is hereby
 40    declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its
 41    passage and approval, and retroactively to January 1, 2000.

Statement of Purpose / Fiscal Impact


                      STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
                            R309439

This purpose of this legislation is to clarify the definition of 
ownership for the purpose of applying for an exemption. This 
legislation amends the definition of "owner" to state that a person 
holding partial title to a property, but whom does not occupy the 
property is not classified as an owner of the property for the 
purposes of applying for an exemption. For example, a parent may 
co-sign on a home for their child in order for the child to qualify 
for the loan on the property. Under current law, the child would 
only qualify for half of the full 50/50 Homeowner's Exemption, 
creating a tremendous inequity in the application of the 50/50 
Homeowner's Exemption.  The amendments as presented in this 
legislation would remedy that technical problem.

                           FISCAL NOTE

The fiscal impact to local School  Districts would be a loss of 
$125,000. There would be $100,000 from the General Fund to reimburse 
"Circuit Breaker" expenditures. 

Contact: Alex LaBeau, 
Idaho Association of Realtors
Phone: 342-3585

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/ FISCAL IMPACT                  Bill No.  H 428