HB6074 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB096 15991 HLH 31236 b

96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2009 and 2010
HB6074

Introduced 2/11/2010, by Rep. Rosemary Mulligan

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

35 ILCS 200/15-178 new

Amends the Property Tax Code. Creates a surviving spouse homestead exemption for property that is owned and occupied by a person who (i) is a surviving spouse who has not remarried during the taxable year, (ii) has a household income of less than $60,000, and (iii) is liable for paying real estate taxes on the property. Provides that the maximum amount of the reduction is $2,000 for the surviving spouse and an additional $1,000 for each dependent child of the surviving spouse. Effective immediately.

CORRECTIONAL BUDGET AND IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning revenue.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by adding Section 15-178 as follows:

(35 ILCS 200/15-178 new)

Sec. 15-178. Surviving spouse homestead exemption. Beginning in taxable year 2010, an annual homestead exemption limited, except as otherwise provided in this Section for land improved with an apartment building or a life care facility, to a maximum reduction set forth in this Section from the property's value, as equalized or assessed by the Department, is granted for property that is occupied as a residence by a person who (i) is a surviving spouse who has not remarried during the taxable year, (ii) has a household income, as defined in the Senior Citizens and Disabled Persons Property Tax Relief and Pharmaceutical Assistance Act, of less than $60,000, and (iii) is liable for paying real estate taxes on the property. The maximum reduction shall be $2,000 for the surviving spouse and an additional $1,000 for each dependent child of the surviving spouse who occupies the property as a primary residence.

For land improved with an apartment building or a life care facility owned and operated as a cooperative, the maximum reduction from the value of the property, as equalized by the Department, shall be multiplied by the number of apartments or units occupied by a person who qualifies for an exemption under this Section and who is liable, by contract with the owner or owners of record, for paying property taxes on the property. In the case of an apartment building or a life care facility where a homestead exemption under this Section has been granted, the cooperative association or the management firm of the cooperative or facility shall credit the savings resulting from that exemption only to the apportioned tax liability of the owner or resident who qualified for the exemption. Any person who willfully refuses to so credit the savings shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. Under this Section, "life care facility" means a facility, as defined in Section 2 of the Life Care Facilities Act, with which the applicant for the homestead exemption has a life care contract as defined in that Act.

If an exemption is granted under this Section and the person qualifying subsequently becomes a resident of a facility licensed under the Assisted Living and Shared Housing Act or the Nursing Home Care Act, the exemption shall continue if the residence remains unoccupied but is still owned by the person qualified for the homestead exemption.

Application must be made during the application period in effect for the county in which the property is located. The assessor or chief county assessment officer may determine the eligibility of residential property to receive the homestead exemption provided by this Section by application, visual inspection, questionnaire, or other reasonable methods. The determination shall be made in accordance with guidelines established by the Department.

The exemption under this Section is in addition to any other homestead exemption provided in this Article 15.

Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon becoming law.