98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
HB5538

 

Introduced , by Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
35 ILCS 200/18-173

    Amends the Property Tax Code. Expands the housing opportunity area abatement program to also include long-term project-based Section 8 contracts (currently only housing choice voucher contracts). Provides that the portions of the program relating to long-term project-based Section 8 contracts shall be administered by the Illinois Housing Development Authority. Defines "long-term project-based Section 8 contract" and "Section 8", redefines "housing opportunity area", and makes other conforming changes. Extends the housing opportunity area abatement program through tax year 2024 (currently tax year 2014). Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

HB5538LRB098 19074 HLH 54224 b

1    AN ACT concerning revenue.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing
5Section 18-173 as follows:
 
6    (35 ILCS 200/18-173)
7    Sec. 18-173. Housing opportunity area abatement program.
8    (a) For the purpose of promoting access to housing near
9work and in order to promote economic diversity throughout
10Illinois and to alleviate the concentration of low-income
11households in areas of high poverty, a housing opportunity area
12tax abatement program is created.
13    (b) As used in this Section:
14    "Housing authority" means either a housing authority
15created under the Housing Authorities Act or other government
16agency that is authorized by the United States government under
17the United States Housing Act of 1937 to administer a housing
18choice voucher program, or the authorized agent of such a
19housing authority that is authorized to act upon that
20authority's behalf.
21    "Housing choice voucher" means a tenant voucher issued by a
22housing authority under Section 8 of the United States Housing
23Act of 1937 and a tenant voucher converted to a project-based

 

 

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1voucher by a housing authority.
2    "Housing opportunity area" means a census tract where less
3than 8% 10% of the residents live below the poverty level, as
4defined by the United States government and determined by
5American Community Survey data in the year of the most recent
6federal decennial census United States census, that is located
7within a qualified township, except for census tracts located
8within any township that is located wholly within a
9municipality with 1,000,000 or more inhabitants. A census tract
10that is located within a township that is located wholly within
11a municipality with 1,000,000 or more inhabitants is considered
12a housing opportunity area if less than 12% of the residents of
13the census tract live below the poverty level.
14    "Housing opportunity unit" means a dwelling unit located in
15residential property that is located in a housing opportunity
16area, that is owned by the applicant, and that is rented to and
17occupied by a tenant who is participating in a housing choice
18voucher program administered by a housing authority, or whose
19unit is covered by a project-based Section 8 contract, as of
20January 1st of the tax year for which the application is made.
21    "Long-term project-based Section 8 contract" means
22project-based rental subsidies provided to a private owner of
23certain properties pursuant to a Housing Assistance Payment
24Contract with a term of 10 years or more under Section 8 of the
25United States Housing Act.
26    "Qualified units" means the number of housing opportunity

 

 

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1units located in the property with the limitation that no more
2than 2 units or 20% of the total units contained within the
3property, whichever is greater, may be considered qualified
4units. Further, no unit may be considered qualified unless the
5property in which it is contained is in substantial compliance
6with local building codes, and, moreover, no unit may be
7considered qualified unless it meets the United States
8Department of Housing and Urban Development's housing quality
9standards as of the most recent housing authority inspection or
10decent, safe, and sanitary standards as of the most recent Real
11Estate Assessment Center inspection.
12    "Qualified township" means a township located within a
13county with 200,000 or more inhabitants whose tax capacity
14exceeds 80% of the average tax capacity of the county in which
15it is located, except for townships located within a county
16with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, where a qualified township
17means a township whose tax capacity exceeds 115% of the average
18tax capacity of the county except for townships located wholly
19within a municipality with 1,000,000 or more inhabitants. All
20townships located wholly within a municipality with 1,000,000
21or more inhabitants are considered qualified townships.
22    "Section 8" means Section 8 of the United States Housing
23Act.
24    "Tax capacity" means the equalized assessed value of all
25taxable real estate located within a township or county divided
26by the total population of that township or county.

 

 

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1    (c) The owner of property located within a housing
2opportunity area who has a housing choice voucher contract or a
3long-term project-based Section 8 contract may annually apply
4for a housing opportunity area tax abatement. Owners with
5housing choice voucher contracts must submit applications to
6the housing authority that administers the housing choice
7voucher contract. Owners with long-term project-based Section
88 contracts must submit applications to the Illinois Housing
9Development Authority. with a housing authority may apply for a
10housing opportunity area tax abatement by annually submitting
11an application to the housing authority that administers the
12housing choice voucher contract. The application must include
13the number of housing opportunity units as well as the total
14number of dwelling units contained within the property. The
15owner must, under oath, self-certify as to the total number of
16dwelling units in the property and must self-certify that the
17property is in substantial compliance with local building
18codes. The housing authority shall annually determine the
19number of qualified units located within each property for
20which an application is made. The Illinois Housing Development
21Authority shall annually determine the number of qualified
22project-based Section 8 units within each property for which an
23application is made.
24    The housing authority and the Illinois Housing Development
25Authority shall establish rules and procedures governing the
26application processes and may each charge an application fee.

 

 

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1The county clerk may audit the applications to determine that
2the properties subject to the tax abatement meet the
3requirements of this Section. The determination of eligibility
4of a property for the housing opportunity area abatement shall
5be made annually; however, no property may receive an abatement
6for more than 10 tax years.
7    (d) The housing authority and the Illinois Housing
8Development Authority shall determine housing opportunity
9areas within their its service areas area and annually deliver
10to the county clerk, in a manner determined by the county
11clerk, a list of all properties containing qualified units
12within those that service areas area by December 31st of the
13tax year for which the property is eligible for abatement; the
14list shall include the number of qualified units and the total
15number of dwelling units for each property.
16    The county clerk shall deliver annually to a housing
17authority or to the Illinois Housing Development Authority,
18upon that housing authority's request, the most recent
19available equalized assessed value for the county as a whole
20and for those taxing districts and townships so specified by
21the requesting housing authority or the Illinois Housing
22Development Authority.
23    (e) The county clerk shall abate the tax attributed to a
24portion of the property determined to be eligible for a housing
25opportunity area abatement. The portion eligible for abatement
26shall be determined by reducing the equalized assessment value

 

 

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1by a percentage calculated using the following formula: 38% 19%
2of the equalized assessed value of the property multiplied by a
3fraction where the numerator is the number of qualified units
4and denominator is the total number of dwelling units located
5within the property.
6    (f) Any municipality, except for municipalities with
71,000,000 or more inhabitants, may annually petition the county
8clerk to be excluded from a housing opportunity area if it is
9able to demonstrate that more than 2.5% of the total
10residential units located within that municipality are
11occupied by tenants under the housing choice voucher program or
12the project-based Section 8 program. Properties located within
13an excluded municipality shall not be eligible for the housing
14opportunity area abatement for the tax year in which the
15petition is made.
16    (g) Applicability. This Section applies to tax years 2004
17through 2024 2014, unless extended by law.
18(Source: P.A. 96-685, eff. 8-25-09.)
 
19    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
20becoming law.