HB 0023

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to property tax exemptions; amending s.
3196.012, F.S.; defining the term "ex-service member";
4amending s. 196.081, F.S.; providing exemption for certain
5permanently and totally disabled veterans; providing a
6conforming cross reference; amending s. 196.24, F.S.;
7entitling disabled ex-service members and the surviving
8spouses of such persons to an exemption from taxation of
9the value of certain property under certain circumstances;
10providing for grandfathering persons currently receiving
11the exemption; providing an effective date.
12
13Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15     Section 1.  Subsection (20) is added to section 196.012,
16Florida Statutes, to read:
17     196.012  Definitions.--For the purpose of this chapter, the
18following terms are defined as follows, except where the context
19clearly indicates otherwise:
20     (20)  "Ex-service member" means any person who has served
21as a member of the United States Armed Forces on active duty or
22state active duty, a member of the Florida National Guard, or a
23member of the United States Armed Forces Reserve.
24     Section 2.  Subsections (1) and (2) of section 196.081,
25Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
26     196.081  Exemption for certain permanently and totally
27disabled veterans and for surviving spouses of veterans.--
28     (1)(a)  Any real estate that is owned and used as a
29homestead by a veteran who was honorably discharged with a
30service-connected total and permanent disability and for whom a
31letter from the United States Government or United States
32Department of Veterans Affairs or its predecessor has been
33issued certifying that the veteran is totally and permanently
34disabled is exempt from taxation, if the veteran is a permanent
35resident of this state on January 1 of the tax year for which
36exemption is being claimed or was a permanent resident of this
37state on January 1 of the year the veteran died.
38     (b)  Any real estate that is owned and used as a homestead
39by a veteran who, while a citizen of the United States, served
40as a member of the armed services of a nation that was an ally
41of the United States, was honorably discharged with a service-
42connected total and permanent disability, and for whom a letter
43from the government, or that government's veterans service
44agency, in whose armed services the veteran served has been
45issued certifying that the veteran is totally and permanently
46disabled, is exempt from taxation, if the veteran is a permanent
47resident of this state on January 1 of the tax year for which
48exemption is being claimed or was a permanent resident of this
49state on January 1 of the year the veteran died.
50     (2)  The production by a veteran or the spouse or surviving
51spouse of a letter of total and permanent disability required in
52paragraph (1)(a) from the United States Government or United
53States Department of Veterans Affairs or its predecessor before
54the property appraiser of the county in which property of the
55veteran lies is prima facie evidence of the fact that the
56veteran or the surviving spouse is entitled to the exemption.
57     Section 3.  Section 196.24, Florida Statutes, is amended to
58read:
59     196.24  Exemption for disabled ex-service member or
60surviving spouse; evidence of disability.--Any ex-service
61member, as defined in s. 196.012, who is a bona fide resident of
62the state, who was honorably discharged, and who has been
63disabled to a degree of 10 percent or more while serving during
64a period of wartime service as defined in s. 1.01(14), or by
65misfortune, is entitled to the exemption from taxation provided
66for in s. 3(b), Art. VII of the State Constitution as provided
67in this section. Property to the value of $5,000 of such a
68person is exempt from taxation. The production by him or her of
69a certificate of disability from the United States Government or
70the United States Department of Veterans Affairs or its
71predecessor before the property appraiser of the county wherein
72the ex-service member's property lies is prima facie evidence of
73the fact that he or she is entitled to the exemption. The
74unremarried surviving spouse of such a disabled ex-service
75member who, on the date of the disabled ex-service member's
76death, had been married to the disabled ex-service member for at
77least 5 years is also entitled to the exemption.
78     Section 4.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2004.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.