| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to partial ad valorem tax abatement; |
| 3 | providing for partial abatement of taxes on residential |
| 4 | property rendered uninhabitable by a named tropical |
| 5 | system; providing application requirements; providing |
| 6 | procedures; providing duties of property appraisers in |
| 7 | determining uninhabitability; requiring the property |
| 8 | appraiser to issue a statement to the tax collector |
| 9 | specifying certain information under certain |
| 10 | circumstances; providing duties of tax collectors; |
| 11 | providing definitions; requiring the Legislature to |
| 12 | appropriate sufficient amounts to counties and |
| 13 | municipalities to hold them harmless from reductions in ad |
| 14 | valorem taxes; providing for future repeal; providing for |
| 15 | retroactive operation; providing an effective date. |
| 16 |
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| 17 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 18 |
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| 19 | Section 1. Abatement of taxes upon uninhabitability caused |
| 20 | by a named tropical system.-- |
| 21 | (1) If a house or other residential building or structure |
| 22 | on land is rendered uninhabitable due to a named tropical |
| 23 | system, upon application filed with the property appraiser, |
| 24 | taxes may be partially abated in the following manner: |
| 25 | (a) Application must be filed by the owner with the |
| 26 | property appraiser before March 1 following the tax year in |
| 27 | which the residential building or structure became uninhabitable |
| 28 | due to a named tropical system. Failure to file such application |
| 29 | before March 1 constitutes a waiver of any claim for partial |
| 30 | abatement under this section. |
| 31 | (b) The application must identify the property rendered |
| 32 | uninhabitable by a named tropical system and specify the date |
| 33 | the uninhabitability occurred and the number of months of lost |
| 34 | occupancy. |
| 35 | (c) The application must be accompanied by a certificate |
| 36 | of condemnation issued by the county or municipality in which |
| 37 | the structure is located and must be verified under oath under |
| 38 | penalty of perjury. |
| 39 | (d) Upon receipt of the application, the property |
| 40 | appraiser shall investigate the statements contained in the |
| 41 | application to determine whether the applicant is entitled to a |
| 42 | partial abatement under this section. If the property appraiser |
| 43 | determines that the applicant is entitled to such partial |
| 44 | abatement, the property appraiser shall issue an official |
| 45 | written statement to the tax collector which contains: |
| 46 | 1. The number of months the building or structure was |
| 47 | uninhabitable. In calculating the number of months, the property |
| 48 | appraiser shall consider each 30-day period as a month. Partial |
| 49 | 30-day periods of 15 days or less may not be considered, but |
| 50 | partial periods of 16 days to 29 days are to be calculated as a |
| 51 | 30-day period. |
| 52 | 2. The value of the building or structure before it became |
| 53 | uninhabitable, as determined by the property appraiser. |
| 54 | 3. Total taxes due on the building or structure as |
| 55 | reduced, based on the ratio that the number of months of lost |
| 56 | occupancy bears to 12. |
| 57 | 4. The amount of reduction in taxes. |
| 58 | (e) Upon receipt of the written statement from the |
| 59 | property appraiser, the tax collector shall reduce the taxes on |
| 60 | the property shown on the tax collection roll to the amount |
| 61 | shown by the property appraiser to be due. |
| 62 | (f) By May 1, the tax collector shall notify the board of |
| 63 | county commissioners and the Department of Revenue of the total |
| 64 | reduction in taxes for all property that received a partial |
| 65 | abatement of taxes under this section. |
| 66 | (g) As used in this section: |
| 67 | 1. "Uninhabitable" means that the building or structure |
| 68 | cannot be used for the purpose for which it was constructed |
| 69 | during a period of 60 days or more and has been condemned by the |
| 70 | county or municipality of address. |
| 71 | 2. "House or other residential building or structure" does |
| 72 | not include amenities not essential to use and occupancy, such |
| 73 | as detached utility buildings, bulkheads, fences, detached |
| 74 | carports, swimming pools, or other similar items or property. |
| 75 | (2) This section is repealed July 1, 2005. |
| 76 | Section 2. The Legislature shall appropriate to each |
| 77 | county and municipality an amount sufficient to hold the |
| 78 | counties and municipalities harmless from reductions in ad |
| 79 | valorem taxes resulting from implementing this act. |
| 80 | Section 3. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law |
| 81 | and shall operate retroactively to January 1, 2004, and shall |
| 82 | apply to ad valorem taxes levied in 2004. |