ASSEMBLY, No. 942

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel

PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 1996 SESSION

By Assemblyman FELICE

An Act concerning the exemption from taxation of the increase in valuation of certain property due to improvements designed to facilitate the use of property by disabled persons and supplementing chapter 4 of Title 54 of the Revised Statutes.

    Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

    1. For the purposes of this act: "Exemption" means all or any portion of the assessed value of an improvement not increasing the assessed value of a property due to the approval by the assessor of an application filed pursuant to section 5 of this act;

    "Improvement" means a physical change in an existing dwelling house and connecting accessways, other than ordinary painting, repairs and replacement of maintenance items, which is designed to facilitate the use and accessibility of the dwelling house by a permanently and totally disabled person pursuant to the provisions of this act;

    "Permanently and totally disabled" means total and permanent inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical impairment, pursuant to the provisions of the federal Social Security Act. For purposes of this act, "permanently and totally disabled" also includes "blindness." "Blindness" means central visual acuity of 20/200 or less in the better eye with the use of a correcting lens. An eye which is accompanied by a limitation in the fields of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than 20 degrees shall be considered as having a central visual acuity or 20/200 or less.

    "Pretax year" means the calendar year immediately preceding the "tax year";

    "Qualified resident" means a resident: who is permanently and totally disabled and an owner of real property upon which a dwelling house is located in which he resides, or who is an owner of real property upon which a dwelling house is located in which he resides and has a permanently and totally disabled member of his household residing therein who is a spouse or qualified dependent for federal income tax purposes;

    "Resident" means one legally domiciled within the State of New Jersey for a period of one year immediately preceding October 1 of the pretax year. Mere seasonal or temporary residence within the State, of whatever duration, shall not constitute domicile within the State for the purposes of this act. Absence from this State for a period of 12 months shall be prima facie evidence of abandonment of domicile in this State. The burden of establishing legal domicile within the State shall be upon the claimant; and

    "Tax year" means the calendar year in which the general property tax is due and payable.

    2. Any qualified resident shall be entitled annually, on proper application being made therefor, to an exemption from taxation of the increase in the valuation of real property upon which a dwelling house is located which results from improvements thereto designed to facilitate the use and accessibility of the dwelling house by a permanently and totally disabled person who is the owner and resident of the house or who is a member of the owner's household and resides therein who is a spouse or qualified dependent for federal income tax purposes.

    3. The transference of the title to the property for which an exemption has been approved pursuant to this act to the surviving spouse of a deceased qualified resident or to any other person shall not affect the continuance of the exemption so long as the permanently and totally disabled person shall remain a resident of the dwelling house.

    4. No exemption, as provided herein, shall be allowed except upon written application therefor, which application shall be on a form prescribed by the Director of the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury and provided for the use of qualified residents hereunder by the governing body of the municipality constituting the taxing district in which the application is to be filed and approved pursuant to this act.

    5. An application for an exemption hereunder shall be filed with the assessor of the taxing district on or before October 1 of the pretax year. If the assessor determines that the improvement or improvements are designed and necessary to facilitate the use and accessibility of the real property by the permanently and totally disabled resident, the assessor may approve the application for exemption. If the assessor determines that one or more of the improvements are not necessary in facilitating the use and accessibility of the property by the disabled resident, the assessor may approve the application for exemption for only those improvements the assessor determines as necessary in facilitating that use and accessibility. The assessor shall determine the assessed value of the improvements approved in the application and shall subtract that value from the total assessed valuation of the qualified resident's real property.

    6. In addition to any information required on the application form by the Director of the Division of Taxation, the qualified resident, in the application, shall establish that every fact essential to support a claim for an exemption hereunder exists on October 1 of the pretax year and that the applicant is:

    a. A citizen and resident of this State;

    b. The owner of the dwelling house; and

    c. A resident of the dwelling house. In the case that the disabled person is a member of the resident's household and not the owner, the owner shall establish that the owner and the disabled household member are residents of the dwelling house. In addition, the qualified resident shall include a physician's certificate or the Social Security Administration's certificate verifying the permanent and total disability.

    7. A claim having been filed with and approved by the assessor on and after the effective date of this act shall continue in force from year to year thereafter without the necessity for further claim so long as the qualified resident shall be entitled to an exemption hereunder. The assessor may, at any time, require the filing of a new application or any proof, as the assessor may deem necessary, to establish the right of the qualified resident to continuance of the exemption. It shall be the duty of every qualified resident to inform the assessor of a change in status or property which may affect the right to continuance of the exemption.

    8. The Director of the Division of Taxation may promulgate rules and regulations and prescribe forms necessary to implement this act.

    9. A person aggrieved by an action of the assessor may appeal to the county board of taxation or the tax court, as appropriate.

    10. This act shall take effect upon approval of Assembly Concurrent Resolution (.............), by the voters of this State and shall be applicable for the first full tax year occurring at least 90 days after that approval and to each tax year thereafter.

STATEMENT

    This bill authorizes a tax exemption for improvements to dwelling houses which are designed to facilitate the use and accessibility of the house for permanently and totally disabled persons residing on the property.

    The homeowner must file an application for exemption by October 1 of the pretax year and, if approved, the municipal assessor is directed to determine the assessed value of the improvements and subtract it from the total assessed value of the property. Once established, the eligibility for the exemption will remain in force for as long as the disabled person continues to reside in the dwelling and the dwelling is owned by a "qualified" permanent resident of the State.

    The bill would not take effect unless and until a constitutional amendment is approved by the voters.

Provides for a tax exemption on certain improvements to dwelling houses to facilitate their use by disabled persons.