S-0571

AN ACT Relating to property tax exemptions for low-income persons; amending RCW 84.36.381 and 84.38.020; adding a new section to chapter 84.36 RCW; and providing a contingent effective date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 84.36 RCW to read as follows:

A person shall be exempt from any legal obligation to pay all or a portion of the amount of excess and regular real property taxes due and payable in the year following the year in which a claim is filed, and thereafter, in accordance with the following:

(1) The property taxes must have been imposed upon a residence which was occupied by the person claiming the exemption as a principal place of residence as of January 1st of the year for which the exemption is claimed: PROVIDED, That any person who sells, transfers, or is displaced from his or her residence may transfer his or her exemption status to a replacement residence, but no claimant shall receive an exemption on more than one residence in any year: PROVIDED FURTHER, That confinement of the person to a hospital or nursing home shall not disqualify the claim of exemption if the residence is temporarily unoccupied or if the residence is occupied by a spouse and/or a person financially dependent on the claimant for support;

(2) The person claiming the exemption must have owned, at the time of filing, in fee, as a life estate, or by contract purchase, the residence on which the property taxes have been imposed or if the person claiming the exemption lives in a cooperative housing association, corporation, or partnership, such person must own a share therein representing the unit or portion of the structure in which he or she resides. For purposes of this subsection, a residence owned by a marital community or owned by cotenants shall be deemed to be owned by each spouse or cotenant, and any lease for life shall be deemed a life estate;

(3) The amount that the person shall be exempt from an obligation to pay shall be calculated on the basis of combined disposable income, as defined in RCW 84.36.383. If the person claiming the exemption was retired for two months or more of the preceding year, the combined disposable income of such person shall be calculated by multiplying the average monthly combined disposable income of such person during the months such person was retired by twelve;

(4)(a) A person who otherwise qualifies under this section and has a combined disposable income of eighteen thousand dollars or less shall be exempt from all excess property taxes; and

(b)(i) A person who otherwise qualifies under this section and has a combined disposable income of fourteen thousand dollars or less but greater than twelve thousand dollars shall be exempt from all regular property taxes on the greater of twenty-four thousand dollars or thirty percent of the valuation of his or her residence, but not to exceed forty thousand dollars of the valuation of his or her residence; or

(ii) A person who otherwise qualifies under this section and has a combined disposable income of twelve thousand dollars or less shall be exempt from all regular property taxes on the greater of twenty-eight thousand dollars or fifty percent of the valuation of his or her residence.

Sec. 2. RCW 84.36.381 and 1987 c 301 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(3) The person claiming the exemption must have been sixty-one years of age or older on January 1st of the year in which the exemption claim is filed, or must have been, at the time of filing, retired from regular gainful employment by reason of physical disability: PROVIDED, That any surviving spouse of a person who was receiving an exemption at the time of the person's death shall qualify if the surviving spouse is fifty-seven years of age or older and otherwise meets the requirements of this section;

(4) The amount that the person shall be exempt from an obligation to pay shall be calculated on the basis of combined disposable income, as defined in RCW 84.36.383. If the person claiming the exemption was retired for two months or more of the preceding year, the combined disposable income of such person shall be calculated by multiplying the average monthly combined disposable income of such person during the months such person was retired by twelve((.));

(5)(a) A person who otherwise qualifies under this section and has a combined disposable income of ((~~eighteen~~)) thirty thousand dollars or less shall be exempt from all excess property taxes; and

(b)(i) A person who otherwise qualifies under this section and has a combined disposable income of ((~~fourteen~~)) twenty-three thousand dollars or less but greater than ((~~twelve~~)) twenty thousand dollars shall be exempt from all regular property taxes on the greater of ((~~twenty-four~~)) forty thousand dollars or thirty percent of the valuation of his or her residence, but not to exceed ((~~forty~~)) seventy thousand dollars of the valuation of his or her residence; or

(ii) A person who otherwise qualifies under this section and has a combined disposable income of ((~~twelve~~)) twenty thousand dollars or less shall be exempt from all regular property taxes on the greater of ((~~twenty-eight~~)) fifty thousand dollars or fifty percent of the valuation of his or her residence.

Sec. 3. RCW 84.38.020 and 1984 c 220 s 20 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, the following words and phrases as hereinafter used in this chapter shall have the following meanings:

(1) "Claimant" means a person who is receiving a property tax exemption under RCW 84.36.381 through 84.36.389 or section 1 of this act and who either elects or is required under RCW 84.64.030 or 84.64.050 to defer payment of the special assessments and/or real property taxes accrued on his or her residence by filing a declaration to defer as provided by this chapter.

When two or more individuals of a household file or seek to file a declaration to defer, they may determine between them as to who the claimant shall be.

(2) "Department" means the state department of revenue.

(3) "Equity value" means the amount by which the fair market value of a residence as determined from the records of the county assessor exceeds the total amount of any liens or other obligations against the property.

(4) "Special assessment" means the charge or obligation imposed by a city, town, county, or other municipal corporation upon property specially benefited by a local improvement, including assessments under chapters 35.44, 36.88, 36.94, 53.08, 54.16, 56.20, 57.16, 86.09, and 87.03 RCW and any other relevant chapter.

(5) "Real property taxes" means ad valorem property taxes levied on a residence in this state in the preceding calendar year.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. This act shall take effect if the proposed amendment to Article VII of the state Constitution authorizing property tax relief for low-income persons is validly submitted to and is approved and ratified by the voters at the next general election. If the proposed amendment is not so approved and ratified, this act is void in its entirety.