CSHB 67(FIN) am: "An Act relating to a mandatory exemption from municipal property taxes for certain college property, to a mandatory exemption from municipal property taxes for residences of certain widows or widowers, and to optional exemptions from municipal property taxes for property of certain fraternal organizations and for certain residences of law enforcement officers; and providing for an effective date."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 67(FIN) am 01 "An Act relating to a mandatory exemption from municipal property taxes for certain 02 college property, to a mandatory exemption from municipal property taxes for 03 residences of certain widows or widowers, and to optional exemptions from municipal 04 property taxes for property of certain fraternal organizations and for certain residences 05 of law enforcement officers; and providing for an effective date." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. AS 29.45.030(a) is amended to read: 08 (a) The following property is exempt from general taxation: 09 (1) municipal property, including property held by a public corporation 10 of a municipality, state property, property of the University of Alaska, property of a 11 private, nonprofit four-year college or university that is accredited by a regional 12 or national accrediting agency recognized by the Council for Higher Education 13 Accreditation or the United States Department of Education, or both, and [OR]
01 land that is in the trust established by the Alaska Mental Health Enabling Act of 1956, 02 P.L. 84-830, 70 Stat. 709, except that 03 (A) a private leasehold, contract, or other interest in the 04 property is taxable to the extent of the interest; however, an interest created by 05 a nonexclusive use agreement between the Alaska Industrial Development and 06 Export Authority and a user of an integrated transportation and port facility 07 owned by the authority and initially placed in service before January 1, 1999, 08 is taxable only to the extent of, and for the value associated with, those specific 09 improvements used for lodging purposes; 10 (B) notwithstanding any other provision of law, property 11 acquired by an agency, corporation, or other entity of the state through 12 foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure and retained as an investment of a 13 state entity is taxable; this subparagraph does not apply to federal land granted 14 to the University of Alaska under AS 14.40.380 or 14.40.390, to other land 15 granted to the university by the state to replace land that had been granted 16 under AS 14.40.380 or 14.40.390, or to land conveyed by the state to the 17 university under AS 14.40.365; 18 (C) an ownership interest of a municipality in real property 19 located outside the municipality acquired after December 31, 1990, is taxable 20 by another municipality; however, a borough may not tax an interest in real 21 property located in the borough and owned by a city in that borough; 22 (2) household furniture and personal effects of members of a 23 household; 24 (3) property used exclusively for nonprofit religious, charitable, 25 cemetery, hospital, or educational purposes; 26 (4) property of a nonbusiness organization composed entirely of 27 persons with 90 days or more of active service in the armed forces of the United States 28 whose conditions of service and separation were other than dishonorable, or the 29 property of an auxiliary of that organization; 30 (5) money on deposit; 31 (6) the real property of certain residents of the state to the extent and
01 subject to the conditions provided in (e) of this section; 02 (7) real property or an interest in real property that is exempt from 03 taxation under 43 U.S.C. 1620(d), as amended; 04 (8) property of a political subdivision, agency, corporation, or other 05 entity of the United States to the extent required by federal law; except that a private 06 leasehold, contract, or other interest in the property is taxable to the extent of that 07 interest unless the property is located on a military base or installation and the 08 property interest is created under 10 U.S.C. 2871 - 2885 (Military Housing 09 Privatization Initiative), provided that the leaseholder enters into an agreement to 10 make a payment in lieu of taxes to the political subdivision that has taxing authority; 11 (9) natural resources in place including coal, ore bodies, mineral 12 deposits, and other proven and unproven deposits of valuable materials laid down by 13 natural processes, unharvested aquatic plants and animals, and timber. 14 * Sec. 2. AS 29.45.030(e) is amended to read: 15 (e) The real property owned and occupied as the primary residence and 16 permanent place of abode by a [(1)] resident who is (1) 65 years of age or older; (2) a 17 disabled veteran; [OR] (3) [RESIDENT] at least 60 years of age and [OLD WHO IS] 18 the widow or widower of a person who qualified for an exemption under (1) [OR (2)] 19 of this subsection; or (4) the widow or widower of a person who qualified for an 20 exemption under (2) of this subsection, is exempt from taxation on the first 21 $150,000 of the assessed value of the real property. A municipality may, in case of 22 hardship, provide for exemption beyond the first $150,000 of assessed value in 23 accordance with regulations of the department. Only one exemption may be granted 24 for the same property and, if two or more persons are eligible for an exemption for the 25 same property, the parties shall decide between or among themselves who is to receive 26 the benefit of the exemption. Real property may not be exempted under this 27 subsection if the assessor determines, after notice and hearing to the parties, that the 28 property was conveyed to the applicant primarily for the purpose of obtaining the 29 exemption. The determination of the assessor may be appealed under AS 44.62.560 - 30 44.62.570. 31 * Sec. 3. AS 29.45.050 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:
01 (s) A municipality may by ordinance ratified by the voters exclude or exempt 02 or partially exempt from taxation the property of a fraternal society, order, or 03 association that is exempt from federal taxes under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(8) or (10) 04 (Internal Revenue Code) if the property is used predominantly for one or more of the 05 following purposes: 06 (1) religious; 07 (2) charitable; 08 (3) scientific; 09 (4) literary; 10 (5) educational; or 11 (6) fraternal. 12 * Sec. 4. AS 29.45 is amended by adding a new section to read: 13 Sec. 29.45.053. Exemption for certain residences of law enforcement 14 officers. (a) A municipality may, by ordinance, provide for the designation of areas 15 within its boundaries that are eligible for tax exemptions on parcels of residential 16 property. The amount of the tax exemption provided in the ordinance may not exceed 17 $150,000 of the assessed value of a parcel. The exemption may be granted for a 18 parcel only if it is 19 (1) entirely within an eligible area; 20 (2) primarily used for residential purposes; and 21 (3) owned and occupied as the primary place of abode by a law 22 enforcement officer. 23 (b) Only one exemption may be granted for the same parcel under an 24 ordinance adopted under (a) of this section, and, if two or more individuals are eligible 25 for an exemption for the same parcel, the individuals shall decide between or among 26 themselves who is to receive the benefit of the exemption. 27 (c) The municipality that adopts the ordinance under (a) of this section may 28 not request state funds to cover any loss of revenue to the municipality caused by the 29 ordinance. 30 (d) The ordinance adopted under (a) of this section must define "law 31 enforcement officer" to include only some or all positions listed in the definition of
01 "peace officer" in AS 01.10.060 or in the definition of "police officer" in 02 AS 18.65.290. The ordinance may include other eligibility requirements for an area; 03 however, an eligible area must 04 (1) meet the eligibility requirements under a federal program of special 05 assistance for urban development, neighborhood revitalization, or law enforcement, 06 without regard to whether an application for the federal assistance on behalf of the 07 area has been made or whether the area has received or is receiving the federal 08 assistance; 09 (2) have a statistically higher occurrence of crime than the 10 municipality as a whole; the crime rate for an eligible area must be established in the 11 ordinance; or 12 (3) meet the requirements of (1) and (2) of this subsection. 13 (e) The municipality may establish a specific area as an eligible area for 14 purposes of this section only in the ordinance adopted under (a) of this section or by 15 adopting a separate ordinance. The municipality is not required to establish as an 16 eligible area for purposes of this section every area that meets the requirements of the 17 ordinance that is adopted under (a) of this section. 18 * Sec. 5. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 19 read: 20 DIRECTION TO REVISOR. The revisor of statutes shall harmonize the amendment 21 to AS 29.45.030(a) made in sec. 1 of this Act with the amendment made in sec. 3, ch. 117, 22 SLA 2000. 23 * Sec. 6. Sections 1, 2, and 5 of this Act take effect January 1, 2008.