00 HOUSE BILL NO. 10 01 "An Act authorizing a borough to charge a city for costs of collecting certain taxes; 02 relating to a mandatory exemption from municipal property taxes for residences of 03 certain widows or widowers, and to optional exemptions from municipal property taxes 04 for property of certain fraternal organizations, for certain college property, and for 05 certain residential property; and providing for an effective date." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. AS 29.35.170(b) is amended to read: 08 (b) Except as provided in AS 29.45.700, taxes [TAXES] levied by a city in a 09 borough shall be collected by the [A] borough and returned in full to the levying city. 10 However, a borough may charge a city a fee for costs of collecting a tax that is not 11 also levied by a majority of the cities in the borough or levied by the borough on 12 an areawide basis. This subsection applies to home rule and general law 13 municipalities. 01 * Sec. 2. AS 29.45.030(e) is amended to read: 02 (e) The real property owned and occupied as the primary residence and 03 permanent place of abode by a [(1)] resident who is (1) 65 years of age or older; (2) a 04 disabled veteran; [OR] (3) [RESIDENT] at least 60 years of age and [OLD WHO IS] 05 the widow or widower of a person who qualified for an exemption under (1) [OR (2)] 06 of this subsection; or (4) the widow or widower of a person who qualified for an 07 exemption under (2) of this subsection, is exempt from taxation on the first 08 $150,000 of the assessed value of the real property. A municipality may, in case of 09 hardship, provide for exemption beyond the first $150,000 of assessed value in 10 accordance with regulations of the department. Only one exemption may be granted 11 for the same property and, if two or more persons are eligible for an exemption for the 12 same property, the parties shall decide between or among themselves who is to receive 13 the benefit of the exemption. Real property may not be exempted under this subsection 14 if the assessor determines, after notice and hearing to the parties, that the property was 15 conveyed to the applicant primarily for the purpose of obtaining the exemption. The 16 determination of the assessor may be appealed under AS 44.62.560 - 44.62.570. 17 * Sec. 3. AS 29.45.050(a) is amended to read: 18 (a) A municipality may exclude or exempt or partially exempt residential 19 property from taxation by ordinance ratified by the voters at an election. An exclusion 20 or exemption authorized by this subsection may be applied with respect to taxes levied 21 in a service area to fund the special services. An exclusion or exemption authorized by 22 this subsection may not exceed the assessed value of $40,000 [$20,000] for any one 23 residence. 24 * Sec. 4. AS 29.45.050(b) is amended to read: 25 (b) A municipality may by ordinance 26 (1) classify and exempt from taxation 27 (A) the property of an organization not organized for business 28 or profit-making purposes and used exclusively for community purposes if the 29 income derived from rental of that property does not exceed the actual cost to 30 the owner of the use by the renter; 31 (B) historic sites, buildings, and monuments; 01 (C) land of a nonprofit organization used for agricultural 02 purposes if rights to subdivide the land are conveyed to the state and the 03 conveyance includes a covenant restricting use of the land to agricultural 04 purposes only; rights conveyed to the state under this subparagraph may be 05 conveyed by the state only in accordance with AS 38.05.069(c); 06 (D) all or any portion of private ownership interests in property 07 that, based upon a written agreement with the University of Alaska, is used 08 exclusively for student housing for the University of Alaska; property may be 09 exempted from taxation under this subparagraph for no longer than 30 years 10 unless the exemption is specifically extended by ordinance adopted within the 11 six months before the expiration of that period; 12 (E) property of a private, nonprofit four-year college or 13 university that is accredited by a regional or national accrediting agency 14 recognized by the Council for Higher Education Accreditation or the 15 United States Department of Education, or both, that is not subject to the 16 mandatory exemption described in AS 29.45.030(a)(3); however, 17 notwithstanding this exemption, the provisions of AS 29.45.030(a)(1)(A) 18 apply to this property; 19 (2) classify as to type and exempt or partially exempt some or all types 20 of personal property from ad valorem taxes. 21 * Sec. 5. AS 29.45.050 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 22 (t) A municipality may, by ordinance ratified by the voters, exclude or exempt 23 or partially exempt from taxation the property of a fraternal society, order, or 24 association that is exempt from federal taxes under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(8) or (10) 25 (Internal Revenue Code) if the property is used predominantly for one or more of the 26 following purposes: 27 (1) religious; 28 (2) charitable; 29 (3) scientific; 30 (4) literary; 31 (5) educational; or 01 (6) fraternal. 02 * Sec. 6. AS 29.45 is amended by adding a new section to read: 03 Sec. 29.45.053. Exemption for certain residences of law enforcement 04 officers. (a) A municipality may, by ordinance, provide for the designation of areas 05 within its boundaries that are eligible for tax exemptions on parcels of residential 06 property. The amount of the tax exemption provided in the ordinance may not exceed 07 $150,000 of the assessed value of a parcel. The exemption may be granted for a parcel 08 only if it is 09 (1) entirely within an eligible area; 10 (2) primarily used for residential purposes; and 11 (3) owned and occupied as the primary place of abode by a law 12 enforcement officer. 13 (b) Only one exemption may be granted for the same parcel under an 14 ordinance adopted under (a) of this section, and, if two or more individuals are eligible 15 for an exemption for the same parcel, the individuals shall decide between or among 16 themselves who is to receive the benefit of the exemption. 17 (c) The municipality that adopts the ordinance under (a) of this section may 18 not request state funds to cover any loss of revenue to the municipality caused by the 19 ordinance. 20 (d) The ordinance adopted under (a) of this section must define "law 21 enforcement officer" to include only some or all positions listed in the definition of 22 "peace officer" in AS 01.10.060 or in the definition of "police officer" in 23 AS 18.65.290. The ordinance may include other eligibility requirements for an area; 24 however, an eligible area must 25 (1) meet the eligibility requirements under a federal program of special 26 assistance for urban development, neighborhood revitalization, or law enforcement, 27 without regard to whether an application for the federal assistance on behalf of the 28 area has been made or whether the area has received or is receiving the federal 29 assistance; 30 (2) have a statistically higher occurrence of crime than the 31 municipality as a whole; the crime rate for an eligible area must be established in the 01 ordinance; or 02 (3) meet the requirements of (1) and (2) of this subsection. 03 (e) The municipality may establish a specific area as an eligible area for 04 purposes of this section only in the ordinance adopted under (a) of this section or by 05 adopting a separate ordinance. The municipality is not required to establish as an 06 eligible area for purposes of this section every area that meets the requirements of the 07 ordinance that is adopted under (a) of this section. 08 * Sec. 7. Section 2 of this Act takes effect January 1, 2010.