00                             HOUSE BILL NO. 27                                                                          
01 "An Act relating to an optional exemption from municipal property taxes on certain                                      
02 residences of law enforcement officers."                                                                                
03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                                
04    * Section 1.  AS 29.45.050 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                          
05            (s)  A municipality may by ordinance designate an area within its boundaries                                 
06       as an eligible area for purposes of this subsection and exempt from taxation an amount                            
07       not to exceed $10,000 of the assessed value of real property within the area that is                              
08       owned and occupied as a permanent place of abode by a law enforcement officer.  The                               
09       ordinance must include a definition of "law enforcement officer."  A municipality that                            
10       adopts an ordinance under this subsection may not request state funds to cover any                                
11       municipal budget shortfall caused by the ordinance.  In this subsection, "eligible area"                          
12       means an area                                                                                                     
13                 (1)  that meets the eligibility requirements under a federal program of                                 
14       special assistance for urban development, neighborhood revitalization, or law                                     

01       enforcement, without regard to whether an application for the federal assistance on                               
02       behalf of the area has been made or whether the area has actually received or is                                  
03       receiving the federal assistance; or                                                                              
04                 (2)  with a statistically higher occurrence of crime than the municipality                              
05       as a whole.