SCS CSHB 334(FIN): "An Act relating to a mandatory exemption for certain residences owned by a religious organization, to an exemption from and deferral of municipal property taxes for certain types of deteriorated property, and to an optional deferral of municipal property taxes on certain primary residences owned and occupied by individuals with incomes at or below federal poverty guidelines for the state."
00 SENATE CS FOR CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 334(FIN) 01 "An Act relating to a mandatory exemption for certain residences owned by a religious 02 organization, to an exemption from and deferral of municipal property taxes for certain 03 types of deteriorated property, and to an optional deferral of municipal property taxes 04 on certain primary residences owned and occupied by individuals with incomes at or 05 below federal poverty guidelines for the state." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. AS 29.45.030(b) is amended to read: 08 (b) In (a) of this section, "property used exclusively for religious purposes" 09 includes the following property owned by a religious organization: 10 (1) the residence of an educator in a private religious or parochial 11 school or a bishop, pastor, priest, rabbi, minister, or religious order of a recognized 12 religious organization; for purposes of this paragraph, "minister" means an 13 individual who is
01 (A) ordained, commissioned, or licensed as a minister 02 according to standards of the religious organization for its ministers; and 03 (B) employed by the religious organization to carry out a 04 ministry of that religious organization; 05 (2) a structure, its furniture, and its fixtures used solely for public 06 worship, charitable purposes, religious administrative offices, religious education, or a 07 nonprofit hospital; 08 (3) lots required by local ordinance for parking near a structure defined 09 in (2) of this subsection. 10 * Sec. 2. AS 29.45.050(o) is amended to read: 11 (o) A municipality may by ordinance partially or totally exempt all or some 12 types of deteriorated property from taxation for up to 10 years beginning on or any 13 time after the day substantial rehabilitation, renovation, demolition, removal, or 14 replacement of any structure on the property begins. A municipality may by ordinance 15 permit deferral of payment of taxes on all or some types of deteriorated property for 16 up to five years beginning on or any time after the day substantial rehabilitation, 17 renovation, demolition, removal, or replacement of any structure on the property 18 begins. However, if the entire ownership of property for which a deferral has been 19 granted is transferred, all tax payments deferred under this subsection are immediately 20 due and the deferral ends. Otherwise, deferred tax payments become due as 21 specified by the municipality at the time the deferral is granted [, OR, IF 22 OWNERSHIP OF ANY PART OF THE PROPERTY IS TRANSFERRED, ALL 23 TAX PAYMENTS ARE IMMEDIATELY DUE]. The amount deferred each year is a 24 lien on that property for that year. Only one exemption and only one deferral may be 25 granted to the same property under this subsection, and, if an exemption and a deferral 26 are granted to the same property, both may not be in effect on the same portion of the 27 property during the same time. An ordinance adopted under this subsection must 28 include specific eligibility requirements and require a written application for each 29 exemption or deferral. An application for a deferral must specify when payment of 30 taxes for each year of deferral will become due, together with an explanation of 31 the reasons for each proposed date for consideration by the municipality. In this
01 subsection, "deteriorated property" means real property that is commercial property 02 not used for residential purposes or that is multi-unit residential property with at least 03 eight residential units, and that meets one of the following requirements: 04 (1) within the last five years, has been the subject of an order by a 05 government agency requiring environmental remediation of the property or requiring 06 the property to be vacated, condemned, or demolished by reason of noncompliance 07 with laws, ordinances, or regulations; 08 (2) has a structure on it not less than 15 years of age that has 09 undergone substantial rehabilitation, renovation, demolition, removal, or replacement, 10 subject to any conditions prescribed in the ordinance; or 11 (3) is located in a deteriorating or deteriorated area with boundaries 12 that have been determined by the municipality. 13 * Sec. 3. AS 29.45 is amended by adding a new section to read: 14 Sec. 29.45.052. Tax deferral for primary residences. (a) A municipality may 15 by ordinance provide for the deferral of all taxes on property that is owned, in whole 16 or in part, by an individual 17 (1) who occupies and has occupied the property for at least 10 18 consecutive years as the individual's primary residence; and 19 (2) whose income is at or below federal poverty guidelines for the state 20 set by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. 21 (b) An individual must apply for each year that a deferral is sought and supply 22 proof of eligibility for the deferral for that year in accordance with requirements set 23 out in the ordinance that authorizes the deferral. Taxes for a year that are deferred do 24 not become payable until ownership of the property is transferred from the individual 25 who obtained the deferral. A municipality that provides for a deferral of property taxes 26 under this subsection may not impose interest on the taxes deferred between the time 27 the deferral is granted and the time the taxes become payable. 28 * Sec. 4. Section 2, ch. 8, SLA 1999, as amended by sec. 1, ch. 102, SLA 2002, and by sec. 29 4, ch. 140, SLA 2004, is repealed.