House Bill No. 6458
Public Act No. 21-84
AN ACT LOWERING THE AGE OF ELIGIBILITY FOR PROPERTY
TAX RELIEF FOR SENIOR CITIZENS AND ESTABLISHING A TASK
FORCE TO PROTECT SENIOR CITIZENS FROM FRAUD.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 12-170v of the general statutes is repealed and the
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2021, and
applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2021):
(a) For purposes of this section, "qualified taxpayer" means a person
who (1) in the calendar year preceding a claim for tax relief under this
section, was (A) sixty-five years of age or older, (B) the spouse of such
person, provided such spouse is domiciled with such person, or (C) a
surviving spouse sixty-two years of age or older of a person who had
qualified and was entitled to tax relief under this section at the time of
such person's death, provided such surviving spouse was domiciled
with such person at the time of the person's death; (2) occupies the real
property for which tax relief is sought as his or her home; (3) has been,
or his or her spouse has been, a resident of the state for at least one year
before applying for tax relief pursuant to this section and section 12-
170w; and (4) had taxable and nontaxable income in the tax year
preceding the date of application for relief under this section that was
not in excess of limits set forth in section 12-170aa, as adjusted annually. House Bill No. 6458
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[(a)] (b) Any municipality, upon approval of its legislative body may
provide that an owner of real property or any tenant for life or for a term
of years liable for property taxes under section 12-48 who [meets the
qualifications stated in this subsection] is a qualified taxpayer shall be
entitled to pay the tax levied on such property, calculated in accordance
with the provisions of subsection [(b)] (c) of this section for the first year
the claim for such tax relief is filed and approved in accordance with the
provisions of section 12-170w, and such [person] qualified taxpayer
shall be entitled to continue to pay the amount of such tax or such lesser
amount as may be levied in any year, during each subsequent year that
such [person meets such qualifications, and the surviving spouse of
such owner or tenant, qualified in accordance with the requirements
pertaining to a surviving spouse in this subsection] qualified taxpayer,
or any owner or tenant possessing a joint interest in such property with
such [owner] qualified taxpayer at the time of such [owner's] qualified
taxpayer's death and qualified at such time in accordance with the
requirements in this subsection, shall be entitled to continue to pay the
amount of such tax or such lesser amount as may be levied in any year,
as it becomes due each year following the death of such [owner]
taxpayer for as long as such [surviving spouse or] joint owner or joint
tenant is qualified in accordance with the requirements in this
[subsection] section. After the first year a claim for such tax relief is filed
and approved, application for such tax relief shall be filed biennially on
a form prepared for such purpose by the assessor of such municipality.
Any such [owner or tenant who is qualified in accordance with this
section and any such surviving spouse] qualified taxpayer or joint
owner or joint tenant surviving upon the death of such [owner or tenant]
qualified taxpayer, shall be entitled to pay such tax in the amount as
provided in this section for so long as such [owner or tenant or such
surviving spouse] qualified taxpayer or joint owner or joint tenant
continues to be so qualified. [To qualify for the tax relief provided in this
section a taxpayer shall meet all the following requirements: (1) On
December thirty-first of the calendar year preceding the year in which a House Bill No. 6458
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claim is filed, be (A) seventy years of age or over, (B) the spouse of a
person, seventy years of age or over, provided such spouse is domiciled
with such person, or (C) sixty-two years of age or over and the surviving
spouse of a taxpayer who at the time of such taxpayer's death had
qualified and was entitled to tax relief under this section, provided such
surviving spouse was domiciled with such taxpayer at the time of the
taxpayer's death, (2) occupy such real property as his or her home, (3)
either spouse shall have resided within this state for at least one year
before filing the claim under this section and section 12-170w, (4) the
taxable and nontaxable income of such taxpayer, the total of which shall
hereinafter be called "qualifying income", in the tax year of such
homeowner ending immediately preceding the date of application for
benefits under the program in this section, was not in excess of limits set
forth in section 12-170aa, as adjusted annually, evidence of which
income shall be submitted] A claimant for relief under this section shall
submit evidence of income to the assessor in the municipality in which
application for benefits under this section is filed in such form and
manner as the assessor may prescribe. The amount of any Medicaid
payments made on behalf of such [homeowner or the spouse of such
homeowner] claimant or such claimant's spouse shall not constitute
income. The income of the spouse of such [homeowner] claimant shall
not be included in the qualifying income of such [homeowner] claimant
for purposes of determining eligibility for tax relief under this section,
if such spouse is a resident of a health care or nursing home facility in
this state, and such facility receives payment related to such spouse
under the Title XIX Medicaid program. In addition to the eligibility
requirements prescribed in [this] subsection (a) of this section, any
municipality that provides tax relief in accordance with the provisions
of this section may impose asset limits as a condition of eligibility for
such tax relief.
[(b)] (c) The tax on the real property for which the benefits under this
section are claimed shall be the lower of: The tax due with respect to the House Bill No. 6458
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[homeowner's] qualified taxpayer's residence for the assessment year
commencing October first of the year immediately preceding the year
in which the initial claim for tax relief is made, or the tax due for any
subsequent assessment year. If title to real property is recorded in the
name of the [person or the spouse making a claim and qualifying under
this section] qualified taxpayer and any other person or persons, the
[claimant hereunder] qualified taxpayer shall be entitled to pay [the
claimant's] his or her fractional share of the tax on such property
calculated in accordance with the provisions of this section, and such
other person or persons shall pay the person's or persons' fractional
share of the tax without regard for the provisions of this section. For the
purposes of this section, a "mobile manufactured home", as defined in
section 12-63a, shall be deemed to be real property.
[(c)] (d) If any person with respect to whom a claim for tax relief in
accordance with this section and section 12-170w has been approved for
any assessment year transfers, assigns, grants or otherwise conveys
subsequent to the first day of October, but prior to the first day of
August in such assessment year the interest in real property to which
such claim for tax relief is related, regardless of whether such transfer,
assignment, grant or conveyance is voluntary or involuntary, the
amount of such tax relief benefit, determined as the amount by which
the tax payable without benefit of this section exceeds the tax payable
under the provisions of this section, shall be a pro rata portion of the
amount otherwise applicable in such assessment year to be determined
by a fraction the numerator of which shall be the number of full months
from the first day of October in such assessment year to the date of such
conveyance and the denominator of which shall be twelve. If such
conveyance occurs in the month of October the grantor shall be
disqualified for such tax relief in such assessment year. The grantee shall
be required within a period not exceeding ten days immediately
following the date of such conveyance to notify the assessor thereof, or
in the absence of such notice, upon determination by the assessor that House Bill No. 6458
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such transfer, assignment, grant or conveyance has occurred, the
assessor shall determine the amount of tax relief benefit to which the
grantor is entitled for such assessment year with respect to the interest
in real property conveyed and notify the tax collector of the reduced
amount of such benefit. Upon receipt of such notice from the assessor,
the tax collector shall, if such notice is received after the tax due date in
the municipality, no later than ten days thereafter mail or hand a bill to
the grantee stating the additional amount of tax due as determined by
the assessor. Such tax shall be due and payable and collectible as other
property taxes and subject to the same liens and processes of collection,
provided such tax shall be due and payable in an initial or single
installment not sooner than thirty days after the date such bill is mailed
or handed to the grantee and in equal amounts in any remaining,
regular installments as the same are due and payable.
(e) A municipality may, by vote of its legislative body, set a minimum
age for tax relief under this section that is older than sixty-five for an
otherwise qualified taxpayer. No municipality, which by vote of its
legislative body prior to October 1, 2021, limited tax relief under this
section to persons seventy years of age and older, shall be required to
take another vote unless it is seeking to lower the age of eligibility in
accordance with this section.
Sec. 2. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force to
study ways to protect senior citizens from fraud. Such study shall
include, but need not be limited to, the planning services available for
Medicaid applicants.
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members:
(1) Two appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives,
one of whom has expertise in fraud perpetrated against senior citizens
and one of whom has expertise in Medicaid planning for senior citizens; House Bill No. 6458
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(2) Two appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate;
(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of
Representatives;
(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate;
(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of
Representatives;
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate;
(7) The Commissioner of Aging and Disability Services, or the
commissioner's designee; and
(8) The Commissioner of Social Services, or the commissioner's
designee.
(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1),
(2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member
of the General Assembly.
(d) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall
be filled by the appointing authority.
(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from
among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule
the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty
days after the effective date of this section.
(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to aging shall
serve as administrative staff of the task force. House Bill No. 6458
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(g) Not later than January 1, 2022, the task force shall submit a report
on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committees
of the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to aging
and human services, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a
of the general statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date it
submits such report or January 1, 2022, whichever is later.