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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 341
February Session, 2022
LCO No. 2353
Referred to Committee on VETERANS' AFFAIRS
Introduced by:
(VA)
AN ACT CONCERNING PROPERTY TAX RELIEF FOR VETERANS
AND MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 12-170d of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 2
1, 2022): 3
(a) Beginning with the calendar year 1973 and for each calendar year 4
thereafter any renter of real property, or of a mobile manufactured 5
home, as defined in section 12-63a, which such renter occupies as his or 6
her home, who meets the qualifications set forth in this section, shall be 7
entitled to receive in the following year in the form of direct payment 8
from the state, a grant in refund of utility and rent bills actually paid by 9
or for such renter on such real property or mobile manufactured home 10
to the extent set forth in section 12-170e. Such grant by the state shall be 11
made upon receipt by the state of a certificate of grant with a copy of the 12
application therefor attached, as provided in section 12-170f, provided 13
such application shall be made within one year from the close of the 14
calendar year for which the grant is requested. If the rental quarters are 15
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occupied by more than one person, it shall be assumed for the purposes 16
of this section and sections 12-170e and 12-170f that each of such persons 17
pays his or her proportionate share of the rental and utility expenses 18
levied thereon and grants shall be calculated on that portion of utility 19
and rent bills paid that are applicable to the person making application 20
for grant under said sections. For purposes of this section and sections 21
12-170e and 12-170f, a married couple shall constitute one tenant, and a 22
resident of cooperative housing shall be a renter. To qualify for such 23
payment by the state, the renter shall meet qualification requirements in 24
accordance with each of the following subdivisions: (1) (A) At the close 25
of the calendar year for which a grant is claimed be sixty-five years of 26
age or over, or his or her spouse who is residing with such renter shall 27
be sixty-five years of age or over, at the close of such year, or be fifty 28
years of age or over and the surviving spouse of a renter who at the time 29
of his or her death had qualified and was entitled to tax relief under this 30
chapter, provided such spouse was domiciled with such renter at the 31
time of his or her death, or (B) at the close of the calendar year for which 32
a grant is claimed be under age sixty-five and eligible in accordance with 33
applicable federal regulations, to receive permanent total disability 34
benefits under Social Security, or if such renter has not been engaged in 35
employment covered by Social Security and accordingly has not 36
qualified for Social Security benefits but has become qualified for 37
permanent total disability benefits under any federal, state or local 38
government retirement or disability plan, including the Railroad 39
Retirement Act and any government-related teacher's retirement plan, 40
determined by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management to 41
contain requirements in respect to qualification for such permanent total 42
disability benefits which are comparable to such requirements under 43
Social Security; (2) shall reside within this state and shall have resided 44
within this state for at least one year or such renter's spouse who is 45
domiciled with such renter shall have resided within this state for at 46
least one year and shall reside within this state at the time of filing the 47
claim and shall have resided within this state for the period for which 48
claim is made; (3) shall have taxable and nontaxable income, the total of 49
which shall hereinafter be called "qualifying income", during the 50
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calendar year preceding the filing of such renter's claim in an amount of 51
not more than twenty thousand dollars, jointly with spouse, if married, 52
and not more than sixteen thousand two hundred dollars if unmarried, 53
provided such maximum amounts of qualifying income shall be subject 54
to adjustment in accordance with subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of 55
section 12-170e, and provided the amount of any Medicaid payments 56
made on behalf of, and any veterans disability benefits paid to, the 57
renter or the spouse of the renter shall not constitute income; and (4) 58
shall not have received financial aid or subsidy from federal, state, 59
county or municipal funds, excluding Social Security receipts, 60
emergency energy assistance under any state program, emergency 61
energy assistance under any federal program, emergency energy 62
assistance under any local program, payments received under the 63
federal Supplemental Security Income Program, payments derived 64
from previous employment, veterans and veterans disability benefits 65
and subsidized housing accommodations, during the calendar year for 66
which a grant is claimed, for payment, directly or indirectly, of rent, 67
electricity, gas, water and fuel applicable to the rented residence. 68
Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivision (4) of this subsection, a 69
renter who receives cash assistance from the Department of Social 70
Services in the calendar year prior to that in which such renter files an 71
application for a grant may be entitled to receive such grant provided 72
the amount of the cash assistance received shall be deducted from the 73
amount of such grant and the difference between the amount of the cash 74
assistance and the amount of the grant is equal to or greater than ten 75
dollars. Funds attributable to such reductions shall be transferred 76
annually from the appropriation to the Office of Policy and 77
Management, for tax relief for elderly renters, to the Department of 78
Social Services, to the appropriate accounts, following the issuance of 79
such grants. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of section 80
12-170aa, the owner of a mobile manufactured home may elect to 81
receive benefits under section 12-170e in lieu of benefits under said 82
section 12-170aa, as amended by this act. 83
Sec. 2. Subsection (b) of section 12-170v of the 2022 supplement to the 84
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 85
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thereof (Effective October 1, 2022, and applicable to assessment years 86
commencing on or after October 1, 2022): 87
(b) Any municipality, upon approval of its legislative body may 88
provide that an owner of real property or any tenant for life or for a term 89
of years liable for property taxes under section 12-48 who is a qualified 90
taxpayer shall be entitled to pay the tax levied on such property, 91
calculated in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of this 92
section for the first year the claim for such tax relief is filed and 93
approved in accordance with the provisions of section 12-170w, and 94
such qualified taxpayer shall be entitled to continue to pay the amount 95
of such tax or such lesser amount as may be levied in any year, during 96
each subsequent year that such qualified taxpayer, or any owner or 97
tenant possessing a joint interest in such property with such qualified 98
taxpayer at the time of such qualified taxpayer's death and qualified at 99
such time in accordance with the requirements in this subsection, shall 100
be entitled to continue to pay the amount of such tax or such lesser 101
amount as may be levied in any year, as it becomes due each year 102
following the death of such taxpayer for as long as such joint owner or 103
joint tenant is qualified in accordance with the requirements in this 104
section. After the first year a claim for such tax relief is filed and 105
approved, application for such tax relief shall be filed biennially on a 106
form prepared for such purpose by the assessor of such municipality. 107
Any such qualified taxpayer or joint owner or joint tenant surviving 108
upon the death of such qualified taxpayer, shall be entitled to pay such 109
tax in the amount as provided in this section for so long as such qualified 110
taxpayer or joint owner or joint tenant continues to be so qualified. A 111
claimant for relief under this section shall submit evidence of income to 112
the assessor in the municipality in which application for benefits under 113
this section is filed in such form and manner as the assessor may 114
prescribe. The amount of any Medicaid payments made on behalf of, 115
and any veterans disability benefits paid to, such claimant or such 116
claimant's spouse shall not constitute income. The income of the spouse 117
of such claimant shall not be included in the qualifying income of such 118
claimant for purposes of determining eligibility for tax relief under this 119
section, if such spouse is a resident of a health care or nursing home 120
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facility in this state, and such facility receives payment related to such 121
spouse under the Title XIX Medicaid program. In addition to the 122
eligibility requirements prescribed in subsection (a) of this section, any 123
municipality that provides tax relief in accordance with the provisions 124
of this section may impose asset limits as a condition of eligibility for 125
such tax relief. 126
Sec. 3. Subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 12-170aa of the 2022 127
supplement to the general statutes is repealed and the following is 128
substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022, and applicable to 129
assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2022): 130
(b) (1) The program established by this section shall provide for a 131
reduction in property tax, except in the case of benefits payable as a 132
grant under certain circumstances in accordance with provisions in 133
subsection (j) of this section, applicable to the assessed value of certain 134
real property, determined in accordance with subsection (c) of this 135
section, for any (A) owner of real property, including any owner of real 136
property held in trust for such owner, provided such owner or such 137
owner and such owner's spouse are the grantor and beneficiary of such 138
trust, (B) tenant for life or tenant for a term of years liable for property 139
tax under section 12-48, or (C) resident of a multiple-dwelling complex 140
under certain contractual conditions as provided in said subsection (j) 141
of this section, who (i) at the close of the preceding calendar year has 142
attained age sixty-five or over, or whose spouse domiciled with such 143
homeowner, has attained age sixty-five or over at the close of the 144
preceding calendar year, or is fifty years of age or over and the surviving 145
spouse of a homeowner who at the time of his death had qualified and 146
was entitled to tax relief under this section, provided such spouse was 147
domiciled with such homeowner at the time of his death or (ii) at the 148
close of the preceding calendar year has not attained age sixty-five and 149
is eligible in accordance with applicable federal regulations to receive 150
permanent total disability benefits under Social Security, or has not been 151
engaged in employment covered by Social Security and accordingly has 152
not qualified for benefits thereunder but who has become qualified for 153
permanent total disability benefits under any federal, state or local 154
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government retirement or disability plan, including the Railroad 155
Retirement Act and any government-related teacher's retirement plan, 156
determined by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management to 157
contain requirements in respect to qualification for such permanent total 158
disability benefits which are comparable to such requirements under 159
Social Security; and in addition to qualification under (i) or (ii) above, 160
whose taxable and nontaxable income, the total of which shall 161
hereinafter be called "qualifying income", in the tax year of such 162
homeowner ending immediately preceding the date of application for 163
benefits under the program in this section, was not in excess of sixteen 164
thousand two hundred dollars, if unmarried, or twenty thousand 165
dollars, jointly with spouse if married, subject to adjustments in 166
accordance with subdivision (2) of this subsection, evidence of which 167
income shall be required in the form of a signed affidavit to be submitted 168
to the assessor in the municipality in which application for benefits 169
under this section is filed. Such affidavit may be filed electronically, in 170
a manner prescribed by the assessor. The amount of any Medicaid 171
payments made on behalf of, and any veterans disability benefits paid 172
to, such homeowner or the spouse of such homeowner shall not 173
constitute income. The amount of tax reduction provided under this 174
section, determined in accordance with and subject to the variable 175
factors in the schedule of amounts of tax reduction in subsection (c) of 176
this section, shall be allowed only with respect to a residential dwelling 177
owned by such qualified homeowner and used as such homeowner's 178
primary place of residence. If title to real property or a tenancy interest 179
liable for real property taxes is recorded in the name of such qualified 180
homeowner or his spouse making a claim and qualifying under this 181
section and any other person or persons, the claimant hereunder shall 182
be entitled to pay his fractional share of the tax on such property 183
calculated in accordance with the provisions of this section, and such 184
other person or persons shall pay his or their fractional share of the tax 185
without regard for the provisions of this section, unless also qualified 186
hereunder. For the purposes of this section, a "mobile manufactured 187
home", as defined in section 12-63a, or a dwelling on leased land, 188
including but not limited to a modular home, shall be deemed to be real 189
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property and the word "taxes" shall not include special assessments, 190
interest and lien fees. 191
Sec. 4. Section 12-81l of the general statutes is repealed and the 192
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2022, and 193
applicable to assessment years commencing on or after October 1, 2022): 194
Whenever used in sections 12-81f, 12-81g, as amended by this act, 12-195
81i, 12-81j, 12-81ii and 12-81jj, "qualifying income" means, with respect 196
to any person making application for exemption from property tax as 197
provided under any of said sections, such person's total adjusted gross 198
income as determined for purposes of the federal income tax plus any 199
other income not included in such adjusted gross income, individually 200
if unmarried, or jointly with spouse if married, during the calendar year 201
ending immediately preceding the filing of a claim for any such 202
exemption, but does not include [veterans'] veterans disability 203
payments. For purposes of determining eligibility for any of such 204
exemptions, such qualifying income may not exceed fourteen thousand 205
dollars, if unmarried, or sixteen thousand dollars, jointly with spouse, if 206
married, provided in no event shall such maximum amounts of 207
qualifying income with respect to any such person be less than the 208
maximum amount of such qualifying income in the case of a married or 209
unmarried person, whichever is applicable, under subsection (b) of 210
section 12-170aa, as amended by this act, and in the event that such 211
maximum qualifying income under this section is less than the 212
comparable amount under [said] subsection (b) of section 12-170aa, as 213
amended by this act, for any assessment year, such amount under this 214
section shall be made equivalent to that under [said] subsection (b) of 215
section 12-170aa, as amended by this act, for purposes of determining 216
eligibility under this section for such assessment year. 217
Sec. 5. Subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 12-81g of the 218
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 219
thereof (Effective October 1, 2022, and applicable to assessment years 220
commencing on or after October 1, 2022): 221
(b) (1) Effective for the assessment year commencing October 1, 2013, 222
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and each assessment year thereafter, any municipality may, upon 223
approval by its legislative body or, in any town in which the legislative 224
body is a town meeting, by the board of selectmen, provide that, in lieu 225
of the additional exemption prescribed under subsection (a) of this 226
section, any person entitled to an exemption from property tax in 227
accordance with subdivision (20) of section 12-81, reflecting any increase 228
made pursuant to the provisions of section 12-62g, who has a disability 229
rating of one hundred per cent, as determined by the United States 230
Department of Veterans Affairs, shall be entitled to an additional 231
exemption from such tax in an amount equal to three times the amount 232
of the exemption provided for such person pursuant to subdivision (20) 233
of section 12-81, provided such person's total adjusted gross income as 234
determined for purposes of the federal income tax, plus any other 235
income not included in such adjusted income, excluding [veterans'] 236
veterans disability payments, individually if unmarried, or jointly with 237
spouse if married, during the calendar year ending immediately 238
preceding the filing of a claim for any such exemption, is not more than 239
twenty-four thousand dollars if such person is married or not more than 240
twenty-one thousand dollars if such person is not married. 241
Sec. 6. (Effective from passage) (a) There is established a task force to (1) 242
evaluate state property tax exemptions, abatements and other relief 243
granted to veterans, (2) make recommendations concerning whether 244
any such state veterans property tax relief should be adjusted to more 245
effectively align with the intent, at time of enactment, for such relief, and 246
(3) create a list of municipalities in the state that have enacted local 247
veterans property tax relief and specify the nature of such relief in each 248
such municipality. 249
(b) The task force shall consist of the following members: 250
(1) One appointed by the speaker of the House of Representatives; 251
(2) One appointed by the president pro tempore of the Senate; 252
(3) One appointed by the majority leader of the House of 253
Representatives; 254
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(4) One appointed by the majority leader of the Senate; 255
(5) One appointed by the minority leader of the House of 256
Representatives; 257
(6) One appointed by the minority leader of the Senate; and 258
(7) The Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management, or the 259
secretary's designee. 260
(c) Any member of the task force appointed under subdivision (1), 261
(2), (3), (4), (5) or (6) of subsection (b) of this section may be a member 262
of the General Assembly. 263
(d) All initial appointments to the task force shall be made not later 264
than thirty days after the effective date of this section. Any vacancy shall 265
be filled by the appointing authority. 266
(e) The speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro 267
tempore of the Senate shall select the chairpersons of the task force from 268
among the members of the task force. Such chairpersons shall schedule 269
the first meeting of the task force, which shall be held not later than sixty 270
days after the effective date of this section. 271
(f) The administrative staff of the joint standing committee of the 272
General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to military and 273
veterans' affairs shall serve as administrative staff of the task force. 274
(g) Not later than January 1, 2023, the task force shall submit a report 275
on its findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of 276
the General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to military 277
and veterans' affairs, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a 278
of the general statutes. The task force shall terminate on the date that it 279
submits such report or January 1, 2023, whichever is later. 280
Sec. 7. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2022) Any municipality may, by 281
ordinance, provide that any person claiming to be aggrieved by the 282
doings of the assessors of such municipality and who (1) is a member of 283
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the armed forces of the United States or of any state or of any reserve 284
component thereof, (2) has been called to active service in the armed 285
forces of the United States, and (3) is serving outside this state on the 286
final day on which an appeal to the board of assessment appeals may be 287
filed, shall be granted an extension of a period of time to be determined 288
by such municipality for the filing of any such appeal. Not later than 289
two weeks after adoption of any such ordinance, the chief executive 290
officer of such municipality shall send written notice to the Secretary of 291
the Office of Policy and Management that such municipality has 292
adopted such an ordinance. 293
Sec. 8. Section 12-111 of the 2022 supplement to the general statutes 294
is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 295
October 1, 2022): 296
(a) Any person, including any lessee of real property whose lease has 297
been recorded as provided in section 47-19 and who is bound under the 298
terms of a lease to pay real property taxes and any person to whom title 299
to such property has been transferred since the assessment date, 300
claiming to be aggrieved by the doings of the assessors of such town 301
may appeal therefrom to the board of assessment appeals. Such appeal 302
shall be filed in writing or by electronic mail in a manner prescribed by 303
such board on or before February twentieth. The appeal shall include, 304
but is not limited to, the property owner's name, name and position of 305
the signer, description of the property which is the subject of the appeal, 306
name, mailing address and electronic mail address of the party to be 307
sent all correspondence by the board of assessment appeals, reason for 308
the appeal, appellant's estimate of value, signature of property owner, 309
or duly authorized agent of the property owner, and date of signature. 310
The board shall notify each aggrieved taxpayer who filed an appeal in 311
the proper form and in a timely manner, no later than March first 312
immediately following the assessment date, of the date, time and place 313
of the appeal hearing. Such notice shall be sent no later than seven 314
calendar days preceding the hearing date except that the board may 315
elect not to conduct an appeal hearing for any commercial, industrial, 316
utility or apartment property with an assessed value greater than one 317
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million dollars. The board shall, not later than March first, notify the 318
appellant that the board has elected not to conduct an appeal hearing. 319
An appellant whose appeal will not be heard by the board may appeal 320
directly to the Superior Court pursuant to section 12-117a. The board 321
shall determine all appeals for which the board conducts an appeal 322
hearing and send written notification of the final determination of such 323
appeals to each such person within one week after such determination 324
has been made. Such written notification shall include information 325
describing the property owner's right to appeal the determination of 326
such board. Such board may equalize and adjust the grand list of such 327
town and may increase or decrease the assessment of any taxable 328
property or interest therein and may add an assessment for property 329
omitted by the assessors which should be added thereto; and may add 330
to the grand list the name of any person omitted by the assessors and 331
owning taxable property in such town, placing therein all property 332
liable to taxation which it has reason to believe is owned by such person, 333
at the percentage of its actual valuation, as determined by the assessors 334
in accordance with the provisions of sections 12-64 and 12-71, from the 335
best information that it can obtain, and if such property should have 336
been included in the declaration, as required by section 12-42 or 12-43, 337
it shall add thereto twenty-five per cent of such assessment; but, before 338
proceeding to increase the assessment of any person or to add to the 339
grand list the name of any person so omitted, it shall mail to such 340
person, postage paid, at least one week before making such increase or 341
addition, a written or printed notice addressed to such person at the 342
town in which such person resides, to appear before such board and 343
show cause why such increase or addition should not be made. When 344
the board increases or decreases the gross assessment of any taxable real 345
property or interest therein, the amount of such gross assessment shall 346
be fixed until the assessment year in which the municipality next 347
implements a revaluation of all real property pursuant to section 12-62, 348
unless the assessor increases or decreases the gross assessment of the 349
property to (1) comply with an order of a court of jurisdiction, (2) reflect 350
an addition for new construction, (3) reflect a reduction for damage or 351
demolition, or (4) correct a factual error by issuance of a certificate of 352
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correction. Notwithstanding the provisions of this subsection, if, prior 353
to the next revaluation, the assessor increases or decreases a gross 354
assessment established by the board for any other reason, the assessor 355
shall submit a written explanation to the board setting forth the reason 356
for such increase or decrease. The assessor shall also append the written 357
explanation to the property card for the real estate parcel whose gross 358
assessment was increased or decreased. 359
(b) If an extension is granted to any assessor or board of assessors 360
pursuant to section 12-117, the date by which a taxpayer shall be 361
required to submit a request for appeal to the board of assessment 362
appeals shall be extended to March twentieth and said board shall 363
conduct hearings regarding such requests during the month of April. 364
The board shall send notification to the taxpayer of the time and date of 365
an appeal hearing at least seven calendar days preceding the hearing 366
date, but no later than the first day of April. If the board elects not to 367
hear an appeal for commercial, industrial, utility or apartment property 368
described in subsection (a) of this section, the board shall notify the 369
taxpayer of such decision no later than the first day of April. 370
(c) If a municipality has provided for an extension period pursuant 371
to section 7 of this act, the date by which a taxpayer described in said 372
section shall be required to submit a request for appeal to the board of 373
assessment appeals shall be extended to the date of the last day of such 374
extension period and said board shall conduct hearings regarding such 375
requests during the month following such extension period. The board 376
shall send notification to the taxpayer of the time and date of an appeal 377
hearing at least seven calendar days preceding the hearing date, but not 378
later than the first day of such month. If the board elects not to hear an 379
appeal for commercial, industrial, utility or apartment property 380
described in subsection (a) of this section, the board shall notify the 381
taxpayer of such decision not later than the first day of such month. 382
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2022 12-170d(a)
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Sec. 2 October 1, 2022, and
applicable to assessment
years commencing on or
after October 1, 2022
12-170v(b)
Sec. 3 October 1, 2022, and
applicable to assessment
years commencing on or
after October 1, 2022
12-170aa(b)(1)
Sec. 4 October 1, 2022, and
applicable to assessment
years commencing on or
after October 1, 2022
12-81l
Sec. 5 October 1, 2022, and
applicable to assessment
years commencing on or
after October 1, 2022
12-81g(b)(1)
Sec. 6 from passage New section
Sec. 7 October 1, 2022 New section
Sec. 8 October 1, 2022 12-111
Statement of Purpose:
To (1) exclude veterans disability benefits from qualifying income when
determining eligibility for certain property tax relief, (2) establish a task
force to examine state property tax relief granted to veterans, and (3)
grant an extension, upon municipal approval, to certain military service
members for the filing of appeals to the board of assessment appeals.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
underlined.]