Florida Senate - 2022 SB 1748 By Senator Brodeur 9-01880-22 20221748__ 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to homestead property tax exemptions 3 for classroom teachers, law enforcement officers, 4 firefighters, child welfare professionals, and 5 servicemembers; amending s. 196.011, F.S.; specifying 6 the information that must be supplied annually to the 7 property appraiser by classroom teachers, law 8 enforcement officers, firefighters, child welfare 9 professionals, and servicemembers who qualify for a 10 specified exemption; creating s. 196.077, F.S.; 11 providing definitions; providing conditions under 12 which a classroom teacher, a law enforcement officer, 13 a firefighter, a child welfare professional, or a 14 servicemember may receive an additional homestead 15 property tax exemption; specifying the amount of the 16 homestead property tax exemption; providing 17 requirements for applying for and receiving an 18 exemption; specifying actions a property appraiser may 19 take if a taxpayer improperly claims an exemption; 20 providing penalties under certain conditions; 21 authorizing the Department of Revenue to adopt 22 emergency rules; providing applicability; providing a 23 contingent effective date. 24 25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 26 27 Section 1.Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and paragraph 28 (a) of subsection (9) of section 196.011, Florida Statutes, are 29 amended to read: 30 196.011Annual application required for exemption. 31 (1) 32 (b)The form to apply for an exemption under s. 196.031, s. 33 196.077, s. 196.081, s. 196.091, s. 196.101, s. 196.102, s. 34 196.173, or s. 196.202 must include a space for the applicant to 35 list the social security number of the applicant and of the 36 applicants spouse, if any. If an applicant files a timely and 37 otherwise complete application, and omits the required social 38 security numbers, the application is incomplete. In that event, 39 the property appraiser shall contact the applicant, who may 40 refile a complete application by April 1. Failure to file a 41 complete application by that date constitutes a waiver of the 42 exemption privilege for that year, except as provided in 43 subsection (7) or subsection (8). 44 (9)(a)A county may, at the request of the property 45 appraiser and by a majority vote of its governing body, waive 46 the requirement that an annual application or statement be made 47 for exemption of property within the county after an initial 48 application is made and the exemption granted. The waiver under 49 this subsection of the annual application or statement 50 requirement applies to all exemptions under this chapter except 51 the exemptions exemption under ss. 196.077 and 196.1995 s. 52 196.1995. Notwithstanding such waiver, refiling of an 53 application or statement shall be required when any property 54 granted an exemption is sold or otherwise disposed of, when the 55 ownership changes in any manner, when the applicant for 56 homestead exemption ceases to use the property as his or her 57 homestead, or when the status of the owner changes so as to 58 change the exempt status of the property. In its deliberations 59 on whether to waive the annual application or statement 60 requirement, the governing body shall consider the possibility 61 of fraudulent exemption claims which may occur due to the waiver 62 of the annual application requirement. The owner of any property 63 granted an exemption who is not required to file an annual 64 application or statement shall notify the property appraiser 65 promptly whenever the use of the property or the status or 66 condition of the owner changes so as to change the exempt status 67 of the property. If any property owner fails to so notify the 68 property appraiser and the property appraiser determines that 69 for any year within the prior 10 years the owner was not 70 entitled to receive such exemption, the owner of the property is 71 subject to the taxes exempted as a result of such failure plus 72 15 percent interest per annum and a penalty of 50 percent of the 73 taxes exempted. Except for homestead exemptions controlled by s. 74 196.161, the property appraiser making such determination shall 75 record in the public records of the county a notice of tax lien 76 against any property owned by that person or entity in the 77 county, and such property must be identified in the notice of 78 tax lien. Such property is subject to the payment of all taxes 79 and penalties. Such lien when filed shall attach to any 80 property, identified in the notice of tax lien, owned by the 81 person who illegally or improperly received the exemption. If 82 such person no longer owns property in that county but owns 83 property in some other county or counties in the state, the 84 property appraiser shall record a notice of tax lien in such 85 other county or counties, identifying the property owned by such 86 person or entity in such county or counties, and it shall become 87 a lien against such property in such county or counties. 88 Section 2.Section 196.077, Florida Statutes, is created to 89 read: 90 196.077Additional homestead exemption for classroom 91 teachers, law enforcement officers, firefighters, child welfare 92 professionals, and servicemembers. 93 (1)As used in this section, the term: 94 (a)Child welfare professional means a state employee 95 engaged in child welfare services, as defined in s. 402.40(2), 96 who holds a child welfare certification, as defined in s. 97 402.40(2). 98 (b)Classroom teacher means a staff member assigned the 99 professional activity of instructing K-12 students in courses in 100 classroom situations, including basic instruction, exceptional 101 student education, and career education. 102 (c)Firefighter has the same meaning as in s. 633.102. 103 (d)Full-time position has the same meaning as in s. 104 110.107. 105 (e)Law enforcement officer means a law enforcement 106 officer or correctional officer as those terms are defined in s. 107 943.10(1) and (2). 108 (f)Servicemember means a person that is serving as an 109 active duty member of the United States Armed Forces or as a 110 member of the Florida National Guard. 111 (2)A person who is employed on January 1 in a full-time 112 position as a classroom teacher, law enforcement officer, 113 firefighter, child welfare professional, or servicemember, has 114 the legal title or beneficial title in equity to real property 115 in this state and who in good faith makes the property his or 116 her permanent residence or the permanent residence of another or 117 others legally or naturally dependent upon him or her, and who 118 qualifies to receive the exemptions provided in s. 196.031(1), 119 is entitled to an additional exemption of up to $50,000 on the 120 assessed valuation greater than $100,000 and up to $150,000 for 121 all levies other than school district levies. 122 (3)A classroom teacher, law enforcement officer, 123 firefighter, child welfare professional, or servicemember who is 124 qualified to claim the additional homestead tax exemption as 125 provided in this section must file an annual application for 126 exemption with the property appraiser on or before March 1 of 127 the year for which the additional homestead tax exemption is 128 claimed. The application for the exemption must be made on a 129 form prescribed by the department and furnished by the property 130 appraiser. The form must require the classroom teacher, law 131 enforcement officer, firefighter, child welfare professional, or 132 servicemember to include or attach proof of employment in a 133 qualifying full-time position and other information necessary to 134 verify eligibility for the exemption. 135 (4)Receipt of the additional homestead exemption provided 136 for in this section shall be subject to the provisions of ss. 137 196.131 and 196.161, if applicable. 138 Section 3.(1)The Department of Revenue may, and all 139 conditions are deemed met, to adopt emergency rules pursuant to 140 s. 120.54(4), Florida Statutes, to administer this act. 141 (2)Notwithstanding any other provision of law, emergency 142 rules adopted pursuant to this section are effective for 6 143 months after adoption and may be renewed during the pendency of 144 procedures to adopt permanent rules. 145 Section 4.The amendments made by this act to s. 196.011, 146 Florida Statutes, and the creation by this act of s. 196.077, 147 Florida Statutes, first apply to the 2023 tax roll. 148 Section 5.This act shall take effect on the effective date 149 of the amendment to the State Constitution proposed by SJR ___ 150 or a similar joint resolution having substantially the same 151 specific intent and purpose, if such amendment to the State 152 Constitution is approved at the next general election or at an 153 earlier special election specifically authorized by law for that 154 purpose.