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F I S C A L   I M P A C T   R E P O R T

 

 

 

SPONSOR:

Cordova

 

DATE TYPED:

01/21/02

 

HB

HJR 2

 

SHORT TITLE:

Veterans’ Property Tax Exemption

 

SB

 

 

 

ANALYST:

Chabot

 

APPROPRIATION

 

Appropriation Contained

Estimated Additional Impact

Recurring

or Non-Rec

Fund

Affected

FY02

FY03

FY02

FY03

 

 

 

 

 

$30.0

Non-Recurring

General Fund

 

 

 

$35.0

Recurring

General fund

 

 

SOURCES OF INFORMATION

 

LFC Files

Secretary of State

Veterans’ Service Commission (VSC)

 

SUMMARY

 

     Synopsis of Bill

 

This House Joint Resolution proposes amending Article 8, Section 5 of the Constitution and raises the property tax exemption for honorably discharged veterans from $2,000 to $4,000 by calendar year 2006.  The exemption is raised $500 each year beginning in 2003 until the $4,000 exemption is reached in 2006.  The amendment is to be included on the next general election or any special election for approval or rejection.

 

     Significant Issues

 

The veterans’ property tax exemption was established in 1986 for honorably discharged veterans who had served during a period of armed conflict recognized by the United States Department of Veterans’ Affairs.  Examples are World War II, Korea, Viet Nam, Grenada, and the Gulf War.  These all had specific dates and, to qualify for the exemption, veterans had to have served during at least one of the specific periods.  Those entering and leaving the military outside the specified time periods were not eligible for the exemption.  This amendment would make all honorably discharged veterans eligible for the property tax exemption.

 

The Secretary of State reports that $30.0 would be needed to finance the election on the amendment and make required changes to statute if the amendment is passed.

 

If the amendment is approved by the voters, VSC states they would need 2.0 FTE and $35.0 in recurring appropriations to handle the workload associated with changing the eligibility requirements to obtain a veterans’ exemption certificate.

 

FISCAL IMPLICATIONS

 

If passed by the voters, this amendment would have an impact on property tax revenues to local taxing authorities; however, it is not possible to quantify the impact because the number of eligible veterans that may request exemption are not known.

 

ADMINISTRATIVE IMPLICATIONS

 

VSC and county treasures would have additional workload in processing veteran exemption certificates.

 

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