HOUSE BILL No. 6283 September 17, 2002, Introduced by Reps. Meyer, Cassis, Newell, Woronchak, Birkholz, Palmer, Ruth Johnson, Voorhees, Vander Veen, Richardville, Ehardt, Cameron Brown, Van Woerkom, Rocca, Caul, Pappageorge, DeRossett and Kooiman and referred to the Committee on Tax Policy. A bill to amend 1893 PA 206, entitled "The general property tax act," by amending sections 7cc, 7dd, 7u, 24c, 27d, and 120 (MCL 211.7cc, 211.7dd, 211.7u, 211.24c, 211.27d, and 211.120), sections 7cc, 7dd, and 24c as amended and section 27d as added by 1996 PA 476, section 7u as amended by 1994 PA 390, and section 120 as added by 1995 PA 74. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT: 1 Sec. 7cc. (1) AhomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE is exempt 2 from the tax levied by a local school district for school operat- 3 ing purposes to the extent provided under section 1211 of the 4 revised school code,Act No. 451 of the Public Acts of 1976,5being section 380.1211 of the Michigan Compiled Laws1976 PA 6 451, MCL 380.1211, if an owner of thathomesteadPRINCIPAL 7 RESIDENCE claims an exemption as provided in this section. 07067'02 FDD 2 1 Notwithstanding the tax day provided in section 2, the status of 2 property as ahomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE shall be determined 3 on the date an affidavit claiming an exemption is filed under 4 subsection (2). 5 (2) An owner of property may claim an exemption under this 6 section by filing an affidavit on or before May 1 with the local 7 tax collecting unit in which the property is located. The affi- 8 davit shall state that the property is owned and occupied as a 9homesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE by that owner of the property on 10 the date that the affidavit is signed. The affidavit shall be on 11 a form prescribed by the department of treasury. Beginning in 12 1995, 1 copy of the affidavit shall be retained by the owner, 1 13 copy shall be retained by the local tax collecting unit until any 14 appeal or audit period under this act has expired, and 1 copy 15 shall be forwarded to the department of treasury pursuant to sub- 16 section (4), together with all information submitted under sub- 17 section (22) for a cooperative housing corporation. Beginning in 18 1995, the affidavit shall require the owner claiming the exemp- 19 tion to indicate if that owner has claimed another exemption on 20 property in this state that is not rescinded. If the affidavit 21 requires an owner to include a social security number, that 22 owner's number is subject to the disclosure restrictions inAct23No. 122 of the Public Acts of 1941, being sections 205.1 to24205.31 of the Michigan Compiled Laws1941 PA 122, MCL 205.1 TO 25 205.31. 07067'02 3 1 (3) A husband and wife who are required to file or who do 2 file a joint Michigan income tax return are entitled to not more 3 than 1homesteadexemption UNDER THIS SECTION. 4 (4) Upon receipt of an affidavit filed under subsection (2) 5 and unless the claim is denied under subsection (6), the assessor 6 shall exempt the property from the collection of the tax levied 7 by a local school district for school operating purposes to the 8 extent provided under section 1211 ofAct No. 451 of the Public9Acts of 1976THE REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1211, 10 as provided in subsection (1) until December 31 of the year in 11 which the property is transferred or is no longer ahomestead12 PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE as defined in section 7dd. The local tax 13 collecting unit shall forward copies of affidavits to the depart- 14 ment of treasury according to a schedule prescribed by the 15 department of treasury. 16 (5) Not more than 90 days after exempted property is no 17 longer used as ahomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE by the owner 18 claiming an exemption, that owner shall rescind the claim of 19 exemption by filing with the local tax collecting unit a rescis- 20 sion form prescribed by the department of treasury. Beginning 21 October 1, 1994, an owner who fails to file a rescission as 22 required by this subsection is subject to a penalty of $5.00 per 23 day for each separate failure beginning after the 90 days have 24 elapsed, up to a maximum of $200.00. This penalty shall be col- 25 lected underAct No. 122 of the Public Acts of 19411941 PA 26 122, MCL 205.1 TO 205.31, and shall be deposited in the state 27 school aid fund established in section 11 of article IX of the 07067'02 4 1 state constitution of 1963. This penalty may be waived by the 2 department of treasury. 3 (6) If the assessor of the local tax collecting unit 4 believes that the property for which an exemption is claimed is 5 not thehomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE of the owner claiming the 6 exemption, effective for taxes levied after 1994 the assessor may 7 deny a new or existing claim by notifying the owner and the 8 department of treasury in writing of the reason for the denial 9 and advising the owner that the denial may be appealed to the 10 department of treasury within 35 days after the date of the 11 notice. The denial shall be made on a form prescribed by the 12 department of treasury. If the assessor of the local tax col- 13 lecting unit believes that the property for which the exemption 14 is claimed is not thehomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE of the 15 owner claiming the exemption, for taxes levied in 1994 the asses- 16 sor may send a recommendation for denial for any affidavit that 17 is forwarded to the department of treasury stating the reasons 18 for the recommendation. If the assessor of the local tax col- 19 lecting unit believes that the property for which the exemption 20 is claimed is not thehomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE of the 21 owner claiming the exemption and has not denied the claim, for 22 taxes levied after 1994 the assessor shall include a recommenda- 23 tion for denial with any affidavit that is forwarded to the 24 department of treasury or, for an existing claim, shall send a 25 recommendation for denial to the department of treasury, stating 26 the reasons for the recommendation. 07067'02 5 1 (7) The department of treasury shall determine if the 2 property is thehomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE of the owner 3 claiming the exemption. The department of treasury may review 4 the validity of exemptions for the current calendar year and for 5 the 3 immediately preceding calendar years. If the department of 6 treasury determines that the property is not thehomestead7 PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE of the owner claiming the exemption, the 8 department shall send a notice of that determination to the local 9 tax collecting unit and to the owner of the property claiming the 10 exemption, indicating that the claim for exemption is denied, 11 stating the reason for the denial, and advising the owner claim- 12 ing the exemption of the right to appeal the determination to the 13 department of treasury and what those rights of appeal are. The 14 department of treasury may issue a notice denying a claim if an 15 owner fails to respond within 30 days of receipt of a request for 16 information from that department. An owner may appeal the denial 17 of a claim of exemption to the department of treasury within 35 18 days of receipt of the notice of denial. An appeal to the 19 department of treasury shall be conducted according to the provi- 20 sions for an informal conference in section 21 ofAct No. 122 of21the Public Acts of 1941, being section 205.21 of the Michigan22Compiled Laws1941 PA 122, MCL 205.21. Within 10 days after 23 acknowledging an appeal of a denial of a claim of exemption, the 24 department of treasury shall notify the assessor and the trea- 25 surer for the county in which the property is located that an 26 appeal has been filed. Upon receipt of a notice that the 27 department of treasury has denied a claim for exemption, the 07067'02 6 1 assessor shall remove the exemption of the property and, if the 2 tax roll is in the local tax collecting unit's possession, amend 3 the tax roll to reflect the denial and the local treasurer shall 4 issue a corrected tax bill for previously unpaid taxes with 5 interest and penalties computed based on the interest and penal- 6 ties that would have accrued from the date the taxes were origi- 7 nally levied if there had not been an exemption. If the tax roll 8 is in the county treasurer's possession, the tax roll shall be 9 amended to reflect the denial and the county treasurer shall pre- 10 pare and submit a supplemental tax bill for any additional taxes, 11 together with any interest and penalties. For taxes levied in 12 1994 only, the county treasurer shall waive any interest and pen- 13 alties due if the owner pays the supplemental tax bill not more 14 than 30 days after the owner receives the supplemental tax bill. 15 Interest and penalties shall not be assessed for any period 16 before February 14, 1995. However, if the property has been 17 transferred to a bona fide purchaser before additional taxes were 18 billed to the seller as a result of the denial of a claim for 19 exemption, the taxes, interest, and penalties shall not be billed 20 to the bona fide purchaser, and the local tax collecting unit if 21 the local tax collecting unit has possession of the tax roll or 22 the county treasurer if the county has possession of the tax roll 23 shall notify the department of treasury of the amount of tax due 24 and interest through the date of that notification. The depart- 25 ment of treasury shall then assess the owner who claimed the 26homestead property taxexemption UNDER THIS SECTION for the tax 27 and interest plus penalty accruing as a result of the denial of 07067'02 7 1 the claim for exemption, if any, as for unpaid taxes provided 2 underAct No. 122 of the Public Acts of 19411941 PA 122, MCL 3 205.1 TO 205.31, and shall deposit any tax, interest, or penalty 4 collected into the state school aid fund. 5 (8) An owner may appeal a final decision of the department 6 of treasury to the residential and small claims division of the 7 Michigan tax tribunal within 35 days of that decision. An asses- 8 sor may appeal a final decision of the department of treasury to 9 the residential and small claims division of the Michigan tax 10 tribunal within 35 days of that decision if the assessor denied 11 the exemption under subsection (6), or, for taxes levied in 1994 12 only, the assessor forwarded a recommendation for denial to the 13 department of treasury under subsection (6). An owner is not 14 required to pay the amount of tax in dispute in order to appeal a 15 denial of a claim of exemption to the department of treasury or 16 to receive a final determination of the residential and small 17 claims division of the Michigan tax tribunal. However, interest 18 and penalties except as provided in subsection (7), if any, shall 19 accrue and be computed based on the interest and penalties that 20 would have accrued from the date the taxes were originally levied 21 as if there had not been an exemption. 22 (9) An affidavit filed by an owner fora homesteadTHE 23 EXEMPTION UNDER THIS SECTION rescinds all previous exemptions 24 filed by that owner for any otherhomesteadPROPERTY. The 25 department of treasury shall notify the assessor of the local tax 26 collecting unit in which the property for which a previous 27 exemption was claimed is located that the previous exemption is 07067'02 8 1 rescinded by the subsequent affidavit. Upon receipt of notice 2 that an exemption is rescinded, the assessor of the local tax 3 collecting unit shall remove the exemption effective December 31 4 of the year in which the property is transferred or is no longer 5 ahomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE as defined in section 7dd. The 6 assessor of the local tax collecting unit in which that property 7 is located shall notify the treasurer in possession of the tax 8 roll for a year for which the exemption is rescinded. If the tax 9 roll is in the local tax collecting unit's possession, the tax 10 roll shall be amended to reflect the rescission and the local 11 treasurer shall prepare and issue a corrected tax bill for previ- 12 ously unpaid taxes with interest and penalties computed based on 13 the interest and penalties that would have accrued from the date 14 the taxes were originally levied if there had not been an exemp- 15 tion for that year. If the tax roll is in the county treasurer's 16 possession, the tax roll shall be amended to reflect the rescis- 17 sion and the county treasurer shall prepare and submit a supple- 18 mental tax bill for any additional taxes, together with any 19 interest and penalties. However, if the property has been trans- 20 ferred to a bona fide purchaser, the taxes, interest, and penal- 21 ties shall not be billed to the bona fide purchaser, and the 22 local tax collecting unit if the local tax collecting unit has 23 possession of the tax roll or the county treasurer if the county 24 has possession of the tax roll shall notify the department of 25 treasury of the amount of tax due and interest through the date 26 of that notification. The department of treasury shall then 27 assess the owner who received thehomestead property tax07067'02 9 1 exemption UNDER THIS SECTION when the property was not a 2homesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE as defined in section 7dd for the 3 tax and interest plus penalty accruing, if any, as for unpaid 4 taxes provided underAct No. 122 of the Public Acts of 19415 1941 PA 122, MCL 205.1 TO 205.31, and shall deposit any tax, 6 interest, or penalty collected into the state school aid fund. 7 (10) An owner of property for which a claim of exemption is 8 rescinded may appeal that rescission with either the July or 9 December board of review in either the year for which the exemp- 10 tion is rescinded or in the immediately succeeding year. If an 11 appeal of a rescission of a claim for exemption is received not 12 later than 5 days prior to the date of the December board of 13 review, the local tax collecting unit shall convene a December 14 board of review and consider the appeal pursuant to this section 15 and section 53b. An owner of property for which a claim of 16 exemption is rescinded may appeal the decision of the board of 17 review to the residential and small claims division of the 18 Michigan tax tribunal within 35 days of that decision. 19 (11) If thehomesteadPROPERTY is part of a unit in a 20 multiple-unit dwelling or a dwelling unit in a multiple-purpose 21 structure, an owner shall claim an exemption for only that por- 22 tion of the total taxable value of the property used as the 23homesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE of that owner in a manner pre- 24 scribed by the department of treasury. If a portion of a parcel 25 for which the owner claims an exemption is used for a purpose 26 other than as ahomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE, the owner shall 27 claim an exemption for only that portion of the taxable value of 07067'02 10 1 the property used as thehomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE of that 2 owner in a manner prescribed by the department of treasury. 3 (12) When a county register of deeds records a transfer of 4 ownership of a property, he or she shall notify the local tax 5 collecting unit in which the property is located of the 6 transfer. 7 (13) The department of treasury shall make available the 8 affidavit forms and the forms to rescind an exemption, which may 9 be on the same form, to all city and township assessors, county 10 equalization officers, county registers of deeds, and closing 11 agents. A person who prepares a closing statement for the sale 12 of property shall provide affidavit and rescission forms to the 13 buyer and seller at the closing and, if requested by the buyer or 14 seller after execution by the buyer or seller, shall file the 15 forms with the local tax collecting unit in which the property is 16 located. If a closing statement preparer fails to provide 17homesteadexemption affidavit and rescission forms to the buyer 18 and seller, or fails to file the affidavit and rescission forms 19 with the local tax collecting unit if requested by the buyer or 20 seller, the buyer may appeal to the department of treasury within 21 30 days of notice to the buyer that an exemption was not 22 recorded. If the department of treasury determines that the 23 buyer qualifies for the exemption, the department of treasury 24 shall notify the assessor of the local tax collecting unit that 25 the exemption is granted and the assessor of the local tax col- 26 lecting unit or, if the tax roll is in the possession of the 27 county treasurer, the county treasurer shall correct the tax roll 07067'02 11 1 to reflect the exemption. This subsection does not create a 2 cause of action at law or in equity against a closing statement 3 preparer who fails to providehomesteadexemption affidavit and 4 rescission forms to a buyer and seller or who fails to file the 5 affidavit and rescission forms with the local tax collecting unit 6 when requested to do so by the buyer or seller. 7 (14) An owner who owned and occupied ahomesteadPRINCIPAL 8 RESIDENCE on May 1 for which the exemption was not on the tax 9 roll may file an appeal with the July board of review in the year 10 for which the exemption was claimed or the immediately succeeding 11 year or with the December board of review in the year for which 12 the exemption was claimed or the immediately succeeding year. If 13 an appeal of a claim for exemption that was not on the tax roll 14 is received not later than 5 days prior to the date of the 15 December board of review, the local tax collecting unit shall 16 convene a December board of review and consider the appeal pursu- 17 ant to this section and section 53b. 18 (15) In 1994 only, an owner who owns and occupies a 19homesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE after May 1 and before October 3 20 for which an affidavit was not filed in 1994 may file an affida- 21 vit as provided in subsection (2) not later than October 3, 22 1994. Upon receipt, the assessor shall exempt the property from 23 50% of the number of mills levied in 1994 under section 1211 of 24Act No. 451 of the Public Acts of 1976THE REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 25 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1211, from whichhomesteads areA PRINCI- 26 PAL RESIDENCE IS exempt, not to exceed 50% of the total number of 27 mills from whichhomesteads areA PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE IS exempt 07067'02 12 1 in 1994, on the December tax roll. If there is not a December 2 levy of the tax under section 1211 ofAct No. 451 of the Public3Acts of 1976THE REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1211, 4 the owner may appear in person or by mail before the December 5 board of review and obtain a rebate as provided in section 53b of 6 50% of the number of mills levied in 1994 under section 1211 of 7Act No. 451 of the Public Acts of 1976THE REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 8 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1211, from whichhomesteads areA PRINCI- 9 PAL RESIDENCE IS exempt, not to exceed 50% of the total number of 10 mills from whichhomesteads areA PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE IS exempt 11 in 1994. If an affidavit is not filed as provided in this sub- 12 section, the owner may appear in person or by mail before the 13 July or December board of review in 1994 or the July or December 14 board of review in 1995 and obtain a rebate of 50% of the number 15 of mills levied in 1994 under section 1211 ofAct No. 451 of the16Public Acts of 1976THE REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 1976 PA 451, MCL 17 380.1211, from whichhomesteads areA PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE IS 18 exempt, not to exceed 50% of the total number of mills from which 19homesteads areA PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE IS exempt in 1994. This 20 subsection does not apply unless the 1994 assessment of the prop- 21 erty is based on the valuation of ahomesteadPRINCIPAL 22 RESIDENCE or a portion of a structure that has become a 23homesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE. An affidavit filed under this 24 subsection is subject to all the provisions of this section. 25 (16) An owner who owns and occupies ahomesteadPRINCIPAL 26 RESIDENCE for which the exemption was on the tax roll in 1995 and 27 each year after 1995 and for which an exemption was not on the 07067'02 13 1 tax roll in 1994 may appeal to the department of treasury before 2 December 31, 1997 to have an exemption placed on the 1994 tax 3 roll if all of the following conditions are satisfied: 4 (a) The owner owned and occupied thathomesteadPRINCIPAL 5 RESIDENCE on May 1, 1994 or the owner owned and occupied that 6homesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE after May 1, 1994 but before 7 October 3, 1994. 8 (b) If a claim of exemption was denied in 1994, the owner 9 did not timely appeal that denial as provided in this section. 10 (c) The owner has owned and occupied thathomestead11 PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE since 1994. 12 (17) If the department of treasury grants a claim of exemp- 13 tion for 1994 under subsection (16), the county treasurer with 14 possession of the tax roll being adjusted shall amend the 1994 15 tax roll to reflect the exemption and shall issue a corrected tax 16 bill as follows: 17 (a) If the owner owned and occupied thathomestead18 PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE on May 1, 1994, thathomesteadPRINCIPAL 19 RESIDENCE is exempt from the tax levied in 1994 for school oper- 20 ating purposes to the extent provided under section 1211 ofAct21No. 451 of the Public Acts of 1976THE REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 1976 22 PA 451, MCL 380.1211, pursuant to subsection (1). 23 (b) If the owner owned and occupied thathomestead24 PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE after May 1, 1994 but before October 3, 1994, 25 thathomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE is exempt from 50% of the 26 number of mills levied in 1994 under section 1211 ofAct No. 45107067'02 14 1of the Public Acts of 1976 pursuant to subsection (14)THE 2 REVISED SCHOOL CODE, 1976 PA 451, MCL 380.1211. 3 (18) If the department of treasury denies a claim of exemp- 4 tion for 1994 under subsection (16), an owner may appeal that 5 denial to the residential and small claims division of the 6 Michigan tax tribunal within 35 days of that denial. 7 (19) If the assessor or treasurer of the local tax collect- 8 ing unit believes that the department of treasury erroneously 9 denied a claim for exemption, the assessor or treasurer may 10 submit written information supporting the owner's claim for 11 exemption to the department of treasury within 35 days of the 12 owner's receipt of the notice denying the claim for exemption. 13 If, after reviewing the information provided, the department of 14 treasury determines that the claim for exemption was erroneously 15 denied, the department of treasury shall grant the exemption and 16 the tax roll shall be amended to reflect the exemption. 17 (20) If granting the exemption under this section results in 18 an overpayment of the tax, a rebate, including any interest paid, 19 shall be made to the taxpayer by the local tax collecting unit if 20 the local tax collecting unit has possession of the tax roll or 21 by the county treasurer if the county has possession of the tax 22 roll within 30 days of the date the exemption is granted. The 23 rebate shall be without interest. 24 (21) If an exemption under this section is erroneously 25 granted, an owner may request in writing that the department of 26 treasury withdraw the exemption. If an owner requests that an 27 exemption be withdrawn, the department of treasury shall issue an 07067'02 15 1 order notifying the local assessor that the exemption issued 2 under this section has been denied based on the owner's request. 3 If an exemption is withdrawn, the property that had been subject 4 to that exemption shall be immediately placed on the tax roll by 5 the local tax collecting unit if the local tax collecting unit 6 has possession of the tax roll or by the county treasurer if the 7 county has possession of the tax roll as though the exemption had 8 not been granted. A corrected tax bill shall be issued for the 9 tax year being adjusted by the local tax collecting unit if the 10 local tax collecting unit has possession of the tax roll or by 11 the county treasurer if the county has possession of the tax 12 roll. If an owner requests that an exemption under this section 13 be withdrawn before that owner is contacted in writing by either 14 the local assessor or the department of treasury regarding that 15 owner's eligibility for the exemption and that owner pays the 16 corrected tax bill issued under this subsection within 30 days 17 after the corrected tax bill is issued, that owner is not liable 18 for any penalty or interest on the additional tax. An owner who 19 pays a corrected tax bill issued under this subsection more than 20 30 days after the corrected tax bill is issued is liable for the 21 penalties and interest that would have accrued if the exemption 22 had not been granted from the date the taxes were originally 23 levied. 24 (22) For tax years beginning on and after January 1, 1994, a 25 cooperative housing corporation is entitled to a full or partial 26 exemption under this section for the tax year in which the 27 cooperative housing corporation files all of the following with 07067'02 16 1 the local tax collecting unit in which the cooperative housing 2 corporation is located if filed on or before May 1 of the tax 3 year, or for the tax year following the year in which all of the 4 following are filed if filed after May 1 of the tax year: 5 (a) An affidavit form. 6 (b) A statement of the total number of units owned by the 7 cooperative housing corporation and occupied as the principal 8 residence of a tenant stockholder as of the date of the filing 9 under this subsection. 10 (c) A list that includes the name, address, and social 11 security number of each tenant stockholder of the cooperative 12 housing corporation occupying a unit in the cooperative housing 13 corporation as his or her principal residence as of the date of 14 the filing under this subsection. 15 (d) A statement of the total number of units of the coopera- 16 tive housing corporation on which an exemption under this section 17 was claimed and that were transferred in the tax year immediately 18 preceding the tax year in which the filing under this section was 19 made. 20 Sec. 7dd. As used in sections 7cc and 7ee: 21(a) "Homestead" means that portion of a dwelling or unit in22a multiple-unit dwelling that is subject to ad valorem taxes and23is owned and occupied as a principal residence by an owner of the24dwelling or unit. Homestead also includes all of an owner's25unoccupied property classified as residential that is adjoining26or contiguous to the dwelling subject to ad valorem taxes and27that is owned and occupied as a principal residence by the07067'02 17 1owner. Contiguity is not broken by a road, a right-of-way, or2property purchased or taken under condemnation proceedings by a3public utility for power transmission lines if the 2 parcels sep-4arated by the purchased or condemned property were a single5parcel prior to the sale or condemnation. Homestead also6includes any portion of a principal residence of an owner that is7rented or leased to another person as a residence as long as that8portion of the principal residence that is rented or leased is9less than 50% of the total square footage of living space in that10principal residence. Homestead also includes a life care facil-11ity registered under the living care disclosure act, Act No. 44012of the Public Acts of 1976, being sections 554.801 to 554.844 of13the Michigan Compiled Laws. Homestead also includes property14owned by a cooperative housing corporation and occupied as a15principal residence by tenant stockholders.16 (A)(b)"Owner" means any of the following: 17 (i) A person who owns property or who is purchasing property 18 under a land contract. 19 (ii) A person who is a partial owner of property. 20 (iii) A person who owns property as a result of being a ben- 21 eficiary of a will or trust or as a result of intestate 22 succession. 23 (iv) A person who owns or is purchasing a dwelling on leased 24 land. 25 (v) A person holding a life lease in property previously 26 sold or transferred to another. 07067'02 18 1 (vi) A grantor who has placed the property in a revocable 2 trust or a qualified personal residence trust. 3 (vii) A cooperative housing corporation. 4 (viii) A facility registered underAct No. 440 of the5Public Acts of 1976THE LIVING CARE DISCLOSURE ACT, 1976 PA 440, 6 MCL 554.801 TO 554.844. 7 (B)(c)"Person", for purposes of defining owner as used 8 in section 7cc, means an individual and for purposes of defining 9 owner as used in section 7ee means an individual, partnership, 10 corporation, limited liability company, association, or other 11 legal entity. 12 (C)(d)"Principal residence" means the 1 place where a 13 person has his or her true, fixed, and permanent home to which, 14 whenever absent, he or she intends to return and that shall con- 15 tinue as a principal residence until another principal residence 16 is established. PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE INCLUDES ONLY THAT PORTION 17 OF A DWELLING OR UNIT IN A MULTIPLE-UNIT DWELLING THAT IS SUBJECT 18 TO AD VALOREM TAXES AND THAT IS OWNED AND OCCUPIED BY AN OWNER OF 19 THE DWELLING OR UNIT. PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE ALSO INCLUDES ALL OF 20 AN OWNER'S UNOCCUPIED PROPERTY CLASSIFIED AS RESIDENTIAL THAT IS 21 ADJOINING OR CONTIGUOUS TO THE DWELLING SUBJECT TO AD VALOREM 22 TAXES AND THAT IS OWNED AND OCCUPIED BY THE OWNER. CONTIGUITY IS 23 NOT BROKEN BY A ROAD, A RIGHT-OF-WAY, OR PROPERTY PURCHASED OR 24 TAKEN UNDER CONDEMNATION PROCEEDINGS BY A PUBLIC UTILITY FOR 25 POWER TRANSMISSION LINES IF THE 2 PARCELS SEPARATED BY THE PUR- 26 CHASED OR CONDEMNED PROPERTY WERE A SINGLE PARCEL PRIOR TO THE 27 SALE OR CONDEMNATION. PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE ALSO INCLUDES ANY 07067'02 19 1 PORTION OF A DWELLING OR UNIT OF AN OWNER THAT IS RENTED OR 2 LEASED TO ANOTHER PERSON AS A RESIDENCE AS LONG AS THAT PORTION 3 OF THE DWELLING OR UNIT THAT IS RENTED OR LEASED IS LESS THAN 50% 4 OF THE TOTAL SQUARE FOOTAGE OF LIVING SPACE IN THAT DWELLING OR 5 UNIT. PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE ALSO INCLUDES A LIFE CARE FACILITY 6 REGISTERED UNDER THE LIVING CARE DISCLOSURE ACT, 1976 PA 440, MCL 7 554.801 TO 554.844. PRINCIPAL RESIDENCE ALSO INCLUDES PROPERTY 8 OWNED BY A COOPERATIVE HOUSING CORPORATION AND OCCUPIED BY TENANT 9 STOCKHOLDERS. 10 (D)(e)"Qualified agricultural property" means unoccupied 11 property and related buildings classified as agricultural, or 12 other unoccupied property and related buildings located on that 13 property devoted primarily to agricultural use as defined in sec- 14 tion 36101 ofpart 361 (farmland and open space preservation)15ofthe natural resources and environmental protection act,Act16No. 451 of the Public Acts of 1994, being section 324.36101 of17the Michigan Compiled Laws1994 PA 451, MCL 324.36101. Related 18 buildings include a residence occupied by a person employed in or 19 actively involved in the agricultural use and who has not claimed 20 ahomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE exemption on other property. 21 Property used for commercial storage, commercial processing, com- 22 mercial distribution, commercial marketing, or commercial ship- 23 ping operations or other commercial or industrial purposes is not 24 qualified agricultural property. A parcel of property is devoted 25 primarily to agricultural use only if more than 50% of the 26 parcel's acreage is devoted to agricultural use. An owner shall 27 not receive an exemption for that portion of the total state 07067'02 20 1 equalized valuation of the property that is used for a commercial 2 or industrial purpose or that is a residence that is not a 3 related building. 4 Sec. 7u. (1) ThehomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE of persons 5 who, in the judgment of the supervisor and board of review, by 6 reason of poverty, are unable to contribute toward the public 7 charges is eligible for exemption in whole or in part from taxa- 8 tion under this act. This section does not apply to the property 9 of a corporation. 10 (2) To be eligible for exemption under this section, a 11 person shall do all of the following on an annual basis: 12 (a) Be an owner of and occupy as ahomesteadPRINCIPAL 13 RESIDENCE the property for which an exemption is requested. 14 (b) File a claim with the supervisor or board of review on a 15 form provided by the local assessing unit, accompanied by federal 16 and state income tax returns for all persons residing in the 17homesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE, including any property tax 18 credit returns, filed in the immediately preceding year or in the 19 current year. The filing of a claim under this subsection con- 20 stitutes an appearance before the board of review for the purpose 21 of preserving the claimant's right to appeal the decision of the 22 board of review regarding the claim. 23 (c) Produce a valid driver's license or other form of iden- 24 tification if requested by the supervisor or board of review. 25 (d) Produce a deed, land contract, or other evidence of 26 ownership of the property for which an exemption is requested if 27 required by the supervisor or board of review. 07067'02 21 1 (e) Meet the federal poverty income standards as defined and 2 determined annually by the United States office of management and 3 budget or alternative guidelines adopted by the governing body of 4 the local assessing unit provided the alternative guidelines do 5 not provide income eligibility requirements less than the federal 6 guidelines. 7 (3) The application for an exemption under this section 8 shall be filed after January 1 but before the day prior to the 9 last day of the board of review. 10 (4) The governing body of the local assessing unit shall 11 determine and make available to the public the policy and guide- 12 lines the local assessing unit uses for the granting of exemp- 13 tions under this section. The guidelines shall include but not 14 be limited to the specific income and asset levels of the claim- 15 ant and total household income and assets. 16 (5) The board of review shall follow the policy and guide- 17 lines of the local assessing unit in granting or denying an 18 exemption under this section unless the board of review deter- 19 mines there are substantial and compelling reasons why there 20 should be a deviation from the policy and guidelines and the sub- 21 stantial and compelling reasons are communicated in writing to 22 the claimant. 23 (6) A person who files a claim under this section is not 24 prohibited from also appealing the assessment on the property for 25 which that claim is made before the board of review in the same 26 year. 07067'02 22 1 (7) As used in this section,"homestead""PRINCIPAL 2 RESIDENCE" meanshomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE or qualified 3 agricultural property as those terms are defined in section 7dd. 4 Sec. 24c. (1) The assessor shall give to each owner or 5 person or persons listed on the assessment roll of the property a 6 notice by first-class mail of an increase in the tentative state 7 equalized valuation or the tentative taxable value for the year. 8 The notice shall specify each parcel of property, the tentative 9 taxable value for the current year and, beginning in 1996, the 10 taxable value for the immediately preceding year. The notice 11 shall also specify the time and place of the meeting of the board 12 of review. Beginning in 1996, the notice shall also specify the 13 difference between the property's tentative taxable value in the 14 current year and the property's taxable value in the immediately 15 preceding year. 16 (2) The notice shall include, in addition to the information 17 required by subsection (1), all of the following: 18 (a) The state equalized valuation for the immediately pre- 19 ceding year. 20 (b) The tentative state equalized valuation for the current 21 year. 22 (c) The net change between the tentative state equalized 23 valuation for the current year and the state equalized valuation 24 for the immediately preceding year. 25 (d) The classification of the property as defined by section 26 34c. 07067'02 23 1 (e) The inflation rate for the immediately preceding year as 2 defined in section 34d. 3 (f) A statement provided by the state tax commission 4 explaining the relationship between state equalized valuation and 5 taxable value. Beginning in 1996, if the assessor believes that 6 a transfer of ownership has occurred in the immediately preceding 7 year, the statement shall state that the ownership was trans- 8 ferred and that the taxable value of that property is the same as 9 the state equalized valuation of that property. 10 (3) When required by the income tax act of 1967,Act11No. 281 of the Public Acts of 1967, being sections 206.1 to12206.532 of the Michigan Compiled Laws1967 PA 281, MCL 206.1 TO 13 206.532, the assessment notice shall include or be accompanied by 14 information or forms prescribed byAct No. 281 of the Public15Acts of 1967THE INCOME TAX ACT OF 1967, 1967 PA 281, MCL 206.1 16 TO 206.532. 17 (4) The assessment notice shall be addressed to the owner 18 according to the records of the assessor and mailed not less than 19 10 days before the meeting of the board of review. The failure 20 to send or receive an assessment notice does not invalidate an 21 assessment roll or an assessment on that property. 22 (5) The tentative state equalized valuation shall be calcu- 23 lated by multiplying the assessment by the tentative equalized 24 valuation multiplier. If the assessor has made assessment 25 adjustments that would have changed the tentative multiplier, the 26 assessor may recalculate the multiplier for use in the notice. 07067'02 24 1 (6) The state tax commission shall prepare a model 2 assessment notice form that shall be made available to local 3 units of government. 4 (7) Beginning in 1995, the assessment notice under subsec- 5 tion (1) shall include the following statement: 6 "If you purchased yourhomesteadPRINCIPAL 7 RESIDENCE after May 1 last year, to claim the 8homesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE exemption, if you 9 have not already done so, you are required to file an 10 affidavit before May 1.". 11 Sec. 27d. Not later than the fourth Monday in June in each 12 year, the county equalization director for each county shall 13 report all of the following to the state tax commission on a form 14 prepared by the state tax commission: 15 (a) Total taxable value of all property in the county as of 16 the fourth Monday in May in that year. 17 (b) Taxable value for each separately equalized class of 18 property. 19 (c) Total taxable value of all property in the county for 20 which ahomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE exemption is granted 21 under section 7cc or a qualified agricultural property exemption 22 is granted under section 7ee. 23 (d) Total taxable value of all property in the county for 24 which ahomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE exemption has not been 25 granted under section 7cc and a qualified agricultural property 26 exemption has not been granted under section 7ee. 07067'02 25 1 Sec. 120. (1) A person claiming an exemption under 2 section 7cc shall not do any of the following: 3 (a) Make a false or fraudulent affidavit claiming an exemp- 4 tion or a false statement on an affidavit claiming an exemption. 5 (b) Aid, abet, or assist another in an attempt to wrongfully 6 obtain an exemption. 7 (c) Make or permit to be made for himself or herself or for 8 any other person a false affidavit claiming an exemption or a 9 false statement on an affidavit claiming an exemption, either in 10 whole or in part. 11 (d) Fail to rescind an exemption after the property subject 12 to that exemption is no longer ahomesteadPRINCIPAL RESIDENCE 13 as defined in section 7dd. 14 (2) A person who violates a provision of subsection (1) with 15 the intent to wrongfully obtain or attempt to obtain an exemption 16 under section 7cc is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by 17 imprisonment of not more than 1 year and punishable by a fine of 18 not more than $5,000.00 or public service of not more than 1,500 19 hours, or both. 20 (3) In addition to the penalties provided in subsection (2), 21 a person who knowingly swears to or verifies an affidavit claim- 22 ing an exemption under section 7cc, or an affidavit claiming any 23 exemption under section 7cc that contains a false or fraudulent 24 statement, with the intent to aid, abet, or assist in defrauding 25 this state or a political subdivision of this state, is guilty of 26 perjury, a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment of not more 07067'02 26 1 than 1 year and punishable by a fine of not more than $5,000.00 2 or public service of not more than 1,500 hours, or both. 3 (4) A person who does not violate a provision of 4 subsection (1), but who knowingly violates any other provision of 5 this act with the intent to defraud this state or a political 6 subdivision of this state, is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable 7 by a fine of not more than $1,000.00 or public service of not 8 more than 500 hours, or both. 9 (5) The attorney general and the prosecuting attorney of 10 each county of this state have concurrent power to enforce this 11 act. 12 (6) The penalty provisions set forth in subsections (2), 13 (3), and (4) do not apply to a violation of subsection (1) or any 14 other provision of this act occurring before December 31, 1995. 15 Enacting section 1. This amendatory act does not take 16 effect unless all of the following bills of the 91st Legislature 17 are enacted into law: 18 (a) Senate Bill No. _____ or House Bill No. 6286 (request 19 no. 07067'02 a). 20 (b) Senate Bill No. _____ or House Bill No. 6278 (request 21 no. 07067'02 b). 22 (c) Senate Bill No. _____ or House Bill No. 6279 (request 23 no. 07067'02 c). 24 (d) Senate Bill No. _____ or House Bill No. 6282 (request 25 no. 07067'02 d). 26 (e) Senate Bill No. _____ or House Bill No. 6285 (request 27 no. 07067'02 e). 07067'02 27 1 (f) Senate Bill No. _____ or House Bill No. 6277 (request 2 no. 07067'02 f). 3 (g) Senate Bill No. _____ or House Bill No. 6276 (request 4 no. 07067'02 g). 07067'02 Final page. FDD