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92_SB1989 LRB9215920SMpk 1 AN ACT concerning taxes. 2 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, 3 represented in the General Assembly: 4 Section 5. The Longtime Owner-Occupant Property Tax 5 Relief Act is amended by changing Sections 1, 5, 10, 15, and 6 20 as follows: 7 (35 ILCS 250/1) 8 Sec. 1. Short title. This Act may be cited as the 9 Longtime Owner-Occupant and Small Business Owner Property Tax 10 Relief Act. 11 (Source: P.A. 88-451.) 12 (35 ILCS 250/5) 13 Sec. 5. Public policy. In recognition of the severe 14 economic circumstances of (i) certain longtime 15 owner-occupants of residences who are faced with rising 16 living costs and constantly increasing tax burdens in areas 17 where real property values have risen markedly as a 18 consequence of the renovation of other deteriorating 19 residences or the construction of new residences and (ii) 20 certain longtime owners of small businesses who are faced 21 with increases in property tax burdens as a result of rising 22 tax rates and the decline in the amount of taxable commercial 23 and industrial property, the General Assembly considers it to 24 be a matter of sound public policy for counties having a 25 population of 100,000 or more to adopt uniform special real 26 property tax relief provisions in order to allow longtime 27 owner-occupants of residences and longtime owners of small 28 businesses to remain in peaceful possession of their homes 29 and businesses. 30 (Source: P.A. 88-451.) -2- LRB9215920SMpk 1 (35 ILCS 250/10) 2 Sec. 10. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the 3 context clearly indicates otherwise: 4 (a) "Longtime owner-occupant" means a person who 5 for at least 10 continuous years has owned and has 6 occupied the same dwelling place as a principal residence 7 and domicile, or any person who for at least 5 years has 8 owned and occupied the same dwelling place as a principal 9 residence and domicile if that person received assistance 10 in the acquisition of the property as part of a 11 government or nonprofit housing program. 12 (a-1) "Longtime small business owner" means any 13 for-profit business in Illinois including, but not 14 limited to, any sole proprietorship, partnership, 15 corporation, joint venture, association, or cooperative 16 that has, including its affiliates, less than 500 17 full-time employees and has occupied the same commercial 18 or industrial property for at least 10 continuous years. 19 (b) "Principal residence" means the dwelling place 20 of a person, including the principal house and lot, and 21 such lots as are used in connection with the principal 22 house and lot that contribute to its enjoyment, comfort 23 and convenience. For purposes of this Act, the term may 24 also include a building with a maximum of one commercial 25 establishment and a maximum of 3 residential units of 26 which one residential unit must be the principal 27 residence of the longtime owner-occupant. 28 (Source: P.A. 88-451.) 29 (35 ILCS 250/15) 30 Sec. 15. Deferral or exemption authority. 31 (a) The corporate authorities of a county shall have the 32 power to provide, by ordinance or resolution, for uniform 33 special real property tax relief provisions granting longtime -3- LRB9215920SMpk 1 owner-occupants a deferral or exemption, or combination 2 thereof, in the payment of that portion of an increase of 3 real property taxes which is due to an increase in the market 4 value of the real property as a consequence of the 5 refurbishing or renovating of other residences or the 6 construction of new residences in long-established 7 residential areas or areas of deteriorated, vacant or 8 abandoned homes and properties. A deferral or exemption, or 9 combination thereof, may be granted until the longtime 10 owner-occupant transfers title to the property. 11 The ordinance or resolution must include a provision 12 requiring that eligibility notification of the special real 13 property tax relief be delivered to the record owner of the 14 property taxed. The eligibility notification shall be mailed 15 to the address of the record owner on file with the county. 16 If the notification is mailed by the county to a mortgagee 17 because it is the only address of the record owner filed with 18 the county, then the mortgagee shall, within 30 days of 19 receipt, forward a copy of the notice to each mortgagor of 20 the property. There shall be no liability for the failure of 21 the mortgagee to forward the notice to each mortgagor. 22 (a-1) The corporate authorities of a county may provide, 23 by ordinance or resolution, for uniform special real property 24 tax relief provisions granting longtime small business owners 25 a deferral or exemption, or combination thereof, in the 26 payment of that portion of an increase of real property taxes 27 that is due to a combination of excessive tax rates and 28 generally declining equalized assessed valuation in the 29 commercial and industrial properties in the geographical area 30 in which the longtime small business is located. A deferral 31 or exemption, or combination thereof, may be granted until 32 the longtime small business owner transfers title to the 33 property. 34 (b) The corporate authority of a county is authorized to -4- LRB9215920SMpk 1 enact ordinances or resolutions that provide for the 2 designation of areas eligible for the special real property 3 tax relief provisions under this Act. Before enacting an 4 ordinance or resolution that proposes designating such an 5 area, the corporate authorities shall conduct a public 6 hearing on the proposed ordinance or resolution. 7 (c) School districts and municipalities within a county 8 have authority to determine their participation in the 9 program of special real property tax relief within their 10 taxing jurisdictions. The provisions of this subsection shall 11 not apply to municipalities and school districts included 12 under subsection (d) of this Section. 13 (d) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, if 14 the corporate authority of a county with 3,000,000 or more 15 inhabitants enacts an ordinance or resolution in accordance 16 with subsection (c), a municipality having a population 17 exceeding 500,000 within that county and a school district in 18 a municipality having a population exceeding 500,000 within 19 that county must participate in the program of special 20 property tax relief within their taxing jurisdiction. This 21 subsection is a denial and limitation of home rule powers and 22 functions under subsection (g) of Section 6 of Article VII of 23 the Illinois Constitution. 24 (Source: P.A. 90-648, eff. 7-24-98; 91-894, eff. 1-1-01.) 25 (35 ILCS 250/20) 26 Sec. 20. Conditions of deferral or exemption. 27 (a) Any deferral or exemption of payment of an increase 28 in real property taxes granted under this Act shall be 29 limited to real property that meets both of the following 30 conditions: 31 (1) The property is owned and occupied by a 32 longtime owner-occupant. 33 (2) The property is the principal residence and -5- LRB9215920SMpk 1 domicile of the longtime owner-occupant. 2 The corporate authorities of a county, by ordinance or 3 resolution, may impose additional criteria for qualifying for 4 a deferral or exemption under this Act including, but not 5 limited to, (i) requiring the owner-occupant to have owned 6 and occupied the same dwelling place as principal residence 7 and domicile for a period of more than 10 years, (ii) 8 establishing age criteria for eligibility of an 9 owner-occupant, and (iii) establishing income criteria for 10 eligibility of an owner-occupant. 11 (a-1) In the case of a small business, the property must 12 be the principal industrial or commercial property of the 13 longtime small business owner to receive any deferral or 14 exemption of payment of an increase in real property taxes 15 under this Act. 16 (b) No penalties or interest shall accrue on the portion 17 of any deferral granted under this Act. 18 (c) Except as provided in subsection (d) of Section 15, 19 school districts and municipalities within a county to which 20 this Act applies may determine whether financial need, age, 21 or both, of the longtime owner-occupant shall be used to 22 determine eligibility. 23 (Source: P.A. 90-648, eff. 7-24-98.) 24 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon 25 becoming law.