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(1) "Blind" means a person whose central visual acuity does not exceed <br />20/200 in the better eye with correcting lenses, or whose visual acuity is <br />greater than 20/200 but is accompanied by a limitation in the field of <br />vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle <br />no greater than twenty degrees, as certified under this section. <br />(2) "Deaf' means a person whose average loss in the speech frequencies (five <br />hundred to two thousand Hertz) in the better eaz is ninety-two decibels, or <br />such other level as may be updated by American National Standards <br />Institute (A.N.S.L), or worse, as certified under this section. <br />(3) "Totally disabled" means a person who is totally disabled, either <br />physically or mentally, and who, except for such total disability, would be <br />able to engage in substantial gainful business or occupation, as certified <br />under this section. <br />(b) Any person who is certified as blind, deaf, and/or totally disabled as defined in <br />this section shall be exempt from real property taxes on all real property owned by <br />the person up to, but not exceeding a taxable value of $50,000. Except that no <br />exemption shall apply to any minimum tax payable under section [' °~] 19- <br />90~e) of this chapter. <br />(c) The disability shall be certified by (1) a physician licensed under chapter 453 or <br />460, or both, (2) a qualified out-of--state physician who is currently licensed to <br />practice in the state in which the physician resides, or (3) a commissioned medical <br />officer in the United States military or public health service, engaged in the <br />discharge of one's official duty. Certification for a person who is blind or deaf <br />may also be made by a licensed optometrist or licensed audiologist as the case <br />may be. Certification shall be on forms prescribed by the department of finance. <br />For disabled veterans, the proof of disability submitted for section 19-73(1) from <br />the Veterans Administration, may be substituted for the required certification. <br />Official documentation from the Social Security Administration may also be <br />substituted for the required certification. <br />(d) Any person who is certified as being temporarily blind, deaf, and/or totally <br />disabled shall submit an annual certification or recertification, as required by this <br />section. No exemption shall be allowed unless the required certification or <br />recertification is submitted. <br />(e) Any person who qualifies for an exemption under this section shall be allowed to <br />apply for only one of the exemptions established in this section. <br />(f) In the case of a lease of Hawaiian homestead land, where either a husband or wife <br />is of non-Hawaiian descent, either spouse shall be entitled to the blind, deaf, or <br />totally disabled exemption in the same manner as if either spouse was considered <br />the owner thereof, provided proof of marriage is submitted to the director of <br />finance. <br />(g) In the event that a person qualifies for the home exemption as provided in section <br />19-71 and the blind, deaf, or totally disabled exemption as provided in this <br />section, the exemptions shall be granted to the claimant in the following order: the <br />home exemption shall be granted first, then followed by the applicable blind, <br />deaf, or totally disabled exemption on the property claimed as the owner's <br />4 <br />