HomeMy WebLinkAboutBIL 244 Draft 02 1998-2000 COIN S~'~'~'~, O~ .~~`I
SILL NO. 244
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o~rNANe~ No.
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 19, OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (1995
EDITION), BY AMENDING ARTICLE 10, SECTION 19-75 RELATING TO REAL PROPERTY
TAX EXEMPTIONS (EXEMPTION, PERSONS WITH IMPAIRED SIGHT OR HEARING AND
PERSONS TOTALLY DISABLED).
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Chapter 19, Article 10, Section 19-75, Subsections (b) and (d), of the Hawaii
County Code 1983 (1995 Edition) is amended to read as follows:
"Section 19-75. Exemption, pars®ns with inpaired sight or hearing and pars®ns
t®tally disabled.
(a) Definitions as used in this chapter:
(1) "Blind" means a person whose central visual acuity does not exceed 20/200
in the better eye with correcting lenses, or whose visual acuity is greater than
20/200 but is accompanied by a limitation in the field of vision such that the
widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than twenty
degrees.
(2) "Deaf' means a person whose average loss in the speech frequencies (five
hundred to two thousand Hertz) in the better ear is eighty-two decibels,
A.S.A., or worse.
(3) "Person totally disabled" means a person who is totally and permanently
disabled, either physically or mentally, and who except for such total
disability would be able to engage in any substantial gainful business or
occupation.
(b} Any person who is blind or deaf, as defined in subsection (a) of this section, as long
as the person's sight or hearing is so impaired, shall be exempt except for the
minimum tax from real property taxes on all real property owned by the person up
to, but not exceeding a taxable value of $50,000. The impairment of sight or hearing
shall be certified to by a licensed audiologist, ophthalmologist, optometrist [or],
.
otolaryngologist, or licensed physician, as the case maybe, nn forms prescribed
by the department of finance.
(c) Any person who is totally disabled, as defined in subsection (a) of this section, as
long as the person is totally disabled, shall be exempt except for the minimum tax
from real property taxes on all real property owned by the person up to, but not
exceeding a taxable value of $50,000. The disability shall be certified to by (1) a
physician licensed under chapter 453 or 460, or both, (2) a qualified out-of--state
physician who is currently licensed to practice in the state in which the physician
resides, or (3) a commissioned medical officer in the United States military or
public health service, engaged in the discharge of one's official duty.
Certification shall be on forms prescribed by the department of finance. For
disabled veterans, the proof of disability submitted for section 19-73(1) by the
Veterans Administration, can be substituted for the physician's certification of
disability. Official documentation from the Social Security Administration can
also be substituted for the physician's certification of disability.
(d) Any person suffering from a temporary or momentary impairment of sight,
hearing, or total disability shall be required to submit an annual certification or
recertification, performed by a [qualified] licensed audiologist, ophthalmologist,
optometrist, otolaryngologist, or licensed physician, as the case may be, attesting
to the continued impairment of sight, hearing, or total disability. The exemption
shall be disallowed for failure to submit the required annual certification or
recertification report.
(e) Any person who qualifies for the exemptions identified in subsection (b) or (c) of
this section shall be allowed to apply for only one of the exemptions established
in this section.
(f) In the case of a lease of Hawaiian homestead land, where either a husband or wife
is ofnon-Hawaiian descent, either spouse shall be entitled to the blind, deaf, or
totally disabled exemption in the same manner as if either spouse was considered
the owner thereof, provided proof of marriage is submitted to the director of
finance.
(g) In the event that a person qualifies for the home exemption as provided in section
19-71 and the blind, deaf, or totally disabled exemption as provided in this
section, the exemptions shall be granted to the claimant in the following order: the
home exemption shall be granted first, then followed by the applicable blind,
deaf, or totally disabled exemption on the property claimed as the owner's
principal residence. Thereaf$er, the exemption provided by this section shall be
applied to any other property designated by the claimant."
SECTION 2. Material to be repealed is bracketed. New material is underscored. In
printing this ordinance, the brackets, bracketed material and underscoring need not be included.
SECTION 3. If any provision of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any person
or circumstance, is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications
of the ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to
this end, the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable.
SECTION 4. This ordinance shall take effect upon its approval.
INTRODUCED BY: ,
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COUNCIL MEM OF HAWAII
Hilo, Hawaii
Date of Introduction:
Date of 1 S` Reading:
Date 2nd Reading:
Effective Date:
4tEf ERENCE: Comm. 7 4 2.0 O 1