HomeMy WebLinkAboutBIL 103 Draft 01 2012-2014 COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII
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BILL NO. 103
ORDINANCE NO.
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 19, ARTICLE 10, SECTION 19-75 OF THE
HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2005 EDITION,AS AMENDED), RELATING TO
REAL PROPERTY TAX EXEMPTIONS FOR PERSONS WHO ARE BLIND, DEAF,
AND/OR TOTALLY DISABLED.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. Chapter 19, article 10, section 19-75 of the Hawai`i County Code 1983
(2005 Edition, as amended) is amended to read as follows:
"Section 19-75. Exemption, persons who are blind, deaf, and/or totally 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, as certified under this section.
(2) "Deaf" means a person whose average loss in the speech frequencies
(five hundred to two thousand Hertz) in the better ear is ninety-two
decibels, or such other level as may be updated by American National
Standards Institute (A.N.S.I.), or worse, as certified under this section.
(3) "Totally disabled" means a person who is totally disabled, either
physically or mentally, and who, except for such total disability, would
be able to engage in substantial gainful business or occupation, as
certified under this section.
(b) Any person who is certified as blind, deaf, and/or totally disabled as defined in
this section shall be exempt from real property taxes on [all] real property
owned and occupied as the principal home by the person up to, but not
exceeding a taxable value of$50,000. Except that no exemption shall apply to
any minimum tax payable under section 19-90(e) of this chapter.
(c) The disability shall be certified by: (1) a physician licensed under chapter 453,
[or /160, or both,] Hawai`i Revised Statutes, (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 for a person who is blind or deaf may also be made by a licensed
optometrist or licensed audiologist as the case may be. Certification shall be on
forms prescribed by the department of finance. For disabled veterans, the proof
of disability submitted for section 19-73(1) from the Veterans Administration,
may be substituted for the required certification. Official documentation from
the Social Security Administration may also be substituted for the required
certification.
(d) Any person who is certified as being temporarily blind, deaf, and/or totally
disabled shall submit an annual certification or recertification, as required by
this section. No exemption shall be allowed unless the required certification or
recertification is submitted.
(e) Any person who qualifies for an exemption under 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 of non-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•- • . • :, :-• , . • . . . . - .
-, - - . . : granted to the claimant in the following
order: the home exemption shall be granted first, then followed by the
the owner's principal residence. Thereafter, the e -- . •. . : : .
- . . . .. . . -- . .. _ . . . - .
SECTION 2. Material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New material is
underscored. In printing this ordinance, the brackets, bracketed material, and underscoring
need not be included.
SECTION 3. Severability. 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:
COUNCIL ME :ER, COUNTY OF HAWAI`I
, Hawai`i
Date of Introduction:
Date of 1St Reading:
Date of 2nd Reading:
Effective Date:
REFERENCE Comm.. 361 2