Brief ⁽¹⁾

SB 379, as amended, would expand the Homestead Property Tax Refund Act by allowing Social Security disability payments to be excluded from the definition of income in determining eligibility for the program.

Background

Under the Homestead program provisions, certain households (those with a member who is age 55 or older; a dependent child under age 18; blind; or otherwise disabled) qualify for property tax refunds, provided household income is $25,000 or less. SB 379 would expand the program by allowing individuals to subtract Social Security disability income from household income for purposes of determining eligibility. A fiscal note provided by the Department of Revenue indicated that Homestead refunds would be expected to increase in FY 2001 by about $0.3 million.

The bill was a recommendation by the Special Committee on Assessment and Taxation in conjunction with an interim study focusing on tax relief for the poor. That Committee noted in its report that "since the Homestead program is specifically targeted at disabled individuals, Social Security disability income should NOT be included as part of total household income for purposes of determining eligibility."

The Senate Committee amendment is technical.

1. *Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at http://www.ink.org/public/legislative/bill_search.html