HOUSE BILL No. 5251


     February 1, 2000, Introduced by Rep. Richner and referred to the Committee on Tax Policy.


        A bill to amend 1893 PA 206, entitled

   "The general property tax act,"

   by amending section 7u (MCL 211.7u), as amended by 1994 PA 390.

               THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

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           Sec. 7u.  (1) The homestead of  persons  A PERSON who, in

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      the judgment of the supervisor and board of review, by reason of

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      poverty,  are  IS unable to contribute toward the public charges

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      is eligible for exemption in whole or in part from  taxation  THE

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      COLLECTION OF TAXES under this act.  This section does not apply

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      to the property of a corporation.

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           (2) To be eligible for AN exemption under this section, a

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      person shall do all of the following on an annual basis:

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           (a)  Be an owner of  OWN and occupy as a homestead the

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      property for which an exemption is requested.




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           (b) File a claim with the supervisor or board of review on a

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      form provided by the local  assessing  TAX COLLECTING unit,

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      accompanied by federal and state income tax returns for all per-

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      sons residing in the homestead, including any property tax credit

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      returns, filed in the immediately preceding year or in the cur-

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      rent year.  The filing of  FILING a claim under this subsection

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      constitutes an appearance before the board of review  for the

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      purpose of preserving  AND PRESERVES the claimant's right to

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      appeal the decision of the board of review regarding the claim.

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           (c) Produce a valid driver's license or other form of iden-

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      tification if requested by the supervisor or board of review.

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           (d) Produce a deed, land contract, or other evidence of

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      ownership of the property for which an exemption is requested if

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      required by the supervisor or board of review.

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           (e)  Meet  HAVE HOUSEHOLD INCOME OF LESS THAN the federal

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      poverty income standards as defined and determined annually by

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      the United States office of management and budget or  alternative

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      guidelines adopted by the governing body of the local assessing

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      unit provided the alternative guidelines do not provide income

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      eligibility requirements less than the federal guidelines  50% OF

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      THE MEDIAN HOUSEHOLD INCOME IN THE METROPOLITAN STATISTICAL AREA

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      IN WHICH THE PROPERTY FOR WHICH AN EXEMPTION IS REQUESTED IS

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      LOCATED, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.

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           (3) The PERSON REQUESTING AN EXEMPTION UNDER THIS SECTION

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      SHALL FILE AN application  for an exemption  under this section

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       shall be filed  after January 1 but before the day prior to the

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      last day of the board of review.



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           (4) The governing body of the local  assessing  TAX

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      COLLECTING unit shall determine and make available to the public

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      the policy and guidelines the local assessing unit uses  for the

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      granting of  TO GRANT exemptions under this section.  The guide-

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      lines shall include, but ARE not  be  limited to, the CLAIMANT'S

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      specific income and asset levels  of the claimant  and THE

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      CLAIMANT'S total household income and assets.

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           (5) The board of review shall follow the policy and guide-

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      lines of the local  assessing  TAX COLLECTING unit in granting or

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      denying an exemption under this section unless the board of

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      review determines THAT there are substantial and compelling rea-

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      sons why  there  THE BOARD OF REVIEW should  be a deviation
   

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      DEVIATE from the policy and guidelines and the substantial and

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      compelling reasons are communicated in writing to the claimant.

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           (6) A person who files  a claim  AN APPLICATION FOR

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      EXEMPTION under this section  is not prohibited from  MAY also

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       appealing  APPEAL the assessment on the property for which  that

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      claim  THE REQUEST FOR EXEMPTION is made before the board of

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      review in the same year.

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           (7) As used in this section, "homestead" means A homestead

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      or qualified agricultural property as those terms are defined in

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      section 7dd.













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