AN ACT

RELATING TO PROPERTY TAXATION; APPLYING A LIMITATION ON INCREASES IN VALUE FOR PROPERTY TAXATION PURPOSES TO SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLINGS OCCUPIED BY LOW-INCOME DISABLED PERSONS; AMENDING A SECTION OF THE PROPERTY TAX CODE.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:

Section 1. Section 7-36-21.3 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 2000, Chapter 21, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:

"7-36-21.3. LIMITATION ON INCREASE IN VALUE FOR SINGLE-FAMILY DWELLINGS OCCUPIED BY LOW-INCOME OWNERS SIXTY-FIVE YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER OR DISABLED.--

A. For the 2001 and subsequent tax years the valuation for property taxation purposes of a single-family dwelling owned and occupied by a person who is sixty-five years of age or older and whose modified gross income, as defined in the Income Tax Act, for the prior taxable year did not exceed the greater of eighteen thousand dollars ($18,000) or the amount calculated pursuant to Subsection C of this section shall not be greater than the valuation of the property for property taxation purposes in the:

(1) 2001 tax year;

(2) year in which the owner has his sixty-fifth birthday, if that is after 2001; or

(3) tax year following the tax year in which an owner who turns sixty-five or is sixty-five years of age or older first owns and occupies the property, if that is after 2001.

B. For the 2003 and subsequent tax years, the valuation for property taxation purposes of a single-family dwelling owned and occupied by a person who is disabled and whose modified gross income, as defined in the Income Tax Act, for the prior taxable year did not exceed the greater of eighteen thousand dollars ($18,000) or the amount calculated pursuant to Subsection C of this section shall not be greater than the valuation of the property for property taxation purposes in the:

(1) 2003 tax year;

(2) year in which the owner is determined to be disabled, if that is after 2003; or

(3) tax year following the tax year in which an owner who is disabled or who is determined in that year to be disabled first owns and occupies the property, if that is after 2003.

C. The limitation of value specified in Subsections A and B of this section shall be applied in a tax year in which the owner claiming entitlement files with the county assessor an application for the limitation on a form furnished to him by the assessor. The application form shall be designed by the department and shall provide for proof of age or disability, occupancy and income eligibility for the tax year for which application is made.

D. For the 2002 tax year and each subsequent tax year the maximum amount of modified gross income in Subsections A and B of this section shall be adjusted to account for inflation. The department shall make the adjustment by multiplying the maximum amount for tax year 2000 by a fraction, the numerator of which is the consumer price index ending during the prior tax year and the denominator of which is the consumer price index ending in tax year 2000. The result of the multiplication shall be rounded down to the nearest one hundred dollars ($100) except that if the result would be an amount less than the corresponding amount for the preceding tax year, then no adjustment shall be made. For purposes of this subsection, "consumer price index" means the consumer price index for all urban consumers published by the United States department of labor for the month ending September 30. The department shall publish annually the amount determined by the calculation and distribute it to each county assessor no later than December 1 of each tax year.

E. The limitation of value specified in Subsections A and B of this section does not apply to:

(1) a change in valuation resulting from any physical improvements made to the property during the year immediately prior to the tax year or a change in the permitted use or zoning of the property during the year immediately prior to the tax year; or

(2) a residential property in the first tax year that is valued for property taxation purposes.

F. As used in this section, "disabled" means a person who has been determined to be blind or permanently disabled with medical improvement not expected pursuant to 42 USCA 421 for purposes of the federal Social Security Act or is determined to have a permanent total disability pursuant to the Workers' Compensation Act."

Section 2. APPLICABILITY.--The provisions of this act apply to property tax year 2003 and subsequent property tax years.

HB 73

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