HOUSE BILL NO. 6434

A bill to amend 1893 PA 206, entitled

"The general property tax act,"

by amending section 7b (MCL 211.7b), as amended by 2013 PA 161.

the people of the state of michigan enact:

Sec. 7b. (1) Real property used and owned as a homestead by a disabled veteran who was discharged from the armed forces of the United States under honorable conditions or by an individual described in subsection (2) is exempt from the collection of taxes under this act. To Except as otherwise provided in subsection (3), to obtain the exemption, the property owner or his or her legal designee must file an affidavit showing the facts required by this section and a description of the real property shall be filed by the property owner or his or her legal designee with the supervisor or other assessing officer for the local assessing unit during the period beginning with the tax day for each year and ending at the time of the final adjournment of the local board of review. The affidavit when filed shall be is open to inspection. The county treasurer shall cancel taxes subject to collection under this act for any year in which a disabled veteran eligible for the exemption under this section has acquired title to real property exempt under this section. Upon granting the exemption under this section, each local taxing unit shall bear the loss of its portion of the taxes upon which the exemption has been granted.

(2) If a disabled veteran who is otherwise eligible for the exemption under this section dies, either before or after the exemption under this section is granted, the exemption shall remain remains available to or shall continue continues for his or her unremarried surviving spouse. The surviving spouse shall comply with the requirements of subsection (1) and shall indicate on the affidavit that he or she is the surviving spouse of a disabled veteran entitled to the exemption under this section. The exemption shall continue continues as long as the surviving spouse remains unremarried.

(3) An individual or his or her legal designee may file, and the assessing officer for the local assessing unit shall accept, an application for the exemption under this section, submitted in the form and manner described in subsections (1) and (2), for a specific homestead that the individual intends to purchase before the individual purchases the homestead. Within 15 business days following receipt of an application filed under this subsection, the assessing officer shall process the application and send the individual a letter stating that the application is preliminarily approved or preliminarily denied. An individual who is issued a letter preliminarily approving the exemption under this subsection must receive the exemption for the homestead referenced in the letter after becoming the owner of the homestead without having to file another application. If an individual is issued a letter preliminarily denying the exemption under this subsection and subsequently becomes the owner of the homestead referenced in the letter, the individual may have the application reconsidered by the board of review pursuant to subsections (1) and (2) without having to file another application.

(4) (3) As used in this section, "disabled veteran" means a person who an individual who was discharged from the Armed Forces of the United States under honorable conditions, is a resident of this state, and who meets 1 of the following criteria:

(a) Has been determined by the United States department of veterans affairs Department of Veterans Affairs to be permanently and totally disabled as a result of military service and entitled to veterans' benefits at the 100% rate.

(b) Has a certificate from the United States veterans' administration, or its successors, Department of Veterans Affairs certifying that he or she is receiving or has received pecuniary assistance due to disability for specially adapted housing.

(c) Has been rated by the United States department of veterans affairs Department of Veterans Affairs as individually unemployable.