98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2013 and 2014
HB4651

 

Introduced , by Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
35 ILCS 200/18-173

    Amends the Property Tax Code. Provides that the housing opportunity abatement program applies to tax years 2004 through 2024 (now 2014). Effective immediately.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
HOUSING AFFORDABILITY IMPACT NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

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1    AN ACT concerning revenue.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Property Tax Code is amended by changing
5Section 18-173 as follows:
 
6    (35 ILCS 200/18-173)
7    Sec. 18-173. Housing opportunity area abatement program.
8    (a) For the purpose of promoting access to housing near
9work and in order to promote economic diversity throughout
10Illinois and to alleviate the concentration of low-income
11households in areas of high poverty, a housing opportunity area
12tax abatement program is created.
13    (b) As used in this Section:
14    "Housing authority" means either a housing authority
15created under the Housing Authorities Act or other government
16agency that is authorized by the United States government under
17the United States Housing Act of 1937 to administer a housing
18choice voucher program, or the authorized agent of such a
19housing authority that is authorized to act upon that
20authority's behalf.
21    "Housing choice voucher" means a tenant voucher issued by a
22housing authority under Section 8 of the United States Housing
23Act of 1937 and a tenant voucher converted to a project-based

 

 

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1voucher by a housing authority.
2    "Housing opportunity area" means a census tract where less
3than 10% of the residents live below the poverty level, as
4defined by the United States government and determined by the
5most recent United States census, that is located within a
6qualified township, except for census tracts located within any
7township that is located wholly within a municipality with
81,000,000 or more inhabitants. A census tract that is located
9within a township that is located wholly within a municipality
10with 1,000,000 or more inhabitants is considered a housing
11opportunity area if less than 12% of the residents of the
12census tract live below the poverty level.
13    "Housing opportunity unit" means a dwelling unit located in
14residential property that is located in a housing opportunity
15area, that is owned by the applicant, and that is rented to and
16occupied by a tenant who is participating in a housing choice
17voucher program administered by a housing authority as of
18January 1st of the tax year for which the application is made.
19    "Qualified units" means the number of housing opportunity
20units located in the property with the limitation that no more
21than 2 units or 20% of the total units contained within the
22property, whichever is greater, may be considered qualified
23units. Further, no unit may be considered qualified unless the
24property in which it is contained is in substantial compliance
25with local building codes, and, moreover, no unit may be
26considered qualified unless it meets the United States

 

 

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1Department of Housing and Urban Development's housing quality
2standards as of the most recent housing authority inspection.
3    "Qualified township" means a township located within a
4county with 200,000 or more inhabitants whose tax capacity
5exceeds 80% of the average tax capacity of the county in which
6it is located, except for townships located within a county
7with 3,000,000 or more inhabitants, where a qualified township
8means a township whose tax capacity exceeds 115% of the average
9tax capacity of the county except for townships located wholly
10within a municipality with 1,000,000 or more inhabitants. All
11townships located wholly within a municipality with 1,000,000
12or more inhabitants are considered qualified townships.
13    "Tax capacity" means the equalized assessed value of all
14taxable real estate located within a township or county divided
15by the total population of that township or county.
16    (c) The owner of property located within a housing
17opportunity area who has a housing choice voucher contract with
18a housing authority may apply for a housing opportunity area
19tax abatement by annually submitting an application to the
20housing authority that administers the housing choice voucher
21contract. The application must include the number of housing
22opportunity units as well as the total number of dwelling units
23contained within the property. The owner must, under oath,
24self-certify as to the total number of dwelling units in the
25property and must self-certify that the property is in
26substantial compliance with local building codes. The housing

 

 

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1authority shall annually determine the number of qualified
2units located within each property for which an application is
3made.
4    The housing authority shall establish rules and procedures
5governing the application processes and may charge an
6application fee. The county clerk may audit the applications to
7determine that the properties subject to the tax abatement meet
8the requirements of this Section. The determination of
9eligibility of a property for the housing opportunity area
10abatement shall be made annually; however, no property may
11receive an abatement for more than 10 tax years.
12    (d) The housing authority shall determine housing
13opportunity areas within its service area and annually deliver
14to the county clerk, in a manner determined by the county
15clerk, a list of all properties containing qualified units
16within that service area by December 31st of the tax year for
17which the property is eligible for abatement; the list shall
18include the number of qualified units and the total number of
19dwelling units for each property.
20    The county clerk shall deliver annually to a housing
21authority, upon that housing authority's request, the most
22recent available equalized assessed value for the county as a
23whole and for those taxing districts and townships so specified
24by the requesting housing authority.
25    (e) The county clerk shall abate the tax attributed to a
26portion of the property determined to be eligible for a housing

 

 

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1opportunity area abatement. The portion eligible for abatement
2shall be determined by reducing the equalized assessment value
3by a percentage calculated using the following formula: 19% of
4the equalized assessed value of the property multiplied by a
5fraction where the numerator is the number of qualified units
6and denominator is the total number of dwelling units located
7within the property.
8    (f) Any municipality, except for municipalities with
91,000,000 or more inhabitants, may annually petition the county
10clerk to be excluded from a housing opportunity area if it is
11able to demonstrate that more than 2.5% of the total
12residential units located within that municipality are
13occupied by tenants under the housing choice voucher program.
14Properties located within an excluded municipality shall not be
15eligible for the housing opportunity area abatement for the tax
16year in which the petition is made.
17    (g) Applicability. This Section applies to tax years 2004
18through 2024 2014, unless extended by law.
19(Source: P.A. 96-685, eff. 8-25-09.)
 
20    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
21becoming law.