Senate File 189 - Introduced SENATE FILE 189 BY JOHNSON A BILL FOR An Act relating to the disabled veteran homestead tax credit by 1 modifying eligibility criteria and including effective date 2 and retroactive applicability provisions. 3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 4 TLSB 1054XS (1) 86 md/sc

S.F. 189 Section 1. Section 425.15, subsection 1, paragraphs b, c, 1 and d, Code 2015, are amended to read as follows: 2 b. A veteran as defined in section 35.1 with a permanent 3 service-connected disability rating of one hundred percent, as 4 certified by the United States department of veterans affairs , 5 or a permanent and total disability rating based on individual 6 unemployability that is compensated at the one hundred percent 7 disability rate, as certified by the United States department 8 of veterans affairs . 9 c. A former member of the national guard of any state who 10 otherwise meets the service requirements of section 35.1, 11 subsection 2 , paragraph “b” , subparagraph (2) or (7), with a 12 permanent service-connected disability rating of one hundred 13 percent, as certified by the United States department of 14 veterans affairs , or a permanent and total disability rating 15 based on individual unemployability that is compensated at the 16 one hundred percent disability rate, as certified by the United 17 States department of veterans affairs . 18 d. An individual who is a surviving spouse or a child and 19 who is receiving dependency and indemnity compensation pursuant 20 to 38 U.S.C. §1301 et seq. , as certified by the United States 21 department of veterans affairs. 22 Sec. 2. Section 425.15, subsection 2, paragraph b, Code 23 2015, is amended to read as follows: 24 b. An individual described in subsection 1 , paragraph “d” , 25 is no longer eligible for the credit if the individual marries 26 or upon termination of dependency and indemnity compensation 27 under 38 U.S.C. §1301 et seq. 28 Sec. 3. Section 425.15, Code 2015, is amended by adding the 29 following new subsection: 30 NEW SUBSECTION . 5. For purposes of this section, “permanent 31 and total disability rating based on individual unemployability” 32 means a condition under which a person has either a permanent 33 service-connected disability rating of sixty percent or two or 34 more permanent service-connected disability conditions in which 35 -1- LSB 1054XS (1) 86 md/sc 1/ 3

S.F. 189 one of the conditions has at least a forty percent rating and 1 the combined rating for all the conditions is at least seventy 2 percent, and the person has an administrative adjustment added 3 to the service-connected disability rating, due to individual 4 unemployability, such that the United States department of 5 veterans affairs rates the veteran permanently and totally 6 disabled for purposes of disability compensation. 7 Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE UPON ENACTMENT. This Act, being deemed of 8 immediate importance, takes effect upon enactment. 9 Sec. 5. RETROACTIVE APPLICABILITY. This Act applies 10 retroactively to May 26, 2014, for applications for the 11 homestead credit under chapter 425 filed on or after that date. 12 EXPLANATION 13 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 14 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 15 Current Code section 425.15 provides a homestead credit to 16 the owner of a homestead for the full amount of tax levied 17 if the owner is any of the following: (1) a veteran of any 18 of the military forces of the United States who acquired the 19 homestead under specified federal programs; (2) a veteran 20 with a service-connected disability rating of 100 percent; 21 (3) a former member of the national guard of any state who 22 meets specified service requirements with a service-connected 23 disability rating of 100 percent; or (4) an individual who is a 24 surviving spouse or a child and who is receiving dependency and 25 indemnity compensation. 26 This bill amends the eligibility criteria for the credit 27 by requiring the service-connected disability rating of 100 28 percent to be permanent. The bill also amends the eligibility 29 criteria for the credit to include a veteran with a permanent 30 and total disability rating based on individual unemployability 31 that is compensated at the 100 percent disability rate and 32 certain members of the national guard with a permanent and 33 total disability rating based on individual unemployability 34 that are compensated at the 100 percent disability rate. 35 -2- LSB 1054XS (1) 86 md/sc 2/ 3

S.F. 189 The bill defines “permanent and total disability rating 1 based on individual unemployability” to mean a condition 2 under which a person has either a permanent service-connected 3 disability rating of 60 percent or two or more permanent 4 service-connected disability conditions in which one of the 5 conditions has at least a 40 percent rating and the combined 6 rating for all the conditions is at least 70 percent, and 7 the person has an administrative adjustment added to the 8 service-connected disability rating, due to individual 9 unemployability, such that the United States department of 10 veterans affairs rates the veteran as permanently and totally 11 disabled for purposes of disability compensation. 12 The bill specifies that for purposes of qualifying for the 13 credit, the receipt of dependency and indemnity compensation 14 by an individual who is a surviving spouse or a child must be 15 certified by the United States department of veterans affairs. 16 The bill also removes the provision that terminates eligibility 17 for the credit for a surviving spouse receiving dependency and 18 indemnity compensation when the surviving spouse remarries. 19 The bill takes effect upon enactment and applies 20 retroactively to May 26, 2014, for applications for the 21 homestead credit filed on or after that date. 22 -3- LSB 1054XS (1) 86 md/sc 3/ 3