Bill to waive taxes for disabled vets

SACRAMENTO >> A bill to exempt fully disabled veterans from property taxes was passed unanimously through the state’s Veterans Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

Assemblyman Jim Frazier, D-Discovery Bay, authored the bill, AB 3209, which expands current law that provides a property tax exemption on the first $100,000 of a home owned by a fully disabled veteran, or $150,000 for low-income fully disabled veterans.

AB 3209 expands that exemption to the full value of the primary place of residence lived in and owned by a fully disabled veteran or by the veteran’s spouse.

“Veterans who return home with a full disability sacrificed their livelihoods in the service of our country,” Frazier said. “The rising cost of home prices is driving veterans out of California. AB 3209 would help our disabled veterans remain in California, providing them better options to live close to base facilities and medical providers. This legislation will help make housing a bit more affordable for veterans who really need and deserve this assistance.”

The bill defines “totally disabled veterans” as a veteran who is blind in both eyes, has lost the use of two or more limbs, or is totally disabled as a result of injury or disease incurred in the military.

Additionally, the law applies to veterans who may not be rated as 100 percent disabled, but are compensated at the 100 percent rate for being unable to maintain substantially gainful employment or is marginally employed.

J.R. Wilson, founder of the Delta Veterans Group in Antioch, testified in support of the bill at the Veterans Affairs Committee on Tuesday.

“Veterans who return home totally disabled due to their honorable service to this great country oftentimes have sacrificed their ability to maintain gainful employment in support of themselves or their families,” Wilson said at the hearing.

Currently, there are 53,000 veterans in the state who qualify as 100 percent disabled and 45,000 homes that receive the exemption. The state Board of Equalization estimated that the average value of the homes that are currently receiving the partial exemption was $394,000.

In an analysis of the bill, the State Board of Equalization estimated that there would be a statewide annual property tax revenue loss of $91.1 million. The bill specifies that the state will not reimburse local agencies for lost property tax revenues.

The bill only applies to “ad valorem” taxes — those based on the assessed value of a property — not to special district taxes or parcel taxes.

The five counties with the greatest number of homes receiving disabled veterans’ compensation are San Diego, Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Sacramento.

The bill still needs to go through the assembly appropriations committee, assembly floor, senate and then the governor’s desk. The bill would take effect immediately following its passage.