SB 990 Summary

• Allows individuals who move to nursing homes or assisted living facilities to retain the principal residence property tax exemption if they continue to own the property, haven't established a new principal residence, maintain the property, and it remains unoccupied and unleased.

• Clarifies that property contiguity for principal residence exemption purposes is not broken by roads, rights-of-way, or property purchased/condemned by public utilities for power transmission lines.

• Extends principal residence exemption to include timber-cutover real property adjoining or contiguous to the owner's dwelling, effective December 31, 2007.

• Establishes provisions for bed and breakfast operations to claim partial principal residence exemptions based on square footage calculations of residential versus commercial use areas.

• Creates payment and verification requirements for banks, credit unions, and lending institutions that foreclose on properties previously exempt as principal residences, allowing them to retain exemptions on unsold foreclosed properties.