HB 546 Summary

• Allows counties, townships, and municipal corporations to establish senior citizen investment funds and tax relief funds by ordinance or resolution to reduce property taxes and special assessments for seniors aged 65 and older.

• Requires subdivisions to deposit at least 1% of eligible receipts annually to senior citizen investment funds, which must be invested in U.S. bonds or state/municipal securities to generate interest revenue.

• Fund managers must certify annually whether sufficient interest earnings exist in the tax relief fund to support a partial property tax and special assessment reduction for qualifying senior homesteads.

• Interest earnings from investments are deposited to the tax relief fund and used exclusively to reimburse taxing authorities for revenue forgone through senior citizen property tax reductions under divisions (C) of section 323.152 and (E) of section 4503.065.

• Establishes procedures for county budget commissions to monitor subdivision compliance with deposit requirements and allows fund use for general purposes only during certified financial crises.