Senate bill offers redress for hurricane-damaged homes

hurricane-andrew-damaged-housesjpg-822c8bb93a79d17b

Florida bore the brunt of Hurricane Matthew last fall. For homeowners who suffered damage, a particular burden was imposed, via property appraisals that fit the period before the storm wrecked their houses.

In light of that act of God, and those to come, St. Johns County Republican Sen. Travis Hutson filed a bill Friday that would compel property appraisers to reduce the assessment of properties “damaged or destroyed” by natural disaster.

Natural disasters are defined in Senate Bill 272 as including earthquakes, fires, floods, hurricanes, sinkholes, or tornadoes.

Residential properties, in Hutson’s bill, are restricted to the actual living quarters; toolsheds, swimming pools, and such would not qualify for relief.

The legislative threshold for relief: properties rendered “uninhabitable” by the damage.

The deadline for filing for relief: March 1 in the year after the natural disaster.

The property tax bill would be adjusted, on a month by month basis, to prorate the difference between the pre and post-damage appraisals of the property.

The legislation has a provision for those who suffered damage, such as many of those in Hutson’s own district, from Hurricane Matthew.

The property owner must file an application with the property appraiser before March 2018; the reduction would be on the 2018 bill.

The financial impact for local governments is unknown from the loss of revenue at this point; however, tax collectors would be required to report the decrease in collections by May 2018.

A.G. Gancarski

A.G. Gancarski has been the Northeast Florida correspondent for Florida Politics since 2014. He writes for the New York Post and National Review also, with previous work in the American Conservative and Washington Times and a 15+ year run as a columnist in Folio Weekly. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter: @AGGancarski



#FlaPol

Florida Politics is a statewide, new media platform covering campaigns, elections, government, policy, and lobbying in Florida. This platform and all of its content are owned by Extensive Enterprises Media.

Publisher: Peter Schorsch @PeterSchorschFL

Contributors & reporters: Phil Ammann, Drew Dixon, Roseanne Dunkelberger, A.G. Gancarski, William March, Ryan Nicol, Jacob Ogles, Cole Pepper, Jesse Scheckner, Drew Wilson, and Mike Wright.

Email: [email protected]
Twitter: @PeterSchorschFL
Phone: (727) 642-3162
Address: 204 37th Avenue North #182
St. Petersburg, Florida 33704