2019 -- H 5453 SUBSTITUTE A

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LC001376/SUB A

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2019

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO TAXATION - LEVY AND ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL TAXES

     Introduced By: Representatives McEntee, Craven, Almeida, Ucci, and Morin

     Date Introduced: February 14, 2019

     Referred To: House Municipal Government

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Chapter 44-5 of the General Laws entitled "Levy and Assessment of Local

Taxes" is hereby amended by adding thereto the following section:

     44-5-13.40. Property tax exemptions for surviving spouses of police and fire

personnel killed in the line of duty.

     (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of chapter 5 of title 44, each municipality shall

exempt from taxation the real property of the surviving spouse of any law enforcement officer or

firefighter who was killed in the line of duty, who occupies the real property as their principal

place of residence. This exemption shall cease if the surviving spouse remarries and shall not be

claimed thereafter. This exemption applies to the surviving spouse's principal place of residence

without any restriction on the spouse's moving to a different principal place of residence within

the state.

     (b) For the purposes of this section, killed in the line of duty shall mean a traumatic

physical wound (or traumatized physical condition of the body) directly and proximately caused

by external force (such as bullets, explosives, sharp instruments, blunt objects, or physical blows),

chemicals, electricity, climatic conditions, infectious disease, radiation, virii, or bacteria. When a

law enforcement officer or firefighter engages in a situation involving nonroutine stressful or

strenuous physical law enforcement, fire suppression or participates in a training exercise

involving nonroutine stressful or strenuous physical activity and dies of a heart attack, stroke or

vascular rupture not later than twenty-four (24) hours after the officer or firefighter engaged in

such activity the death shall be considered killed in the line of duty.

     (c) The provisions of this section shall not be applied retroactively but shall only be

applied prospectively.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO TAXATION - LEVY AND ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL TAXES

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     This act would exempt from taxation the real property of the surviving spouse of any law

enforcement officer or firefighter killed in the line of duty with the provisions applied only

prospectively and not retroactively.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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