Sec. 12-170d. Partial state refund of rent and utility bills paid by certain renters age sixty-five or over or renters under age sixty-five with permanent total disability.
Sec. 12-170d. Partial state refund of rent and utility bills paid by certain renters age sixty-five or over or renters under age sixty-five with permanent total disability. (a) Beginning with the calendar year 1973 and for each calendar year thereafter
any renter of real property, or of a mobile manufactured home, as defined in section 12-63a, which he occupies as his home, who meets the qualifications set forth in this section,
shall be entitled to receive in the following year in the form of direct payment from the
state, a grant in refund of utility and rent bills actually paid by or for him on such real
property or mobile manufactured home to the extent set forth in section 12-170e. Such
grant by the state shall be made upon receipt by the state of a certificate of grant with
a copy of the application therefor attached, as provided in section 12-170f, provided
such application shall be made within one year from the close of the calendar year for
which the grant is requested. If the rental quarters are occupied by more than one person,
it shall be assumed for the purposes of this section and sections 12-170e and 12-170f
that each of such persons pays his proportionate share of the rental and utility expenses
levied thereon and grants shall be calculated on that portion of utility and rent bills paid
that are applicable to the person making application for grant under said sections. For
purposes of this section and said sections 12-170e and 12-170f a husband and wife shall
constitute one tenant, and a resident of cooperative housing shall be a renter. To qualify
for such payment by the state, the renter shall meet qualification requirements in accordance with each of the following subdivisions: (1) (A) At the close of the calendar year
for which a grant is claimed be sixty-five years of age or over, or his spouse who is
residing with him shall be sixty-five years of age or over, at the close of such year, or
be fifty years of age or over and the surviving spouse of a renter who at the time of his
death had qualified and was entitled to tax relief under this chapter, provided such spouse
was domiciled with such renter at the time of his death or (B) at the close of the calendar
year for which a grant is claimed be under age sixty-five and eligible in accordance with
applicable federal regulations, to receive permanent total disability benefits under Social
Security, or if he has not been engaged in employment covered by Social Security and
accordingly has not qualified for benefits thereunder but has become qualified for permanent total disability benefits under any federal, state or local government retirement
or disability plan, including the Railroad Retirement Act and any government-related
teacher's retirement plan, determined by the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management to contain requirements in respect to qualification for such permanent total
disability benefits which are comparable to such requirements under Social Security;
(2) shall reside within this state and shall have resided within this state for at least one
year or his spouse who is domiciled with him shall have resided within this state for at
least one year and shall reside within this state at the time of filing the claim and shall
have resided within this state for the period for which claim is made; (3) shall have
taxable and nontaxable income, the total of which shall hereinafter be called "qualifying
income", during the calendar year preceding the filing of his claim in an amount of not
more than twenty thousand dollars, jointly with spouse, if married, and not more than
sixteen thousand two hundred dollars if unmarried, provided such maximum amounts
of qualifying income shall be subject to adjustment in accordance with subdivision (2)
of subsection (a) of section 12-170e, and provided the amount of any Medicaid payments
made on behalf of the renter or the spouse of the renter shall not constitute income; and
(4) shall not have received financial aid or subsidy from federal, state, county or municipal funds, excluding Social Security receipts, emergency energy assistance under any
state program, emergency energy assistance under any federal program, emergency
energy assistance under any local program, payments received under the federal Supplemental Security Income Program, payments derived from previous employment, veterans and veterans disability benefits and subsidized housing accommodations, during
the calendar year for which a grant is claimed, for payment, directly or indirectly, of
rent, electricity, gas, water and fuel applicable to the rented residence. Notwithstanding
the provisions of subdivision (4) of this subsection, a renter who receives cash assistance
from the Department of Social Services in the calendar year prior to that in which such
renter files an application for a grant may be entitled to receive such grant provided the
amount of the cash assistance received shall be deducted from the amount of such grant
and the difference between the amount of the cash assistance and the amount of the
grant is equal to or greater than ten dollars. Funds attributable to such reductions shall
be transferred annually from the appropriation to the Office of Policy and Management,
for tax relief for elderly renters, to the Department of Social Services, to the appropriate
accounts, following the issuance of such grants. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (b) of section 12-170aa, the owner of a mobile manufactured home may elect
to receive benefits under section 12-170e in lieu of benefits under said section 12-170aa.
(b) For purposes of determining qualifying income under subsection (a) of this
section with respect to a married renter who submits an application for a grant in accordance with sections 12-170d to 12-170g, inclusive, the Social Security income of the
spouse of such renter shall not be included in the qualifying income of such renter, for
purposes of determining eligibility for benefits under said sections, if such spouse is a
resident of a health care or nursing home facility in this state receiving payment related
to such spouse under the Title XIX Medicaid program. An applicant who is legally
separated pursuant to the provisions of section 46b-40, as of the thirty-first day of December preceding the date on which such person files an application for a grant in
accordance with sections 12-170d to 12-170g, inclusive, may apply as an unmarried
person and shall be regarded as such for purposes of determining qualifying income
under subsection (a) of this section.
(P.A. 74-55, S. 8, 14; 74-237, S. 1, 2; P.A. 78-274, S. 2, 4; P.A. 79-498, S. 3, 4; 79-514, S. 3, 4; Oct. Sp. Sess. P.A. 79-7, S. 3-5; P.A. 80-463, S. 2, 6; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-3, S. 1; P.A. 84-515, S. 3, 7; P.A. 85-561, S. 5, 8; P.A. 86-409, S.
2, 4; June 11, Sp. Sess. P.A. 86-1, S. 3, 8; P.A. 87-267, S. 1; 87-586, S. 1, 10, 12; P.A. 88-321, S. 5, 10; P.A. 91-400, S.
2; P.A. 93-129, S. 1, 7; P.A. 95-307, S. 7, 14; P.A. 98-262, S. 16, 22; P.A. 99-134, S. 1, 2; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-6, S. 56,
85; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9, S. 100, 131.)
History: P.A. 74-237 added provisions re mobile homes; P.A. 78-274 excluded payments under federal supplemental
security income program from consideration as financial aid or subsidy in Subdiv. (4); P.A. 79-498 changed eligibility
age for surviving spouse from 60 to 50, deleted reference to Secs. 12-129b to 12-129d and required spouse to be domiciled
with renter at time of death in Subdiv. (1), effective July 1, 1979, and applicable to grants payable on or after that date;
P.A. 79-514 changed residency requirement in Subdiv. (2) from 5 years to 1 year; October, 1979, P.A. 79-7 excluded state,
federal or local emergency energy assistance from consideration as financial aid or subsidy under Subdiv. (4), effective
November 29, 1979, and, after December 31, 1979, applicable to grants payable on or after July 1, 1980; P.A. 80-463
included income other than adjusted gross income in "qualifying income" and increased maximum amounts of income re
eligibility in Subdiv. (1), effective June 6, 1980, and applicable to renters re grants allowed in calendar year commencing
January 1, 1981, and each calendar year thereafter; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 83-3 changed the term "mobile home" to "mobile
manufactured home"; P.A. 84-515 increased the maximum amounts of qualifying income for renters to amounts reflecting
the adjustments actually made in such amounts because of inflation for calendar years commencing January 1, 1982, and
January 1, 1983, as required under Sec. 12-170e(a)(3), effective June 13, 1984, and applicable to the calendar year 1985
and each calendar year thereafter; P.A. 85-561 added the provision that applicants for benefits under the program for elderly
renters must reside in the state at the time of filing claim for benefits and shall have resided in the state for the period for
which claim is made, effective July 5, 1985, and applicable to grants for renters paid in the calendar year 1986 and each
calendar year thereafter; P.A. 86-409 added provisions to include in the program, in addition to renters age 65 or over,
renters under age 65 with permanent total disability, effective June 10, 1986, and applicable to payments to renters in
calendar years commencing on or after January 1, 1987; June 11, Sp. Sess. P.A. 86-1 changed the "qualifying income"
amounts so as to be in conformity with the correct amounts as stated in Sec. 12-170aa and substituted reference to Sec.
12-170aa for Sec. 12-170a, repealed January 1, 1986, in description of the election available to owners of mobile homes,
effective July 8, 1986, pursuant to Art. 4, Sec. 15 of the Constitution of Conn. and Sec. 2-30 of the general statutes, and
applicable to grants for renters in calendar years commencing on or after January 1, 1987, with respect to renters eligible
for permanent total disability benefits; P.A. 87-267 amended Subdiv. (3) by adding provision on Medicaid payments; P.A.
87-586 amended the maximum qualifying income requirements in the program for renters by increasing the maximum
allowable annual income for married renters from $15,000 to $16,000 and for unmarried renters from $12,500 to $13,300,
subject to adjustment to reflect increases in social security income, effective July 6, 1987, and applicable to grants for
renters in calendar years commencing on or after January 1, 1987, and further provided that the "provisions of said public
act 86-1 (of the June 11, 1986, special session) having been codified in the general statutes, revised to January 1, 1987,
are deemed adopted and made effective July 8, 1986, the effective date of said public act 86-1"; P.A. 88-321 increased the
maximum amounts of qualifying income to $20,000, jointly with spouse, if married, and $16,200 if unmarried, effective
May 10, 1988, and applicable to grants for renters in the calendar year 1988 and thereafter; P.A. 91-400 added Subsec. (b)
concerning exclusion of social security income of Title XIX aid recipients from the calculation of the spouse's income,
effective October 1, 1991, and applicable to assessment years of municipalities commencing on or after that date; P.A.
93-129 amended Subsec. (a) by clarifying the time by which renters must be 65 years of age to qualify for the grant and
made technical changes, effective June 14, 1993; P.A. 95-307 amended Subsec. (a) to define "qualifying income" as taxable
and nontaxable income, eliminating provisions re total adjusted gross income, effective July 6, 1995; P.A. 98-262 amended
Subsec. (b) to allow a person who is legally separated to apply as an unmarried person for purposes of determining qualifying
income, effective June 8, 1998; P.A. 99-134 amended Subsec. (a) to provide that, notwithstanding Subdiv. (4), a renter
who receives cash assistance from the Department of Social Services in the previous calendar year may receive the grant
if the amount of cash assistance is deducted from the amount of such grant and the difference is at least $10, and to provide
for the transfer of funds attributable to such reductions, effective January 1, 2000; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-6 amended
Subsec. (b) to delete references to Sec. 12-170g, that section having been repealed in Sec. 84 of the same act, effective
July 1, 2001; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-9 repealed Sec. 84 of June Sp. Sess. P.A. 01-6 and restored requirement in Subsec.
(b) that grant application be in accordance with Sec. 12-170g, effective July 1, 2001.
See Sec. 12-120b re uniform administrative procedure for appeals related to state-reimbursed property tax exemptions,
credits and rebates.
Cited. 206 C. 711.