Property tax break for blind, deaf, or totally disabled homeowners

disabled. (a) Definitions as used in this chapter: (1) “Blind” means a person whose central visual acuity does not exceed 20/200 in the better eye with correcting lenses, or whose visual acuity is greater than 20/200 but is accompanied by a limitation in the field of vision such that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no greater than twenty degrees, as certified under this section. (2) “Deaf” means a person whose average loss in the speech frequencies (five hundred to two thousand Hertz) in the better ear is ninety-two decibels, or such other level as may be updated by American National Standards Institute (A.N.S.I.), or worse, as certified under this section. (3) “Totally disabled” means a person who is totally disabled, either physically or mentally, and who, except for such total disability, would be able to engage in substantial gainful business or occupation, as certified under this section. (b) Any person who is qualified for the homeowner exemption under section 19-71 and who is certified as blind, deaf, and/or totally disabled as defined in this section shall be exempt from real property taxes on real property owned and occupied as the principal home by the person up to, but not exceeding a taxable value of $50,000. Except that no exemption shall apply to any minimum tax payable under section 19-90(e) of this chapter. (c) The disability shall be certified by: (1) a physician licensed under chapter 453, Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, (2) a qualified out-of-state physician who is currently licensed to practice in the state in which the physician resides, or (3) a commissioned medical officer in the United States military or public health service, engaged in the discharge of one’s official duty. Certification for a person who is blind or deaf may also be made by a licensed optometrist or licensed audiologist as the case may be. Certification shall be on forms prescribed by the department of finance. For disabled and unemployable veterans, the proof of disability or unemployable status submitted pursuant to section 19-73(1) from the Veterans Administration, may be substituted for the required certification. Official documentation from the Social Security Administration may also be substituted for the required certification. 19-55 SUPP. 7 (1-2020) (d) Any person who is certified as being temporarily blind, deaf, and/or totally disabled shall submit an annual certification or recertification, as required by this section. No exemption shall be allowed unless the required certification or recertification is submitted. (e) Any person who qualifies for an exemption under this section shall be allowed to apply for only one of the exemptions established in this section. (f) In the case of a lease of Hawaiian homestead land, where either a husband or wife is of non-Hawaiian descent, either spouse shall be entitled to the blind, deaf, or totally disabled exemption in the same manner as if either spouse was considered the owner thereof, provided proof of marriage is submitted to the director of finance.