State Senate panel studies bill for tax relief to seniors

By Sherri Drake, Commercial Appeal
April 20, 2007

Tennessee senior citizens may soon get some property tax relief due to a legislation tweak, Senate Majority Leader Mark Norris told a crowd of Tipton County home builders Thursday night.

Norris, R-Collierville, said he'll present an adjusted version of the bill that would freeze property taxes for senior citizens to the Senate, State and Local Government Committee Tuesday.

Norris had proposed the bill to set a $50,000 annual income cap for eligibility, with local municipalities having the option to set a lower limit. But, Norris said, the state's attorney general warned that the plan might be unconstitutional.

He's hoping that a change to the bill to set the cap at the median income for 65- to 74-year-olds will be approved.

"I'm optimistic that we'll pass the tax relief for seniors," Norris said at a Tipton County Home Builders meeting at The Balcony in Munford.

Munford Mayor Dwayne Cole said he was pleased that the cap was changed to median income from $50,000, which he said might've included people who didn't need tax relief. "It seems to be a better plan," he said. "It makes good sense to me."

Norris also discussed ways to boost education funding with money already in the budget and not relying so heavily on money from an increased cigarette tax.

"There's enough money to go around," Norris said. "It's just a question of how we allocate it."

Norris gave updates on plans to have state troopers trained in identifying illegal immigrants and a requirement for employers to check a database ensuring employees are in the U.S. legally.