(a) (1) In this section the following words have the meanings indicated.
(2) “Cohabitant” means an individual who for a period of at least 180 days in the year before the death of a fallen public safety officer or judicial officer:
(i) had a relationship of mutual interdependence with the fallen public safety officer or judicial officer; and
(ii) resided with the fallen public safety officer or judicial officer in the dwelling.
(3) “Disabled public safety officer or judicial officer” means an individual who:
(i) has been found to be permanently and totally disabled by an administrative body or court of competent jurisdiction authorized to make such a determination; and
(ii) became disabled:
1. as a result of or in the course of employment as a law enforcement officer, a correctional officer, or a judicial officer; or
2. while in active service as a judicial officer or while in the active service of a fire, rescue, or emergency medical service, unless the disability was the result of the individual’s own willful misconduct or abuse of alcohol or drugs.
(4) (i) “Dwelling” means real property that:
1. is the legal residence of a disabled public safety officer or judicial officer, a surviving spouse, or a cohabitant; and
2. is occupied by not more than two families.
(ii) “Dwelling” includes the lot or curtilage and structures necessary to use the real property as a residence.
(5) “Fallen public safety officer or judicial officer” means an individual who dies:
(i) as a result of or in the course of employment as a law enforcement officer, a correctional officer, or a judicial officer; or
(ii) while in active service as a judicial officer or while in the active service of a fire, rescue, or emergency medical service, unless the death was the result of the individual’s own willful misconduct or abuse of alcohol or drugs.
(6) “Public safety officer” means a correctional officer, a law enforcement officer, or a member of a fire, rescue, or emergency medical service, as those terms are defined, by law, by the county or municipal corporation as required under subsection (c) of this section.
(7) “Surviving spouse” means a surviving spouse, who has not remarried, of a fallen public safety officer or judicial officer.
(b) The Mayor and City Council of Baltimore City or the governing body of a county or municipal corporation may grant, by law, a property tax credit under this section against the county or municipal corporation property tax imposed on a dwelling that is owned by a disabled public safety officer or judicial officer, a surviving spouse, or a cohabitant:
(1) if the dwelling was owned by the disabled public safety officer or judicial officer at the time the public safety officer or judicial officer was adjudged to be permanently and totally disabled or by the fallen public safety officer or judicial officer at the time of the fallen public safety officer’s or judicial officer’s death;
(2) if the disabled public safety officer or judicial officer was domiciled in the State as of, or any time within the 5 years before, the date the disabled public safety officer or judicial officer was adjudged to be permanently and totally disabled or the fallen public safety officer or judicial officer, the surviving spouse, or the cohabitant was domiciled in the State as of, or any time within the 5 years before, the date of the fallen public safety officer’s or judicial officer’s death and the dwelling was acquired by the disabled public safety officer or judicial officer within 10 years of the date the disabled public safety officer or judicial officer was adjudged to be permanently and totally disabled or by the surviving spouse or cohabitant within 10 years of the fallen public safety officer’s or judicial officer’s death;
(3) if the dwelling was owned by the surviving spouse or cohabitant at the time of the fallen public safety officer’s or judicial officer’s death; or
(4) if the dwelling was acquired after the disabled public safety officer or judicial officer, the surviving spouse, or the cohabitant qualified for a credit for a former dwelling under item (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection, to the extent of the previous credit.
(c) A county or municipal corporation:
(1) shall define, by law, who is a:
(i) public safety officer; and
(ii) judicial officer; and
(2) may provide, by law, for:
(i) the amount and duration of a property tax credit allowed under this section;
(ii) any additional limitation to the number of years the dwelling was acquired within the date of an adjudication of disability or death; and
(iii) any other provision necessary to carry out the provisions of this section.