Taxpayers in Limestone County are not eligible for refunds under a plan announced last week by Gov. Bob Riley concerning homestead exemptions, officials in the office of Limestone County Revenue Commissioner Brian Patterson said Friday.

“We are already under that system and it does not apply to Limestone County,” said Deputy Revenue Commissioner Linda Patterson. “We’ve had several people ask about it after the story came out Tuesday, but we’ve had to tell them that is already being done here and no refunds will be coming from here.”

Riley announced the state would refund property taxes to Alabamians who did not receive the homestead exemptions they were entitled to under a new attorney general’s opinion.

The announcement came after Attorney General Troy King issued an advisory opinion Oct. 25 that said the elderly, blind and disabled who have been receiving full property-tax exemptions under Alabama law can continue to do so, even though they own the property with someone who is not elderly, blind or disabled.

King’s advisory opinion reversed a letter in April that had been sent by Riley’s state Revenue Department to county tax officials.

Riley’s revenue commissioner, Tom Surtees, sought King’s opinion after property taxes became an issue in the Republican governor’s re-election campaign against Democratic Lt. Gov. Lucy Baxley.

Surtees said last week he does not expect a lot of refunds because most large counties had been assessing property in line with the attorney general’s opinion.

The Revenue Department at that time could not identify which counties had not been following the attorney general’s opinion. Revenue officials said elderly, blind or disabled property owners who think they might be entitled to a refund can check with their county’s tax assessor or revenue commissioner.