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AN ACT REVISING PROPERTY TAXES FOR SENIOR CARE AND HOUSING; PROVIDING A
TEMPORARY TAX EXEMPTION FOR SENIOR CARE AND HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS;
REQUIRING APPROVAL BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF A LOCAL GOVERNMENT; PROVIDING FOR AN
EXTENSION OF THE TAX EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN PROPERTY; PROVIDING FOR TERMINATION OF
THE TAX EXEMPTION FOR CERTAIN EVENTS; PROVIDING RULEMAKING AUTHORITY; PROVIDING
DEFINITIONS; AMENDING SECTION 15-10-305, MCA; AND PROVIDING AN APPLICABILITY DATE.”
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. [Sections 1 through 8] may be cited as the "Senior Care Facilities and Housing
Development Exemption Act".
Section 2. The legislature finds and declares that there is a shortage in this
state of decent, safe, and sanitary, senior care and housing facilities that is affordable for all seniors. To
alleviate the high cost of facilities and housing for all seniors, the legislature believes it is essential that property
tax incentives be made available to tax-exempt organizations that assist senior Montanans in meeting critical
housing needs.
Section 3. As used in [sections 1 through 8], unless the context clearly indicates
otherwise, the following definitions apply:
(1) "Board" means the board of directors for a tax-exempt senior care and housing sponsor.
(2) "Department" means the department of revenue provided for in 2-15-1301.
(2) (a) "Local government" means the county, consolidated government, or incorporated city or
town where the senior development project is located or proposed to be located. ****
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(b) The term does not include the county if the senior development project is located or proposed
to be located in an incorporated city or town.
(3) "Property owner-operator" means a corporation that is incorporated or admitted under a
certificate of authority under the laws of the state and that leases or purchases property for senior care facilities
and housing or related facilities, which may include a purchase from a tax-exempt senior care and housing
sponsor.
(4) "Senior care facilities" means some or all levels of a continuum of care. The term includes but
is not limited to independent living and housing, semi-independent living and housing, assisted living, in-home
nursing or assistant care, memory care, short-term or long-term medical care, or hospice.
(5) "Senior care facilities and housing" means senior care facilities and senior housing:
(a) specifically designed and operated to assist and benefit elderly persons;
(b) intended for, and solely occupied by, persons 62 years of age or older; or
(c) intended and operated for occupancy by at least one person 55 years of age or older in each
unit in accordance with the provisions of 42 U.S.C. 3607(b)(2)(C) and (b)(3) through (b)(5), as those provisions
read on March 31, 1996.
(6) (a) "Senior care and housing development project" means single-family homes and multifamily
projects for the primary purpose of acquiring land for, constructing, or rehabilitating accommodations for senior
care facilities and housing that may be retained and rented or sold to a property owner-operator for senior care
facilities and housing.
(b) The development process includes:
(i) the acquisition of property, not to exceed 250 acres;
(ii) the planning of the buildings, infrastructure, utilities, and improvements;
(iii) permitting;
(iv) the demolition of existing structures; and
(v) the construction, reconstruction, alteration, and repair of the improvements.
(7) "Tax-exempt senior care and housing sponsor" means a charitable nonprofit corporation that is
exempt from taxation under 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3), as amended, and incorporated or admitted under a certificate
of authority under the Montana Nonprofit Corporation Act as provided in Title 35, chapter 2, and whose articles ****
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of incorporation provide in addition that:
(a) the charitable organization has been organized exclusively to obtain land and assist senior
care and housing development projects;
(b) all of the income and earnings of the organization must be used exclusively for senior care and
housing development project purposes, and part of the net income or net earnings of the organization may not
inure to the benefit or profit of any private individual, firm, corporation, partnership, or association; and
(c) the charitable organization is in no manner controlled by, under the direction of, or acting in the
substantial interest of any private individual, firm, partnership, or association seeking to derive profit or gain
from the organization or seeking to eliminate or minimize losses in any transactions with the organization.
Section 4.
and housing development project. (1) A tax-exempt senior care and housing sponsor may file a petition with
a local government requesting preapproval of a property tax exemption for a senior care and housing
development project. The petition must include sufficient information regarding property development, including
the buildings, land, equipment, facilities, or other real or personal properties that are necessary, convenient,
related, or desirable in connection with the development of senior care facilities and housing, including but not
limited to streets, sewers, utilities, parks, site preparation, landscaping, and other nonhousing facilities that the
tax-exempt senior care and housing sponsor determines to be necessary, convenient, related, or desirable.
(2) Upon the filing of the petition, the local government shall give notice of the time, place, and
purpose of a public hearing at which the governing body of the local government shall determine whether there
is a need for the senior care and housing development project.
(3) If the governing body determines there is a compelling need for the senior care and housing
development project, it shall adopt a resolution approving the petition. If the governing body approves the
petition, the tax-exempt senior care and housing sponsor may apply for a property tax exemption pursuant to
[section 6] within 2 years after the approval.
(4) If the governing body, after a hearing, determines that there is not a compelling need for a
senior care and housing development project, it shall adopt a resolution denying the petition. After 3 months
have expired following the date of the denial of a petition, subsequent petitions may be filed, and new hearings ****
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and determinations may be made on the petitions.
Section 5.
and housing authorized. (1) A senior care and housing development project is subject to the planning, zoning,
sanitary, and building laws, ordinances, and regulations applicable to the locality in which the housing project is
situated.
(2) A property owner-operator or tax-exempt senior care and housing sponsor shall extend
preference in occupancy for senior care facilities and housing.
Section 6.
rulemaking. (1) If the governing body approves a petition for a senior care and housing development project
pursuant to [section 4], the board of the tax-exempt senior care and housing sponsor may submit a property tax
exemption application to the department. The application must include the petition that was submitted to the
governing body and the resolution approving the petition. After the department has approved the exemption
application, the property of the senior care and housing development project is temporarily exempt from all
property taxation at the start of the property tax year beginning January 1 after the approval.
(2) At the time the exemption is granted, the department shall provide a notice to the clerk and
recorder in the county where the property is located, and the clerk shall file the notice. The notice must indicate
that an exemption pursuant to this section has been granted on a form prescribed by the department.
(3) Subject to subsection (5), the temporary exemption applies to all real property owned by a
property owner-operator or a tax-exempt senior care and housing sponsor within the senior care and housing
development project, including new construction, for a period equal to the lesser of 5 years or until the
development is final and operational. A tax-exempt property owner-operator or tax-exempt senior care and
housing sponsor may rent homes and multifamily projects for senior care facilities and housing without loss of
the temporary exemption.
(4) During the year in which the exemption provided for in subsection (3) expires, a tax-exempt
property owner-operator or the board of a tax-exempt senior care and housing sponsor may submit a renewal
application to the department for an additional 5-year exemption. The exemption applies to all property owned ****
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by the tax-exempt property owner-operator or tax-exempt senior care and housing sponsor that is used for
senior care facilities and senior housing facilities.
(5) The exemptions in subsections (3) and (4) expire at the start of the property tax year beginning
on January 1 for a lot or structure that is leased or sold by the tax-exempt senior care and housing sponsor to
anyone other than a tax-exempt property owner-operator.
(6) Subject to subsection (7), the donor of property to a tax-exempt senior care and housing
sponsor may retain a portion of land within the senior care and housing development project and receive a
property tax exemption until the earliest of:
(a) the expiration of the exemption;
(b) the date the project becomes operational by filling beds, an apartment, or other living facility; or
(c) when a commercial business is open to the public.
(7) The senior care and housing development project may not be composed of more than 20% of
land that is used for complementary ancillary commercial businesses other than senior care facilities and senior
housing, including but not limited to doctor's offices, rehabilitation facilities, grocery or convenience stores,
neighborhood restaurants, pharmacies, and workforce housing related to employment at senior care facilities.
Section 7. The
board of a tax-exempt senior care and housing sponsor shall, at least once a year, file with the governing body
of the local government a report of its activities for the preceding year until the property tax exemption in
[section 6] expires.
Section 8.
through 8].
Section 9. Section 15-10-305, MCA, is amended to read:
"15-10-305. (1)
(a) The county clerk and recorder shall by the second Monday in September or within 30 calendar days after
receiving certified taxable values notify the department of the number of mills needed to be levied for each ****
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taxing jurisdiction in the county. Except as provided in subsection (1)(b), the department shall compute the
taxes by multiplying the number of mills times the taxable value of the property to be taxed and shall add any
fees or assessments required to be levied against a person owning property. All taxes, fees, and assessments
must be itemized for the property listed in the property tax record.
(b) In Except as provided in [section 6] regarding a property tax exemption for a senior care and
housing development project, in conveyances that result in a land split, the taxes must be based on the
property as assessed on January 1 preceding the conveyance. The department is not required to include the
name of the new owner in the computation of the amount of taxes, fees, and assessments to be levied against
property that is part of a land conveyance if including the new owner's name would cause the department to
violate the deadline provided in subsection (2).
(2) The department shall complete the computation of the amount of taxes, fees, and assessments
to be levied against the property and shall notify the county clerk and recorder and the county treasurer by the
second Monday in October. Notwithstanding the provisions of 15-10-321, if a county clerk and recorder fails to
timely notify the department of the number of mills needed to be levied for each taxing jurisdiction in that county
in accordance with subsection (1)(a), the department must have additional time to meet the notification
requirement of this subsection (2) equal to the number of days that the notification required in subsection (1)(a)
was received late by the department."
Section 10. [Sections 1 through 8] are intended to be codified as a new
part in Title 15, chapter 6, and the provisions of Title 15, chapter 6, apply to [sections 1 through 8].
Section 11. [This act] applies to property tax years beginning after December 31,
2025.
- END - I hereby certify that the within bill,
HB 920, originated in the House.
___________________________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
___________________________________________
Speaker of the House
Signed this _______________________________day
of____________________________________, 2025.
___________________________________________
President of the Senate
Signed this _______________________________day
of____________________________________, 2025. HOUSE BILL NO. 920
INTRODUCED BY A. REGIER, T. TEZAK, W. GALT, M. CUFFE, J. FULLER, J. TREBAS, B. USHER, D.
ZOLNIKOV, D. LENZ, F. MANDEVILLE, J. ESP, P. FLOWERS, S. MORIGEAU, B. PHALEN, E. KERR-
CARPENTER, D. FERN, C. GLIMM, G. HERTZ, M. YAKAWICH, T. MCGILLVRAY, V. RICCI, C. POPE, S.
NOVAK, J. MORIGEAU, S. FITZPATRICK, P. FIELDER, S. KELLY, B. MITCHELL, M. NOLAND