Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S0090 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1
2	2
3	3
4	4
5	5	2023 -- S 0090
6	6	========
7	7	LC000085
8	8	========
9	9	S TATE OF RHODE IS LAND
10	10	IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
11	11	JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2023
12	12	____________
13	13
14	14	A N A C T
15	15	RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION
16	16	Introduced By: Senators Kallman, Euer, Lawson, Acosta, Gu, McKenney, Burke, Miller,
17	17	Mack, and Lauria
18	18	Date Introduced: February 01, 2023
19	19	Referred To: Senate Finance
20	20
21	21
22	22	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
23	23	SECTION 1. Section 44-3-9 of the General Laws in Chapter 44-3 entitled "Property 1
24	24	Subject to Taxation" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
25	25	44-3-9. Exemption or stabilizing of taxes on property used for manufacturing, 3
26	26	commercial, or residential purposes. 4
27	27	(a)(1) Except as provided in this section, the electors of any city or town qualified to vote 5
28	28	on a proposition to appropriate money or impose a tax when legally assembled, may vote to 6
29	29	authorize the city or town council, for a period not exceeding twenty (20) years, and subject to the 7
30	30	conditions as provided in this section, to exempt from payment, in whole or in part, real and 8
31	31	personal property which has undergone environmental remediation, is historically preserved, or is 9
32	32	used for affordable housing, manufacturing, commercial, or residential purposes, or to determine a 10
33	33	stabilized amount of taxes to be paid on account of the property, notwithstanding the valuation of 11
34	34	the property or the rate of tax; provided, that after public hearings, at least ten (10) days’ notice of 12
35	35	which shall be given in a newspaper having a general circulation in the city or town, the city or 13
36	36	town council determines that: 14
37	37	(i) Granting of the exemption or stabilization will inure to the benefit of the city or town 15
38	38	by reason of: 16
39	39	(A) The willingness of the manufacturing or commercial concern to locate in the city or 17
40	40	town, or of individuals to reside in such an area; or 18
41	41	(B) The willingness of a manufacturing firm to expand facilities with an increase in 19
42	42
43	43
44	44	LC000085 - Page 2 of 5
45	45	employment or the willingness of a commercial or manufacturing concern to retain or expand its 1
46	46	facility in the city or town and not substantially reduce its work force in the city or town; or 2
47	47	(C) An improvement of the physical plant of the city or town which will result in a long-3
48	48	term economic benefit to the city or town and state; or 4
49	49	(D) An improvement which converts or makes available land or facility that would 5
50	50	otherwise be not developable or difficult to develop without substantial environmental remediation; 6
51	51	or 7
52	52	(ii) Granting of the exemption or stabilization of taxes will inure to the benefit of the city 8
53	53	or town by reason of the willingness of a manufacturing or commercial or residential firm or 9
54	54	property owner to construct new or to replace, reconstruct, convert, expand, retain, or remodel 10
55	55	existing buildings, facilities, machinery, or equipment with modern buildings, facilities, fixtures, 11
56	56	machinery, or equipment resulting in an increase or maintenance in plant, residential housing, or 12
57	57	commercial building investment by the firm or property owned in the city or town; 13
58	58	(2) Provided that should the city or town council make the determination in subsection 14
59	59	(a)(1)(i)(B) of this section, any exemption or stabilization may be granted as to new buildings, 15
60	60	fixtures, machinery, or equipment for new buildings, firms or expansions, and may be granted as 16
61	61	to existing buildings, fixtures, machinery and equipment for existing employers in the city or town. 17
62	62	(b) Cities shall have the same authority as is granted to towns except that authority granted 18
63	63	to the qualified electors of a town and to town councils shall be exercised in the case of a city by 19
64	64	the city council. 20
65	65	(c) For purposes of this section, “property used for commercial purposes” means any 21
66	66	building or structures used essentially for offices or commercial enterprises. 22
67	67	(d) Except as provided in this section, property, the payment of taxes on which has been so 23
68	68	exempted or which is subject to the payment of a stabilized amount of taxes, shall not, during the 24
69	69	period for which the exemption or stabilization of the amount of taxes is granted, be further liable 25
70	70	to taxation by the city or town in which the property is located so long as the property is used for 26
71	71	the manufacturing or commercial, or residential purposes for which the exemption or stabilized 27
72	72	amount of taxes was made. 28
73	73	(e) Notwithstanding any vote of the qualified electors of a town and findings of a town 29
74	74	council or of any vote and findings by a city council, the property shall be assessed for and shall 30
75	75	pay that portion of the tax, if any, assessed by the city or town in which the real or personal property 31
76	76	is located, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness of the city or town and the indebtedness of 32
77	77	the state or any political subdivision of the state to the extent assessed upon or apportioned to the 33
78	78	city or town, and the interest on the indebtedness, and for appropriation to any sinking fund of the 34
79	79
80	80
81	81	LC000085 - Page 3 of 5
82	82	city or town, which portion of the tax shall be paid in full, and the taxes so assessed and collected 1
83	83	shall be kept in a separate account and used only for that purpose. 2
84	84	(f) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to permit the exemption or stabilization 3
85	85	provided in this section for any manufacturing or commercial concern relocating from one city or 4
86	86	town within the state of Rhode Island to another. 5
87	87	(g) Renewable energy resources, as defined in § 39-26-5, qualify for tax stabilization 6
88	88	agreements pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. 7
89	89	(h) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the city council of the city of Providence may extend 8
90	90	the twenty-year (20) period in subsection (a) of this section by an additional ten (10) years for real 9
91	91	property located at 111 Westminster Street (also identified as 55 Kennedy Plaza), Providence, 10
92	92	Rhode Island, identified as assessor’s plat 20, lot 14. 11
93	93	(i) Pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, tax exemption or stabilization granted to 12
94	94	residential development projects, shall require, as a condition of the agreement between the city or 13
95	95	town and the entity seeking relief, that: 14
96	96	(1) Residential development projects of five (5) to nine (9) housing units include a number 15
97	97	of affordable housing units not less than a number equal to eighteen percent (18%) of the market-16
98	98	rate units developed, or contribute an amount equal to eighteen percent (18%) of the total value of 17
99	99	the development project to be deposited in a city or town account for use in providing or 18
100	100	maintaining affordable housing; 19
101	101	(2) Residential development projects of ten (10) or more housing units shall include a 20
102	102	number of affordable housing units not less than a number equal to eighteen percent (18%) of the 21
103	103	market-rate units developed; and 22
104	104	(3) Any such affordable housing units created, whether on-site or off-site, must be 23
105	105	comparable in size and quality to the average of all market-rate housing units in the development. 24
106	106	(j) In the event that the calculation set forth in subsections (i)(1) or (i)(2) of this section 25
107	107	results in a remainder, a city or town granting tax exemption or stabilization for a residential 26
108	108	development project may establish payment terms requiring the developer to contribute an amount 27
109	109	reasonably equivalent to the remainder to a city or town account for use in providing or maintaining 28
110	110	affordable housing. 29
111	111	(k) For the purposes of the section, affordable housing shall be defined as housing for sale 30
112	112	or rent with combined rental costs or combined mortgage loan debt service, property taxes, and 31
113	113	required insurance that do not exceed thirty percent (30%) of the gross annual income of a 32
114	114	household earning up to eighty percent (80%) of the Providence-Fall River, RI-MA metropolitan 33
115	115	area median income, as defined annually by the United States Department of Housing and Urban 34
116	116
117	117
118	118	LC000085 - Page 4 of 5
119	119	Development. 1
120	120	SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. 2
121	121	========
122	122	LC000085
123	123	========
124	124
125	125
126	126	LC000085 - Page 5 of 5
127	127	EXPLANATION
128	128	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
129	129	OF
130	130	A N A C T
131	131	RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION
132	132	***
133	133	This act would require cities and towns to implement affordable housing requirements 1
134	134	upon all developers of tax stabilization applications for developments of five (5) or more housing 2
135	135	units based upon median income as defined by the federal Department of Housing and Urban 3
136	136	Development (HUD). 4
137	137	This act would take effect upon passage. 5
138	138	========
139	139	LC000085
140	140	========
141	141