Rhode Island 2023 Regular Session

Rhode Island Senate Bill S0708 Compare Versions

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

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5	5	2023 -- S 0708
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7	7	LC001851
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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 -- LEVY AND ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL TAXES
16	16	Introduced By: Senator V. Susan Sosnowski
17	17	Date Introduced: March 22, 2023
18	18	Referred To: Senate Finance
19	19	(Dept. of Environmental Management)
20	20
21	21	It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
22	22	SECTION 1. Section 44-5-12 of the General Laws in Chapter 44-5 entitled "Levy and 1
23	23	Assessment of Local Taxes" is hereby amended to read as follows: 2
24	24	44-5-12. Assessment at full and fair cash value. 3
25	25	(a) All real property subject to taxation shall be assessed at its full and fair cash value, as 4
26	26	of December 31 in the year of the last update or revaluation, or at a uniform percentage thereof, not 5
27	27	to exceed one hundred percent (100%), to be determined by the assessors in each town or city; 6
28	28	provided, that: 7
29	29	(1) Any residential property encumbered by a covenant recorded in the land records in 8
30	30	favor of a governmental unit or the Rhode Island housing and mortgage finance corporation 9
31	31	restricting either or both the rents that may be charged or the incomes of the occupants shall be 10
32	32	assessed and taxed in accordance with § 44-5-13.11; 11
33	33	(2) In assessing real estate that is classified as farmland, forest, or open space land in 12
34	34	accordance with chapter 27 of this title, the assessors shall consider no factors in determining the 13
35	35	full and fair cash value of the real estate other than those that relate to that use without regard to 14
36	36	neighborhood land use of a more intensive nature; 15
37	37	(3) Warwick. The city council of the city of Warwick is authorized to provide, by 16
38	38	ordinance, that the owner of any dwelling of one to three (3) family units in the city of Warwick 17
39	39	who makes any improvements or additions on his or her principal place of residence in the amount 18
40	40	up to fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000), as may be determined by the tax assessor of the city of 19
41	41
42	42
43	43	LC001851 - Page 2 of 5
44	44	Warwick, is exempt from reassessment of property taxes on the improvement or addition until the 1
45	45	next general citywide reevaluation of property values by the tax assessor. For the purposes of this 2
46	46	section, “residence” is defined as voting address. This exemption does not apply to any commercial 3
47	47	structure. The property owner shall supply all necessary plans to the building official for the 4
48	48	improvements or addition and shall pay all requisite building and other permitting fees as now are 5
49	49	required by law; and 6
50	50	(4) Central Falls. The city council of the city of Central Falls is authorized to provide, by 7
51	51	ordinance, that the owner of any dwelling of one to eight (8) units who makes any improvements 8
52	52	or additions to his or her residential or rental property in an amount not to exceed twenty-five 9
53	53	thousand dollars ($25,000), as determined by the tax assessor of the city of Central Falls, is exempt 10
54	54	from reassessment of property taxes on the improvement or addition until the next general citywide 11
55	55	reevaluation of property values by the tax assessor. The property owner shall supply all necessary 12
56	56	plans to the building official for the improvements or additions and shall pay all requisite building 13
57	57	and other permitting fees as are now required by law. 14
58	58	(5) Tangible property shall be assessed according to the asset classification table as defined 15
59	59	in § 44-5-12.1. Renewable energy resources shall only be taxed as tangible property under § 44-5-16
60	60	3(c) and the real property on which they are located shall not be reclassified, revalued, or reassessed 17
61	61	due to the presence of renewable energy resources., excepting only reclassification of farmland as 18
62	62	addressed Notwithstanding the foregoing, real property that is enrolled in farm, forest or open space 19
63	63	classification addressed in chapter 27 of title 44, which is developed to include the presence of 20
64	64	renewable energy resources on such real property shall have that acreage, which is used for 21
65	65	renewable energy removed from enrollment in farm, forest, or open space, and revert back to its 22
66	66	classification immediately preceding enrollment as farm, forest, or open space, subject to the partial 23
67	67	and dual use provisions set forth in § 44-27-10.1. Subject to the aforementioned exception for 24
68	68	farmland farm, forest, and open space, all assessments of real property with renewable energy 25
69	69	resources thereon shall revert to the last assessed value immediately prior to the renewable 26
70	70	developer’s purchasing, leasing, securing an option to purchase or lease, or otherwise acquiring 27
71	71	any interest in the real property. However, notwithstanding the above, but without any limitation 28
72	72	on taxpayer rights under § 44-5-26, no municipality shall be liable or otherwise responsible for any 29
73	73	rebates, refunds, or any other reimbursements for taxes previously collected for real property with 30
74	74	renewable energy resources thereupon. 31
75	75	(6) Provided, however, that, for taxes levied after December 31, 2015, new construction on 32
76	76	development property is exempt from the assessment of taxes under this chapter at the full and fair 33
77	77	cash value of the improvements, as long as: 34
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81	81	(i) An owner of development property files an affidavit claiming the exemption with the 1
82	82	local tax assessor by December 31 each year; and 2
83	83	(ii) The assessor shall then determine if the real property on which new construction is 3
84	84	located is development property. If the real property is development property, the assessor shall 4
85	85	exempt the new construction located on that development property from the collection of taxes on 5
86	86	improvements, until such time as the real property no longer qualifies as development property, as 6
87	87	defined herein. 7
88	88	For the purposes of this section, “development property” means: (A) Real property on 8
89	89	which a single-family residential dwelling or residential condominium is situated and said single-9
90	90	family residential dwelling or residential condominium unit is not occupied, has never been 10
91	91	occupied, is not under contract, and is on the market for sale; or (B) Improvements and/or 11
92	92	rehabilitation of single-family residential dwellings or residential condominiums that the owner of 12
93	93	such development property purchased out of a foreclosure sale, auction, or from a bank, and which 13
94	94	property is not occupied. Such property described in subsection (a)(6)(ii) of this section shall 14
95	95	continue to be taxed at the assessed value at the time of purchase until such time as such property 15
96	96	is sold or occupied and no longer qualifies as development property. As to residential 16
97	97	condominiums, this exemption shall not affect taxes on the common areas and facilities as set forth 17
98	98	in § 34-36-27. In no circumstance shall such designation as development property extend beyond 18
99	99	two (2) tax years and a qualification as a development property shall only apply to property that 19
100	100	applies for, or receives, construction permits after July 1, 2015. Further, the exemptions set forth 20
101	101	in this section shall not apply to land. 21
102	102	(b) Municipalities shall make available to every land owner whose property is taxed under 22
103	103	the provisions of this section a document that may be signed before a notary public containing 23
104	104	language to the effect that they are aware of the additional taxes imposed by the provisions of § 44-24
105	105	5-39 in the event that they use land classified as farm, forest, or open space land for another purpose. 25
106	106	(c) Pursuant to the provisions of § 44-3-29.1, all wholesale and retail inventory subject to 26
107	107	taxation is assessed at its full and fair cash value, or at a uniform percentage of its value, not to 27
108	108	exceed one hundred percent (100%), for fiscal year 1999, by the assessors in each town and city. 28
109	109	Once the fiscal year 1999 value of the inventory has been assessed, this value shall not increase. 29
110	110	The phase-out rate schedule established in § 44-3-29.1(d) applies to this fixed value in each year 30
111	111	of the phase out. 31
112	112	SECTION 2. Section 44-27-10.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 44-27 entitled "Taxation 32
113	113	of Farm, Forest, and Open Space Land" is hereby amended to read as follows: 33
114	114	44-27-10.1. Land withdrawn from classification for commercial renewable-energy 34
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118	118	production — Effect on obligation and the land use change tax. 1
119	119	(a) Farmlands classified in the farm, forest, or open-space program in this chapter shall not 2
120	120	be subject to a land use change tax if the landowner converts no more than twenty percent (20%) 3
121	121	of the total acreage of land that is actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use to install a 4
122	122	renewable energy system. Any acreage used for a renewable energy system that is designated for 5
123	123	dual use under subsection (c) of this section shall not be included in the calculation of the twenty 6
124	124	percent (20%) restriction. For purposes of this section, land that is actively devoted to agricultural 7
125	125	or horticultural use shall be defined by rules and regulations established by the department of 8
126	126	environmental management in consultation with the office of energy resources and shall include, 9
127	127	at a minimum, any land that is actively devoted to agricultural or horticultural use that was 10
128	128	previously used to install a renewable energy system. Those rules shall also define renewable 11
129	129	energy system to include, at a minimum, any buffers, access roads, and other supporting 12
130	130	infrastructure associated with the generation of renewable energy. 13
131	131	(b) The tax assessor shall only withdraw from farmland classification the actual acreage of 14
132	132	the farmland used for a renewable energy system that is not concurrently used as farmland. The 15
133	133	rest of the farmland shall remain eligible as long as it still meets the program qualification criteria. 16
134	134	This reclassification of farmlands shall not be considered an exception to the tax treatment for 17
135	135	renewable energy systems prescribed by § 44-5-3(c) and reclassified farmland shall only be 18
136	136	reclassified, revalued, and taxed to the classification and tax that immediately predated the farmland 19
137	137	classification. 20
138	138	(c) The dual purpose designation for installing a renewable energy system and utilizing the 21
139	139	land below and surrounding the system for agriculture purposes, shall be determined pursuant to 22
140	140	rules and regulations that will be established by the department of environmental management in 23
141	141	consultation with the office of energy resources. The regulations shall be adopted no later than 24
142	142	December 30, 2017. 25
143	143	SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage. 26
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150	150	EXPLANATION
151	151	BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
152	152	OF
153	153	A N A C T
154	154	RELATING TO TAXATION -- LEVY AND ASSESSMENT OF LOCAL TAXES
155	155	***
156	156	This act would, for assessment of property tax purposes, provide that real property enrolled 1
157	157	in farm, forest or open space, which has acreage used for renewable energy resources, have that 2
158	158	acreage used for renewable energy removed from enrollment in farm forest or open space 3
159	159	immediately preceding its enrollment as such. 4
160	160	This act would take effect upon passage. 5
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