Chapter
355
2005 -- S 0887 SUBSTITUTE A
Enacted 07/19/05
A N A C T
RELATING TO THE BLOCK ISLAND HOUSING BOARD
Introduced By: Senator V. Susan Sosnowski
Date Introduced: March 03, 2005
It is
enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
SECTION
1. Sections 45-60-3, 45-60-5, and 45-60-7 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-
60
entitled "Block Island Housing Board" are hereby amended to read as
follows:
45-60-3.
General powers and duties of the board. -- (a) The board shall have all
of the
powers
necessary and convenient to carry out and effectuate the purposes and
provisions of this
chapter,
including, without limitation, those general powers provided to a nonprofit
corporation
and
including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the power to:
(1) Upon application from an eligible applicant in a form prescribed by the
board,
provide
funding in the form of grants, loans, loan guarantees, lines of credit, rental
assistance or
any
other means determined to further the goals of the trust for eligible
activities;
(2) Enter into cooperative agreements with private organizations or individuals
or with
any
agency or instrumentality of the United States or of this state or town to
carry out the
purposes
of this chapter;
(3) Purchase, sell, build, develop or restore real estate, the objective of
which is to create
affordable
year-round and seasonal housing in perpetuity;
(4) Sell property to eligible applicants, such property may be deed-restricted such
that
affordability
will remain in perpetuity;
(5) Rent or lease real estate the board may own or lease from others;
(6) Solicit bequests and accept donations;
(7) The selling to or renting/leasing to applicants will be done in accordance
with the
provisions
of the Rhode Island Fair Housing Practices Act, chapter 37 of title 34. ;
(8)
Collect taxes on behalf of the town of New Shoreham from those owners engaged
in
the
business of renting, leasing, letting, or granting a license to use any
seasonal rental in
accordance
with sections 45-60-6 and 45-60-7, and the taxes so imposed shall be in
addition to all
other
taxes imposed by law.
(b) The board shall adopt reasonable rules and regulations governing the
conduct of trust
affairs,
including the acquisition and management of its holdings, not inconsistent with
the
provisions
of this chapter. All rules and regulations of the trust are subject to the
approval of the
town
council.
(c) All meetings of the housing board shall be open to the public except that
this
provision
shall not be deemed to prevent holding of executive sessions, provided all
votes are
taken in
public or closed meeting with recorded vote taken in accordance with chapter 46
of title
42, the
Rhode Island open meetings law.
45-60-5.
Annual report. -- (a) At the end of each fiscal year which is
defined to begin on
July 1
and continue through June 30 of each year, the board shall submit a report
concerning its
activities
to the town council. More frequent reports may be given as requested. The
report shall
include,
but not be limited to, the following:
(1) A list and description of activities funded by the board during the
preceding year;
(2) A list of taxes and/or contributions received by the board, whatever
their form or
nature,
and the source of the taxes and/or contributions, unless anonymity is a
condition of a
particular
contribution. The record of individual payments shall be kept confidential,
as are sales
and income
tax records;
(3) A full report of the board's activities;
(4) Fund statements will be audited annually by a certified public accounting
firm
engaged
by the housing board.
SECTION
2. Chapter 45-60 of the General Laws entitled "Block Island Housing
Board"
is
hereby amended by adding thereto the following sections:
45-60-6.
Imposition of seasonal rental tax, rate, procedure, enforcement,
exemptions.
-- (a) It is hereby declared
to be the legislative intent that every owner is exercising a
taxable
privilege who engages in the business of renting, leasing, letting, or granting
a license to
use
any living quarters or sleeping or housekeeping accommodations in, from, or a
part of, or in
connection
with any seasonal rental. However, any owner who rents, leases, lets, or grants
a
license
to others to use, occupy, or enter upon any living quarters or sleeping or
housekeeping
accommodations
in seasonal rentals and who exclusively enters into a bona fide written
agreement
for continuous residence for longer than six (6) months in duration at such
property is
not
exercising a taxable privilege. For the exercise of such taxable privilege, a
tax is hereby levied
in an
amount equal to no more than one percent (1%) of the actual rent received for
such seasonal
rental
by owner. Such tax shall apply to seasonal rental whether or not there is in
connection with
any
of the same any dining rooms, cafes, or other places where meals or lunches are
sold or
served
to guests. For purposes of this chapter “seasonal rental” shall mean any home
or apartment
rented
for six (6) months or less.
(b)
The owner receiving the rent shall remit the tax to the town treasurer for
deposit into
the
Block Island housing fund at the end of the rental season but no later than
February 15th of the
following
year or at some other time as designated by the Block Island housing board.
(c)
The tax levied by this section shall not apply to, be imposed upon, or
collected from
any
person who shall have entered into a bona fide written lease for longer than
six (6) months in
duration
for continuous residence at any one seasonal rental.
(d)
The tax imposed by this section shall constitute a lien on the property on
which the
seasonal
rental is located in the same manner as and shall be collectible as are liens
authorized
and
imposed by chapter 9 of title 44.
45-60-7.
Collections of seasonal rental tax. -- (a) When receipt of
consideration is by
way of
property other than money, the tax shall be levied and imposed on the fair
market value of
such
nonmonetary consideration.
(b)
The owner of the seasonal rental shall remit the tax to the town treasurer for
deposit
into
the Block Island housing fund at the end of the rental season but no later than
February 15th
of
the following year or at some other time as designated by the Block Island
housing board.
(c)
The town treasurer shall keep records showing the amount of taxes collected,
which
records
shall disclose the taxes collected from each owner of such seasonal rental. The
records of
individual
payments shall be kept confidential, as are sales and income tax records.
(d)
The collections received by the town treasurer shall be deposited into the
Block Island
housing
fund for use by the board as provided in this chapter.
(e)
The board shall promulgate such rules and shall prescribe and publish such
forms as
may
be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section including, but not
limited to,
procedures
for collection, timing, due dates and mailing of tax notices. The board is
authorized to
establish
audit procedures and to assess for delinquent taxes.
(f)
Any tax levied pursuant to this section shall be in addition to any other tax
imposed
pursuant
to chapter 44-5-1 et seq., and in addition to all other taxes and fees and the
consideration
for
the rental or lease.
SECTION
3. There shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the town of New
Shoreham
at a special election to be held on November 8, 2005, for their approval the
following
question:
"Shall the act passed by the general assembly at its January , 2005
session, entitled 'An
Act
Relating to the Block Island Housing Board' be approved” and the board of canvassers shall
certify
the results of said election to the secretary of state.
SECTION
4. This section and section 3 of this act shall take effect upon the passage of
this act,
and the remaining sections of this act shall take effect when the board of
canvassers shall
certify
to the secretary of state that a majority of the qualified electors voting upon
the question
contained in section 3 shall have voted to approve
the same.
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LC02690/SUB A
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