| Chapter 183 |
| 2021 -- H 6126 AS AMENDED Enacted 07/06/2021 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO TAXATION |
Introduced By: Representatives Bennett, Marszalkowski, McGaw, Ruggiero, Cortvriend, Carson, Phillips, Serpa, Vella-Wilkinson, and Kennedy |
| Date Introduced: March 11, 2021 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 44-3-32.2 of the General Laws in Chapter 44-3 entitled "Property |
| Subject to Taxation" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 44-3-32.2. Cities and towns -- Tax exemption for farmland, forestland, or open space |
| land. |
| (a) Cities and towns in the state of Rhode Island may, by ordinance, exempt from taxation |
| any real property situated in the town classified and utilized as farmland, forestland, or open space |
| land pursuant to the provisions of chapter 27 of this title. The amount of the exemption shall be |
| provided for by ordinance. Cities and towns may, from time to time, by amendment to the |
| ordinance, make those changes in the amount of exemption granted. |
| (b) Cities and towns in the state of Rhode Island may, by ordinance, exempt from taxation |
| any real property utilized in the production of dairy products by a licensed dairy in Rhode Island, |
| current and future, pursuant to the department of health rules and regulations, including cow, sheep, |
| and goat dairies. Said The real property shall include, grazing land, cropland, outbuildings, and any |
| other facility used in the direct production and processing of dairy products. The amount of the |
| exemption shall be provided for by ordinance. Cities and towns may, from time to time, by |
| amendment to the ordinance, make those changes in the amount of exemption granted. |
| (b)(c) Cities and towns of Rhode Island are authorized by ordinance to provide that any |
| person who obtains an exemption pursuant to the ordinance to which the person is not entitled, by |
| the filing or making of any false statement, or the proffering of any document or other writing |
| known by the person to have been altered, forged, or to contain any false or untrue information, is |
| liable for an amount equal to double the amount of reductions in taxes resulting from the exemption, |
| which amount is recoverable by the city or town in a civil action. |
| (c)(d) Cities and towns in the state of Rhode Island are authorized by ordinance to exempt |
| from taxation any real property situated in the town classified and utilized as farmland on which |
| the development rights have been sold or donated and will remain farmland in perpetuity. The |
| amount of the exemption shall be provided for by ordinance. Cities and towns may, from time to |
| time, by amendment to the ordinance, make those changes in the amount of exemption granted. |
| SECTION 2. Section 44-5-39 of the General Laws in Chapter 44-5 entitled "Levy and |
| Assessment of Local Taxes" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 44-5-39. Land use change tax. |
| (a) After May 15, 1980, when land classified as farm, dairy farm, forest, or open space land |
| and assessed and taxed under the provisions of § 44-5-12 is applied to a use other than as farm, |
| dairy farm, forest, or open space, or when the land owner voluntarily withdraws that classification, |
| it shall be subject to additional taxes, subsequently referred to as a land use change tax. The tax is |
| at the following rate: |
| (1) Ten percent (10%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the first six (6) years of classification. |
| (2) Nine percent (9%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the seventh (7th) year of classification. |
| (3) Eight percent (8%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the eighth (8th) year of classification. |
| (4) Seven percent (7%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the ninth (9th) year of classification. |
| (5) Six percent (6%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the tenth (10th) year of classification. |
| (6) Five percent (5%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the eleventh (11th) year of classification. |
| (7) Four percent (4%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the twelfth (12th) year of classification. |
| (8) Three percent (3%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the thirteenth (13th) year of classification. |
| (9) Two percent (2%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the fourteenth (14th) year of classification. |
| (10) One percent (1%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the fifteenth (15th) year of classification. No tax shall be imposed |
| by the provisions of this section following the end of the fifteenth (15th) year of classification. |
| (b) Owners of land classified as farmland or dairy farmland who have held title to the land, |
| and where the land has been farmed or used as a dairy farm for five (5) years previous to |
| classification, are liable for a land use change tax of: |
| (1) Ten percent (10%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the first (1st) year of classification. |
| (2) Nine percent (9%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the second (2nd) year of classification. |
| (3) Eight percent (8%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the third (3rd) year of classification. |
| (4) Seven percent (7%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the fourth (4th) year of classification. |
| (5) Six percent (6%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the fifth (5th) year of classification. |
| (6) Five percent (5%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the sixth (6th) year of classification. |
| (7) Four percent (4%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the seventh (7th) year of classification. |
| (8) Three percent (3%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the eighth (8th) year of classification. |
| (9) Two percent (2%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the ninth (9th) year of classification. |
| (10) One percent (1%) of the then fair market value of the land if the use is changed or |
| classification is withdrawn during the tenth (10th) year of classification. No tax shall be imposed |
| by the provisions of this section following the end of the tenth year of classification. |
| SECTION 3. Section 44-27-3 of the General Laws in Chapter 44-27 entitled "Taxation of |
| Farm, Forest, and Open Space Land" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 44-27-3. Classification of farmland. Classification of farmland or dairy farmland. |
| (a) An owner of land may file a written application with the director of environmental |
| management, for its designation by the director as farmland or as dairy farmland. When the |
| application is made and after a filing fee of ten dollars ($10.00) is paid, the director shall examine |
| the land and, if the director determines that it is farmland or as dairy farmland, the director shall |
| issue a certificate in his or her office, furnish a copy to the owner of the land, and file one copy in |
| the office of the assessor of the city or town in which the land is located. |
| (b) When requested to do so by the assessor or whenever the director deems it necessary, |
| the director of environmental management shall re-examine land designated by the director as |
| farmland or as dairy farmland. If the director finds that this land is no longer farmland or dairy |
| farmland, the director shall send a notice to the landowner that the landowner has thirty (30) days |
| either to bring the land into compliance or to request a formal hearing before the director. If after |
| the thirty (30) days or after the hearing, the director confirms that the land is no longer farmland or |
| dairy farmland, the director shall issue a certificate canceling his or her designation of the land as |
| farmland or dairy farmland, and shall furnish one copy to the owner and file one in the office of the |
| assessor. Loss of designation by action of the director of environmental management makes the |
| land subject to the land use change tax provided for in § 44-5-39. |
| (c)(1) An owner of land designated as farmland or dairy farmland by the director of |
| environmental management may apply for its classification as farmland or dairy farmland on any |
| assessment list of the city or town where it is located by filing a written application for that |
| classification with the assessor of the city or town not earlier than thirty (30) days before nor later |
| than thirty (30) days after the date of assessment, except that in years of revaluation not later than |
| thirty (30) days after written notice of revaluation or in its absence after receipt of the tax bill, and |
| if the director has not cancelled his or her designation of that land as farmland or dairy farmland as |
| of a date at or prior to the date of the assessment, the assessor shall classify the land as farmland or |
| dairy farmland and include it as farmland or dairy farmland on the assessment list. |
| (2) In order to maintain this classification, each year thereafter, the property owner shall |
| submit to the assessor a certificate on a form prescribed by the assessor confirming that the land is |
| still used in farming or dairy farming. The assessor shall in the first notification mail the forms by |
| first class mail not later than the thirtieth of November and if a second notification is needed, it |
| shall be mailed certified. Failure to submit the certificate by thirty (30) days after the date of |
| assessment is construed as voluntary withdrawal of the classification, except that the assessor may |
| waive this requirement for good cause. |
| (3) Notwithstanding the preceding subsections, whenever the owner of land designated and |
| classified as farmland or dairy farmland is a municipal land trust, municipal conservation |
| commission, or private nonprofit land trust, annual certification is not required, and the |
| classification continues until the voluntary withdrawal of the classification by the owner, or the |
| transfer of the land by the owner in fee simple. |
| (d) Application to the director of environmental management for designation as farmland |
| or dairy farmland shall be made upon a form prescribed by the director and shall present a |
| description of the land and any other information that he or she may require to aid the director in |
| determining whether the land qualifies for that designation. An application to an assessor for |
| classification of land as farmland or dairy farmland shall be made upon a form prescribed by the |
| assessor and shall present a description of the land and the date of issuance by the director of |
| environmental management of his or her certificate designating it as farmland or dairy farmland. |
| (e) Failure to file an application for classification of farmland or dairy farmland within the |
| time limit prescribed in subsection (c) of this section and in the manner and form prescribed in |
| subsection (d) of this section shall be construed as a waiver of the right to that classification on the |
| assessment list. |
| (f) Any landowner aggrieved by: (1) the cancellation of a designation under subsection (b) |
| of this section or the denial of an application, filed in accordance with the provisions of subsections |
| (c) and (d) of this section, by the assessor of a city or town for a classification of land as farmland |
| or dairy farmland; or (2) the use value assessment placed on land classified as farmland or dairy |
| farmland by the assessor; has the right to file an appeal within ninety (90) days of receiving notice, |
| in writing, of the denial or the use value assessment with the board of assessment review of the city |
| or town. Should the city or town not have a board of assessment review, the city or town council |
| reviews shall review the appeal. The assessor shall be given the opportunity to explain either his |
| or her refusal to classify the land or the assessment placed on the classified land. The board of |
| review, or city or town council, shall also consider the testimony of the landowner and the city or |
| town's planning board and conservation commission, if they exist. They shall also seek and consider |
| the advice of the office of state planning, the department of environmental management, the dean |
| of the college of resource development, and the conservation district in which the city or town is |
| located. |
| (g)(1) The board of assessment review, or city or town council, shall not disturb the |
| designation of the director issued pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, unless the tax assessor |
| has shown by a preponderance of the evidence that that designation was erroneous. |
| (2) The board of assessment review, or city or town council, shall render a decision within |
| forty-five (45) days of the date of filing the appeal. Decisions of the board of assessment review, |
| or city or town council, may be appealed to the superior court pursuant to § 44-27-6. |
| SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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