| Chapter 028 |
| 2023 -- S 0923 Enacted 05/18/2023 |
| A N A C T |
| RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION |
Introduced By: Senator Joshua Miller |
| Date Introduced: March 30, 2023 |
| It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows: |
| SECTION 1. Section 44-3-9 of the General Laws in Chapter 44-3 entitled "Property |
| Subject to Taxation" is hereby amended to read as follows: |
| 44-3-9. Exemption or stabilizing of taxes on property used for manufacturing, |
| commercial, or residential purposes. |
| (a)(1) Except as provided in this section, the electors of any city or town qualified to vote |
| on a proposition to appropriate money or impose a tax when legally assembled, may vote to |
| authorize the city or town council, for a period not exceeding twenty (20) years, and subject to the |
| conditions as provided in this section, to exempt from payment, in whole or in part, real and |
| personal property which has undergone environmental remediation, is historically preserved, or is |
| used for affordable housing, manufacturing, commercial, or residential purposes, or to determine a |
| stabilized amount of taxes to be paid on account of the property, notwithstanding the valuation of |
| the property or the rate of tax; provided, that after public hearings, at least ten (10) days’ notice of |
| which shall be given in a newspaper having a general circulation in the city or town, the city or |
| town council determines that: |
| (i) Granting of the exemption or stabilization will inure to the benefit of the city or town |
| by reason of: |
| (A) The willingness of the manufacturing or commercial concern to locate in the city or |
| town, or of individuals to reside in such an area; or |
| (B) The willingness of a manufacturing firm to expand facilities with an increase in |
| employment or the willingness of a commercial or manufacturing concern to retain or expand its |
| facility in the city or town and not substantially reduce its work force in the city or town; or |
| (C) An improvement of the physical plant of the city or town which will result in a long- |
| term economic benefit to the city or town and state; or |
| (D) An improvement which converts or makes available land or facility that would |
| otherwise be not developable or difficult to develop without substantial environmental remediation; |
| or |
| (ii) Granting of the exemption or stabilization of taxes will inure to the benefit of the city |
| or town by reason of the willingness of a manufacturing or commercial or residential firm or |
| property owner to construct new or to replace, reconstruct, convert, expand, retain, or remodel |
| existing buildings, facilities, machinery, or equipment with modern buildings, facilities, fixtures, |
| machinery, or equipment resulting in an increase or maintenance in plant, residential housing, or |
| commercial building investment by the firm or property owned in the city or town; |
| (2) Provided that should the city or town council make the determination in subsection |
| (a)(1)(i)(B) of this section, any exemption or stabilization may be granted as to new buildings, |
| fixtures, machinery, or equipment for new buildings, firms or expansions, and may be granted as |
| to existing buildings, fixtures, machinery and equipment for existing employers in the city or town. |
| (b) Cities shall have the same authority as is granted to towns except that authority granted |
| to the qualified electors of a town and to town councils shall be exercised in the case of a city by |
| the city council. |
| (c) For purposes of this section, “property used for commercial purposes” means any |
| building or structures used essentially for offices or commercial enterprises. |
| (d) Except as provided in this section, property, the payment of taxes on which has been so |
| exempted or which is subject to the payment of a stabilized amount of taxes, shall not, during the |
| period for which the exemption or stabilization of the amount of taxes is granted, be further liable |
| to taxation by the city or town in which the property is located so long as the property is used for |
| the manufacturing or commercial, or residential purposes for which the exemption or stabilized |
| amount of taxes was made. |
| (e) Notwithstanding any vote of the qualified electors of a town and findings of a town |
| council or of any vote and findings by a city council, the property shall be assessed for and shall |
| pay that portion of the tax, if any, assessed by the city or town in which the real or personal property |
| is located, for the purpose of paying the indebtedness of the city or town and the indebtedness of |
| the state or any political subdivision of the state to the extent assessed upon or apportioned to the |
| city or town, and the interest on the indebtedness, and for appropriation to any sinking fund of the |
| city or town, which portion of the tax shall be paid in full, and the taxes so assessed and collected |
| shall be kept in a separate account and used only for that purpose. |
| (f) Nothing in this section shall be deemed to permit the exemption or stabilization |
| provided in this section for any manufacturing or commercial concern relocating from one city or |
| town within the state of Rhode Island to another. |
| (g) Renewable energy resources, as defined in § 39-26-5, qualify for tax stabilization |
| agreements pursuant to subsection (a) of this section. |
| (h) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the city council of the city of Providence may extend |
| the twenty-year (20) period in subsection (a) of this section by an additional ten (10) years for real |
| property located at 111 Westminster Street (also identified as 55 Kennedy Plaza), Providence, |
| Rhode Island, identified as assessor’s plat 20, lot 14. |
| (i) Notwithstanding the foregoing, the city council of the city of Providence may enter into |
| an agreement to exempt from payment, in whole or in part, real and personal property taxes on real |
| property and personal property located at plat 56, lots 271, 288, 292, 322, 329, 339, 348, 349, 350, |
| 351, 352, 353, 354, 355, 356, 357, 358, 359, 360, 361, 362, 363, 364, 365, 366, 367 and 371, and |
| such additional plats and lots as may be added in accordance with the terms of such agreement, and |
| to determine a stabilized amount of taxes, which may be formulated as a revenue sharing |
| arrangement, to be paid on account of the property, notwithstanding the valuation of the property |
| or the rate of tax. The term of the agreement may be up to thirty (30) years. This authority is in |
| addition to, and not in substitution of the authority exercised by the city council to enter into a |
| twenty-(20)year (20) tax exemption agreement, which agreement by its terms is set to expire on |
| September 30, 2024. |
| SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage. |
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| LC001803 |
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