2026 -- H 7249

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LC004076

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- STATE AID

     Introduced By: Representatives Cortvriend, and Finkelman

     Date Introduced: January 21, 2026

     Referred To: House Finance

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

     SECTION 1. Section 45-13-5.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 45-13 entitled "State Aid"

is hereby amended to read as follows:

     45-13-5.1. General assembly appropriations in lieu of property tax from certain

exempt private and state properties.

     (a)(1) In lieu of the amount of local real property tax on real property owned by any private

nonprofit institution of higher education, the Pokanoket Management Group, a Rhode Island

nonprofit corporation, trustee of the Pokanoket Tribe Land Trust, or any nonprofit hospital facility,

or any state owned and operated hospital, veterans’ residential facility, or correctional facility

occupied by more than one hundred (100) residents which may have been or will be exempted from

taxation by applicable state law, exclusive of any facility operated by the federal government,

except as otherwise provided for in subsection (2) of this subsection, the state of Rhode Island, or

any of its subdivisions, the general assembly shall annually appropriate for payment to the several

cities and towns in which the property lies a sum equal to twenty-seven percent (27%) of all tax

that would have been collected had the real property been taxable; provided, however, said

percentage shall be subject to adjustment pursuant to subsection (e) of this section.

     (2) Provided, any facility operated by the federal Department of Defense including, but not

limited to, the Naval Station Newport, shall be eligible for payment in lieu of taxes provided by

this section. The reason for this eligibility is the scale of employment, the regional economic

benefit, and the specific municipal demands on those municipalities on which federal Department

of Defense facilities are operated. These municipal demands include police, fire and rescue, public

works infrastructure, utilities oversight, parks and beach operations, planning and permitting,

library services, senior center programming, and emergency response services.

     (b) In no event shall any city or town record in a fiscal year both: (1) Taxes and/or payments

under a stabilization agreement with a for-profit hospital facility; and (2) Distributions of

appropriations under this section attributable to the prior nonprofit status of said for-profit hospital

facility.

     (c) As used in this section, “private nonprofit institution of higher education” means any

institution engaged primarily in education beyond the high school level, the property of which is

exempt from property tax under any of the subdivisions, and “nonprofit hospital facility” means

any nonprofit hospital licensed by the state and which is used for the purpose of general medical,

surgical, or psychiatric care and treatment.

     (d) The grant payable to any municipality under the provision of this section shall be equal

to twenty-seven percent (27%) of the property taxes that, except for any exemption to any

institution of higher education or general hospital facility, would have been paid with respect to

that exempt real property on the assessment list in the municipality for the assessment date of

December 31, 1986, and with respect to such exempt real property appearing on an assessment list

in the municipality on succeeding assessment dates. Provided, however, that the grant paid for the

fiscal year ending June 30, 2008, shall be based upon the assessment list in the municipality as of

December 31, 2004.

     (e) The state budget offices shall include the amount of the annual appropriation in the state

budget for the fiscal year commencing July 1, 1988, and each fiscal year thereafter. The amount of

the annual distribution of appropriation payable to each eligible municipality in any year in

accordance with this section shall be reduced proportionately in the event that the total of the annual

appropriation in the state budget is insufficient to pay the eligible municipalities the amounts

otherwise payable to said communities pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.

     (f) Distribution of appropriations shall be made by the state on or before July 31 of 1988

and each July 31 thereafter or following verified receipt of a municipality’s assessment data for the

following fiscal year’s payment, whichever is later, and the payments may be counted as a

receivable by any city or town for a fiscal year ending the preceding June 30.

     (g) Any act or omission by the state with respect to this chapter shall in no way diminish

the duty of any town or municipality to provide public safety or other ordinary services to the

properties or facilities of the type listed in subsection (a).

     (h) Provided, that payments authorized pursuant to this section shall be reduced pro rata,

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for that period of time that the municipality suspends or reduces essential services to eligible

facilities. For the purposes of this section “essential services” include, but are not to be limited to,

police, fire and rescue.

     SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO TOWNS AND CITIES -- STATE AID

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     This act would provide that any facility operated by the federal Department of Defense

would be eligible for payment in lieu of taxes.

     This act would take effect upon passage.

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