Florida Senate - 2016                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. HB 7099, 2nd Eng.
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì953564;Î953564                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  03/04/2016           .                                
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       The Committee on Appropriations (Hays) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (403268) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Between lines 4 and 5
    5  insert:
    6         Section 1. Section 196.1955, Florida Statutes, is created
    7  to read:
    8         196.1955 Preparing property for educational, literary,
    9  scientific, religious, or charitable use.—
   10         (1) Property owned by an exempt organization is used for an
   11  exempt purpose if the owner has taken affirmative steps to
   12  prepare the property for an exempt educational, literary,
   13  scientific, religious, or charitable use and no portion of the
   14  property is being used for a nonexempt purpose. The term
   15  “affirmative steps” means environmental or land use permitting
   16  activities, creation of architectural plans or schematic
   17  drawings, land clearing or site preparation, construction or
   18  renovation activities, or other activities that demonstrate a
   19  commitment to prepare the property for an exempt use.
   20         (2)(a) If property owned by an organization that has been
   21  granted an exemption under this section is sold, transferred, or
   22  used for a purpose other than an exempt use or is not in actual
   23  exempt use within 5 years after the date the organization is
   24  granted an exemption, the property appraiser making such
   25  determination shall serve upon the organization that received
   26  the exemption a notice of intent to record in the public records
   27  of the county a notice of tax lien against any property owned by
   28  that organization in that county, and such property must be
   29  identified in the notice of tax lien. The organization owning
   30  such property is subject to the taxes otherwise due as a result
   31  of the failure to use the property in an exempt manner, plus 15
   32  percent interest per annum.
   33         1.The lien, when filed, attaches to any property
   34  identified in the notice of tax lien which is owned by the
   35  organization that received the exemption. If the organization no
   36  longer owns property in the county but owns property in another
   37  county in the state, the property appraiser shall record in each
   38  such county a notice of tax lien identifying the property owned
   39  by the organization in each respective county, which shall
   40  become a lien against the identified property.
   41         2. Before a lien may be filed, the organization must be
   42  given 30 days to pay the taxes and interest.
   43         3. If an exemption is improperly granted as a result of a
   44  clerical mistake or an omission by the property appraiser, the
   45  organization improperly receiving the exemption may not be
   46  assessed interest.
   47         4. The 5-year limitation specified in this subsection shall
   48  be extended by the property appraiser on an annual basis if the
   49  organization continues to take affirmative steps to prepare the
   50  property for the purposes specified in this section.
   51         (b) This subsection does not apply to property being
   52  prepared for use as a house of public worship. The term “public
   53  worship” means religious worship services and those activities
   54  that are incidental to religious worship services, such as
   55  educational activities, parking, recreation, partaking of meals,
   56  and fellowship.
   57         Section 2. Subsections (3), (4), and (5) of section
   58  196.196, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   59         196.196 Determining whether property is entitled to
   60  charitable, religious, scientific, or literary exemption.—
   61         (3) Property owned by an exempt organization is used for a
   62  religious purpose if the institution has taken affirmative steps
   63  to prepare the property for use as a house of public worship.
   64  The term “affirmative steps” means environmental or land use
   65  permitting activities, creation of architectural plans or
   66  schematic drawings, land clearing or site preparation,
   67  construction or renovation activities, or other similar
   68  activities that demonstrate a commitment of the property to a
   69  religious use as a house of public worship. For purposes of this
   70  subsection, the term “public worship” means religious worship
   71  services and those other activities that are incidental to
   72  religious worship services, such as educational activities,
   73  parking, recreation, partaking of meals, and fellowship.
   74         (3)(4) Except as otherwise provided in this section herein,
   75  property claimed as exempt for literary, scientific, religious,
   76  or charitable purposes which is used for profitmaking purposes
   77  is shall be subject to ad valorem taxation. Use of property for
   78  functions not requiring a business or occupational license
   79  conducted by the organization at its primary residence, the
   80  revenue of which is used wholly for exempt purposes, is shall
   81  not be considered profitmaking profit making. In this connection
   82  the playing of bingo on such property is shall not be considered
   83  a use of as using such property which in such a manner as would
   84  impair its exempt status.
   85         (5)(a) Property owned by an exempt organization qualified
   86  as charitable under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code is
   87  used for a charitable purpose if the organization has taken
   88  affirmative steps to prepare the property to provide affordable
   89  housing to persons or families that meet the extremely-low
   90  income, very-low-income, low-income, or moderate-income limits,
   91  as specified in s. 420.0004. The term “affirmative steps” means
   92  environmental or land use permitting activities, creation of
   93  architectural plans or schematic drawings, land clearing or site
   94  preparation, construction or renovation activities, or other
   95  similar activities that demonstrate a commitment of the property
   96  to providing affordable housing.
   97         (b)1. If property owned by an organization granted an
   98  exemption under this subsection is transferred for a purpose
   99  other than directly providing affordable homeownership or rental
  100  housing to persons or families who meet the extremely-low
  101  income, very-low-income, low-income, or moderate-income limits,
  102  as specified in s. 420.0004, or is not in actual use to provide
  103  such affordable housing within 5 years after the date the
  104  organization is granted the exemption, the property appraiser
  105  making such determination shall serve upon the organization that
  106  illegally or improperly received the exemption a notice of
  107  intent to record in the public records of the county a notice of
  108  tax lien against any property owned by that organization in the
  109  county, and such property shall be identified in the notice of
  110  tax lien. The organization owning such property is subject to
  111  the taxes otherwise due and owing as a result of the failure to
  112  use the property to provide affordable housing plus 15 percent
  113  interest per annum and a penalty of 50 percent of the taxes
  114  owed.
  115         2. Such lien, when filed, attaches to any property
  116  identified in the notice of tax lien owned by the organization
  117  that illegally or improperly received the exemption. If such
  118  organization no longer owns property in the county but owns
  119  property in any other county in the state, the property
  120  appraiser shall record in each such other county a notice of tax
  121  lien identifying the property owned by such organization in such
  122  county which shall become a lien against the identified
  123  property. Before any such lien may be filed, the organization so
  124  notified must be given 30 days to pay the taxes, penalties, and
  125  interest.
  126         3. If an exemption is improperly granted as a result of a
  127  clerical mistake or an omission by the property appraiser, the
  128  organization improperly receiving the exemption shall not be
  129  assessed a penalty or interest.
  130         4. The 5-year limitation specified in this subsection may
  131  be extended if the holder of the exemption continues to take
  132  affirmative steps to develop the property for the purposes
  133  specified in this subsection.
  134         Section 3. Section 196.198, Florida Statutes, is amended to
  135  read:
  136         196.198 Educational property exemption.—
  137         (1) Educational institutions within this state and their
  138  property used by them or by any other exempt entity or
  139  educational institution exclusively for educational purposes are
  140  exempt from taxation.
  141         (a) Sheltered workshops providing rehabilitation and
  142  retraining of individuals who have disabilities and exempted by
  143  a certificate under s. (d) of the federal Fair Labor Standards
  144  Act of 1938, as amended, are declared wholly educational in
  145  purpose and are exempt from certification, accreditation, and
  146  membership requirements set forth in s. 196.012.
  147         (b) Those portions of property of college fraternities and
  148  sororities certified by the president of the college or
  149  university to the appropriate property appraiser as being
  150  essential to the educational process are exempt from ad valorem
  151  taxation.
  152         (c) The use of property by public fairs and expositions
  153  chartered by chapter 616 is presumed to be an educational use of
  154  such property and is exempt from ad valorem taxation to the
  155  extent of such use.
  156         (2) Property used exclusively for educational purposes
  157  shall be deemed owned by an educational institution if the
  158  entity owning 100 percent of the educational institution is
  159  owned by the identical persons who own the property, or if the
  160  entity owning 100 percent of the educational institution and the
  161  entity owning the property are owned by the identical natural
  162  persons.
  163         (a) Land, buildings, and other improvements to real
  164  property used exclusively for educational purposes shall be
  165  deemed owned by an educational institution if the entity owning
  166  100 percent of the land is a nonprofit entity and the land is
  167  used, under a ground lease or other contractual arrangement, by
  168  an educational institution that owns the buildings and other
  169  improvements to the real property, is a nonprofit entity under
  170  s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and provides
  171  education limited to students in prekindergarten through grade
  172  8.
  173         (b) If legal title to property is held by a governmental
  174  agency that leases the property to a lessee, the property shall
  175  be deemed to be owned by the governmental agency and used
  176  exclusively for educational purposes if the governmental agency
  177  continues to use such property exclusively for educational
  178  purposes pursuant to a sublease or other contractual agreement
  179  with that lessee.
  180         (c) If the title to land is held by the trustee of an
  181  irrevocable inter vivos trust and if the trust grantor owns 100
  182  percent of the entity that owns an educational institution that
  183  is using the land exclusively for educational purposes, the land
  184  is deemed to be property owned by the educational institution
  185  for purposes of this exemption. Property owned by an educational
  186  institution shall be deemed to be used for an educational
  187  purpose if the institution has taken affirmative steps to
  188  prepare the property for educational use. The term “affirmative
  189  steps” means environmental or land use permitting activities,
  190  creation of architectural plans or schematic drawings, land
  191  clearing or site preparation, construction or renovation
  192  activities, or other similar activities that demonstrate
  193  commitment of the property to an educational use.
  194  
  195  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  196  And the title is amended as follows:
  197         Delete line 1249
  198  and insert:
  199         An act relating to taxation; creating s. 196.1955,
  200         F.S.; consolidating and revising provisions relating
  201         to obtaining an ad valorem exemption for property
  202         owned by an exempt organization, including the
  203         requirement that the owner of an exempt organization
  204         take affirmative steps to demonstrate an exempt use;
  205         defining the term “affirmative steps”; requiring the
  206         property appraiser to serve a notice of tax lien on
  207         exempt property that is not in exempt use after a
  208         certain time; providing that the lien attaches to any
  209         property owned by the organization identified in the
  210         notice of lien; providing that the provisions
  211         authorizing the tax lien do not apply to a house of
  212         public worship; defining the term “public worship”;
  213         amending s. 196.196, F.S.; deleting provisions
  214         relating to the exemption as it applies to public
  215         worship and affordable housing and provisions
  216         incorporated into s. 196.1955, F.S.; amending s.
  217         196.198, F.S.; deleting provisions relating to
  218         property owned by an educational institution and used
  219         for an educational purpose which are incorporated in
  220         s. 196.1955, F.S.; amending s. 196.012,