Florida Senate - 2014                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. PCS (932242) for CS for SB 638
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì590334ÊÎ590334                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                   Comm: WD            .                                
                  04/24/2014           .                                
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       The Committee on Appropriations (Hays) recommended the
       following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
    2  
    3         Before line 211
    4  insert:
    5         Section 1. Section 196.1955, Florida Statutes, is created
    6  to read:
    7         196.1955 Preparing property for educational, literary,
    8  scientific, religious, or charitable use.—
    9         (1) Property owned by an exempt organization is used for an
   10  exempt purpose if the owner has taken affirmative steps to
   11  prepare the property for an exempt educational, literary,
   12  scientific, religious, or charitable use and no portion of the
   13  property is being used for a nonexempt purpose. The term
   14  “affirmative steps” means environmental or land use permitting
   15  activities, creation of architectural plans or schematic
   16  drawings, land clearing or site preparation, construction or
   17  renovation activities, or other similar activities that
   18  demonstrate a commitment to prepare the property for an exempt
   19  use.
   20         (2) If property owned by an organization granted an
   21  exemption under this section is transferred for a purpose other
   22  than an exempt use; is transferred for a purpose other than for
   23  directly providing affordable homeownership or rental housing to
   24  persons or families defined as extremely-low-income persons,
   25  very-low-income persons, low-income persons, or moderate-income
   26  persons under s. 420.0004; or is not in actual exempt use within
   27  5 years after the date the organization is granted an exemption,
   28  the property appraiser making such determination shall serve
   29  upon the organization that received the exemption a notice of
   30  intent to record in the public records of the county a notice of
   31  tax lien against any property owned by that organization in the
   32  county, and such property must be identified in the notice of
   33  tax lien. The organization owning such property is subject to
   34  the taxes otherwise due and owing as a result of the failure to
   35  use the property in an exempt manner plus 15 percent interest
   36  per annum.
   37         (a) Upon filing, the lien attaches to any property
   38  identified in the notice of tax lien owned by the organization
   39  that received the exemption. If the organization no longer owns
   40  property in the county but owns property in any other county in
   41  the state, the property appraiser shall record in each such
   42  county a notice of tax lien identifying the property owned by
   43  the organization in each respective county, which shall become a
   44  lien against the identified property.
   45         (b) Before such lien may be filed, the organization so
   46  notified must be given 30 days to pay the taxes and interest.
   47         (c) If an exemption is improperly granted as a result of a
   48  clerical error or an omission by the property appraiser, the
   49  organization improperly receiving the exemption may not be
   50  assessed interest.
   51         (d) The 5-year limitation specified in this subsection may
   52  be extended if the holder of the exemption continues to take
   53  affirmative steps to develop the property for the purposes
   54  specified in this subsection.
   55         (e) This subsection does not apply to property owned by an
   56  exempt organization and used for educational or religious
   57  purposes as specified in subsection (1).
   58  
   59  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   60  And the title is amended as follows:
   61         Delete line 2
   62  and insert:
   63         An act relating to charities; creating s. 196.1955,
   64         F.S.; consolidating provisions relating to obtaining
   65         an ad valorem exemption for property owned by an
   66         exempt organization, including the requirement that
   67         the owner of an exempt organization take affirmative
   68         steps to demonstrate an exempt use; authorizing the
   69         property appraiser to serve a notice of tax lien on
   70         exempt property that is not in actual exempt use after
   71         a certain time; providing that the lien attaches to
   72         any property owned by the organization identified in
   73         the notice of lien; providing an exception for certain
   74         property; amending s. 212.08,