Florida Senate - 2015 CS for SB 924
By the Committee on Community Affairs; and Senator Hays
578-02122-15 2015924c1
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to property prepared for a tax-exempt
3 use; creating s. 196.1955, F.S.; consolidating and
4 revising provisions relating to obtaining an ad
5 valorem exemption for property owned by an exempt
6 organization, including the requirement that the owner
7 of an exempt organization take affirmative steps to
8 demonstrate an exempt use; authorizing the property
9 appraiser to serve a notice of tax lien on exempt
10 property that is not in actual exempt use after a
11 certain time; providing that the lien attaches to any
12 property owned by the organization identified in the
13 notice of lien; providing that the provisions
14 authorizing the tax lien do not apply to a house of
15 public worship; defining the term “public worship”;
16 amending s. 196.196, F.S.; deleting provisions
17 relating to the exemption as it applies to public
18 worship and affordable housing and provisions that
19 have been moved to s. 196.1955, F.S.; amending s.
20 196.198, F.S.; deleting provisions relating to
21 property owned by an educational institution and used
22 for an educational purpose that is included in s.
23 196.1955, F.S.; providing an effective date.
24
25 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27 Section 1. Section 196.1955, Florida Statutes, is created
28 to read:
29 196.1955 Preparing property for educational, literary,
30 scientific, religious, or charitable use.—
31 (1) Property owned by an exempt organization is used for an
32 exempt purpose if the owner has taken affirmative steps to
33 prepare the property for an exempt educational, literary,
34 scientific, religious, or charitable use and no portion of the
35 property is being used for a nonexempt purpose. The term
36 “affirmative steps” means environmental or land use permitting
37 activities, creation of architectural plans or schematic
38 drawings, land clearing or site preparation, construction or
39 renovation activities, or other similar activities that
40 demonstrate a commitment to prepare the property for an exempt
41 use.
42 (2)(a) If property owned by an organization granted an
43 exemption under this section is transferred for a purpose other
44 than an exempt use or is not in actual exempt use within 5 years
45 after the date the organization is granted an exemption, the
46 property appraiser making such determination may serve upon the
47 organization that received the exemption a notice of intent to
48 record in the public records of the county a notice of tax lien
49 against any property owned by that organization in the county,
50 and such property must be identified in the notice of tax lien.
51 The organization owning such property is subject to the taxes
52 otherwise due and owing as a result of the failure to use the
53 property in an exempt manner plus 15 percent interest per annum.
54 1. The lien, when filed, attaches to any property
55 identified in the notice of tax lien owned by the organization
56 that received the exemption. If the organization no longer owns
57 property in the county but owns property in any other county in
58 the state, the property appraiser shall record in each such
59 county a notice of tax lien identifying the property owned by
60 the organization in each respective county, which shall become a
61 lien against the identified property.
62 2. Before such lien may be filed, the organization so
63 notified must be given 30 days to pay the taxes and interest.
64 3. If an exemption is improperly granted as a result of a
65 clerical mistake or an omission by the property appraiser, the
66 organization improperly receiving the exemption may not be
67 assessed interest.
68 4. The 5-year limitation specified in this subsection may
69 be extended by the property appraiser if the holder of the
70 exemption continues to take affirmative steps to develop the
71 property for the purposes specified in this subsection.
72 (b) This subsection does not apply to property being
73 prepared for use as a house of public worship. The term “public
74 worship” means religious worship services and those activities
75 that are incidental to religious worship services, such as
76 educational activities, parking, recreation, partaking of meals
77 and fellowship.
78 Section 2. Subsections (3), (4), and (5) of section
79 196.196, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
80 196.196 Determining whether property is entitled to
81 charitable, religious, scientific, or literary exemption.—
82 (3) Property owned by an exempt organization is used for a
83 religious purpose if the institution has taken affirmative steps
84 to prepare the property for use as a house of public worship.
85 The term “affirmative steps” means environmental or land use
86 permitting activities, creation of architectural plans or
87 schematic drawings, land clearing or site preparation,
88 construction or renovation activities, or other similar
89 activities that demonstrate a commitment of the property to a
90 religious use as a house of public worship. For purposes of this
91 subsection, the term “public worship” means religious worship
92 services and those other activities that are incidental to
93 religious worship services, such as educational activities,
94 parking, recreation, partaking of meals, and fellowship.
95 (3)(4) Except as otherwise provided in this section herein,
96 property claimed as exempt for literary, scientific, religious,
97 or charitable purposes which is used for profitmaking purposes
98 is shall be subject to ad valorem taxation. Use of property for
99 functions not requiring a business or occupational license
100 conducted by the organization at its primary residence, the
101 revenue of which is used wholly for exempt purposes, is shall
102 not be considered profitmaking profit making. In this connection
103 the playing of bingo on such property is shall not be considered
104 as using such property in such a manner as would impair its
105 exempt status.
106 (5)(a) Property owned by an exempt organization qualified
107 as charitable under s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code is
108 used for a charitable purpose if the organization has taken
109 affirmative steps to prepare the property to provide affordable
110 housing to persons or families that meet the extremely-low
111 income, very-low-income, low-income, or moderate-income limits,
112 as specified in s. 420.0004. The term “affirmative steps” means
113 environmental or land use permitting activities, creation of
114 architectural plans or schematic drawings, land clearing or site
115 preparation, construction or renovation activities, or other
116 similar activities that demonstrate a commitment of the property
117 to providing affordable housing.
118 (b)1. If property owned by an organization granted an
119 exemption under this subsection is transferred for a purpose
120 other than directly providing affordable homeownership or rental
121 housing to persons or families who meet the extremely-low
122 income, very-low-income, low-income, or moderate-income limits,
123 as specified in s. 420.0004, or is not in actual use to provide
124 such affordable housing within 5 years after the date the
125 organization is granted the exemption, the property appraiser
126 making such determination shall serve upon the organization that
127 illegally or improperly received the exemption a notice of
128 intent to record in the public records of the county a notice of
129 tax lien against any property owned by that organization in the
130 county, and such property shall be identified in the notice of
131 tax lien. The organization owning such property is subject to
132 the taxes otherwise due and owing as a result of the failure to
133 use the property to provide affordable housing plus 15 percent
134 interest per annum and a penalty of 50 percent of the taxes
135 owed.
136 2. Such lien, when filed, attaches to any property
137 identified in the notice of tax lien owned by the organization
138 that illegally or improperly received the exemption. If such
139 organization no longer owns property in the county but owns
140 property in any other county in the state, the property
141 appraiser shall record in each such other county a notice of tax
142 lien identifying the property owned by such organization in such
143 county which shall become a lien against the identified
144 property. Before any such lien may be filed, the organization so
145 notified must be given 30 days to pay the taxes, penalties, and
146 interest.
147 3. If an exemption is improperly granted as a result of a
148 clerical mistake or an omission by the property appraiser, the
149 organization improperly receiving the exemption shall not be
150 assessed a penalty or interest.
151 4. The 5-year limitation specified in this subsection may
152 be extended if the holder of the exemption continues to take
153 affirmative steps to develop the property for the purposes
154 specified in this subsection.
155 Section 3. Section 196.198, Florida Statutes, is amended to
156 read:
157 196.198 Educational property exemption.—
158 (1) Educational institutions within this state and their
159 property used by them or by any other exempt entity or
160 educational institution exclusively for educational purposes are
161 exempt from taxation.
162 (a) Sheltered workshops providing rehabilitation and
163 retraining of individuals who have disabilities and exempted by
164 a certificate under s. (d) of the federal Fair Labor Standards
165 Act of 1938, as amended, are declared wholly educational in
166 purpose and are exempt from certification, accreditation, and
167 membership requirements set forth in s. 196.012.
168 (b) Those portions of property of college fraternities and
169 sororities certified by the president of the college or
170 university to the appropriate property appraiser as being
171 essential to the educational process are exempt from ad valorem
172 taxation.
173 (c) The use of property by public fairs and expositions
174 chartered by chapter 616 is presumed to be an educational use of
175 such property and is exempt from ad valorem taxation to the
176 extent of such use.
177 (2) Property used exclusively for educational purposes
178 shall be deemed owned by an educational institution if the
179 entity owning 100 percent of the educational institution is
180 owned by the identical persons who own the property, or if the
181 entity owning 100 percent of the educational institution and the
182 entity owning the property are owned by the identical natural
183 persons.
184 (a) Land, buildings, and other improvements to real
185 property used exclusively for educational purposes shall be
186 deemed owned by an educational institution if the entity owning
187 100 percent of the land is a nonprofit entity and the land is
188 used, under a ground lease or other contractual arrangement, by
189 an educational institution that owns the buildings and other
190 improvements to the real property, is a nonprofit entity under
191 s. 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and provides
192 education limited to students in prekindergarten through grade
193 8.
194 (b) If legal title to property is held by a governmental
195 agency that leases the property to a lessee, the property shall
196 be deemed to be owned by the governmental agency and used
197 exclusively for educational purposes if the governmental agency
198 continues to use such property exclusively for educational
199 purposes pursuant to a sublease or other contractual agreement
200 with that lessee.
201 (c) If the title to land is held by the trustee of an
202 irrevocable inter vivos trust and if the trust grantor owns 100
203 percent of the entity that owns an educational institution that
204 is using the land exclusively for educational purposes, the land
205 is deemed to be property owned by the educational institution
206 for purposes of this exemption. Property owned by an educational
207 institution shall be deemed to be used for an educational
208 purpose if the institution has taken affirmative steps to
209 prepare the property for educational use. The term “affirmative
210 steps” means environmental or land use permitting activities,
211 creation of architectural plans or schematic drawings, land
212 clearing or site preparation, construction or renovation
213 activities, or other similar activities that demonstrate
214 commitment of the property to an educational use.
215 Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2015.