Senate Bill 0974

    Florida Senate - 1999                                   SB 974

    By Senator Childers





    1-1079-99                                           See HB 345

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the educational property tax

  3         exemption; amending s. 196.198, F.S.; providing

  4         circumstances in which land is considered to be

  5         property owned by an educational institution;

  6         providing an effective date.

  7

  8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  9

10         Section 1.  Section 196.198, Florida Statutes, is

11  amended to read:

12         196.198  Educational property exemption.--Educational

13  institutions within this state and their property used by them

14  or by any other exempt entity or educational institution

15  exclusively for educational purposes shall be exempt from

16  taxation.  Sheltered workshops providing rehabilitation and

17  retraining of disabled individuals and exempted by a

18  certificate under s. (d) of the federal Fair Labor Standards

19  Act of 1938, as amended, are declared wholly educational in

20  purpose and shall be exempted from certification,

21  accreditation, and membership requirements set forth in s.

22  196.012.  Those portions of property of college fraternities

23  and sororities certified by the president of the college or

24  university to the appropriate property appraiser as being

25  essential to the educational process, shall be exempt from ad

26  valorem taxation. The use of property by public fairs and

27  expositions chartered by chapter 616 is presumed to be an

28  educational use of such property and shall be exempt from ad

29  valorem taxation to the extent of such use.  Property used

30  exclusively for educational purposes shall be deemed owned by

31  an educational institution if the entity owning 100 percent of

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1999                                   SB 974
    1-1079-99                                           See HB 345




  1  the educational institution is owned by the identical persons

  2  who own the property. If the title to land is held by the

  3  trustee of an irrevocable inter vivos trust and if the trust

  4  grantor owns 100 percent of the corporation that operates an

  5  educational institution that is using the land exclusively for

  6  educational purposes, the land is considered to be property

  7  owned by the educational institution. Property owned by an

  8  educational institution shall be deemed to be used for an

  9  educational purpose if the institution has taken affirmative

10  steps to prepare the property for educational use.

11  Affirmative steps means environmental or land use permitting

12  activities, creation of architectural plans or schematic

13  drawings, land clearing or site preparation, construction or

14  renovation activities, or other similar activities that

15  demonstrate commitment of the property to an educational use.

16         Section 2.  This act shall take effect upon becoming a

17  law.

18

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20                          SENATE SUMMARY

21    Provides that, for purposes of the educational property
      exemption from taxation, property is considered to be
22    owned by an educational institution if the title to the
      property is held by the trustee of an irrevocable inter
23    vivos trust and if the trust grantor owns 100 percent of
      the corporation that operates the educational institution
24    that is using the land exclusively for educational
      purposes.
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