Includes municipal detention facility corporations as exempt from taxation, and requires that an amount equal to 27% of all tax that would have been collected if the property was taxable be paid to the municipality annually.

Plain-English Summary

This bill would add municipal detention facility corporations — organizations that own or operate local jail or detention facilities — to the list of entities that are exempt from paying property taxes in Rhode Island. Currently, certain types of organizations (like nonprofits or government bodies) don't have to pay property taxes on the buildings and land they own. This bill would extend that same tax-exempt status to these detention facility corporations.

However, the bill also includes a financial requirement to help offset what local towns and cities would lose by not collecting those taxes. Under the bill, the state would be required to pay each municipality an amount equal to 27% of what the property taxes would have been if the property were taxable. This type of payment is sometimes called a "payment in lieu of taxes," meaning the municipality still receives *some* money — just not the full tax amount — to help fund local services.

The bill would primarily affect local governments (towns and cities in Rhode Island) that have these types of detention facilities within their borders, as well as the municipal detention facility corporations themselves. Municipalities would lose the full property tax revenue from these properties but would receive the 27% payment as partial compensation. The corporations, in turn, would benefit from not having to pay the full property tax bill.

The bill has been referred to the House Finance Committee, which will review its potential costs and fiscal impact on both the state and local budgets before it moves forward in the legislative process.