AN ACT RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION (Authorizes the town of Jamestown to authorize, by ordinance, the expansion of the local tax exemption ordinance for seniors.)

H7151

2026 -- H 7151
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LC003859
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2026
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A N A C T
RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION

Introduced By:
Representative Alex S. Finkelman

Date Introduced:
January 16, 2026

Referred To:
House Municipal Government & Housing
It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:
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SECTION 1. Section 44-3-13.6 of the General Laws in Chapter 44-3 entitled "Property
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Subject to Taxation" is hereby amended to read as follows:
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44-3-13.6. Jamestown — Exemption of persons 65 years and over.
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(a) The town council of the town of Jamestown may, by ordinance, exempt from valuation
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for taxation, the real property situated in the town and owned and occupied by any person sixty-
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five (65) years or over, which exemption is in addition to any and all other exemptions from taxation
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to which the person may be otherwise entitled.
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(b)(1) The town council of the town of Jamestown may, from time to time, by ordinance,
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make changes in the amount of exemption granted and the rules and regulations as it deems
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necessary to promote the purpose of this section. The schedule of exemptions is as follows:
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(i) Taxpayers with an income of not less than two hundred twenty percent (220%) and not
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more than two hundred forty percent (240%) of the federal poverty guideline an exemption of ten
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percent (10%) of the assessment cap or the assessed valuation, whichever is less;
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(i)
(ii)
Taxpayers with an income of not less than two hundred percent (200%) and not more
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than two hundred twenty percent (220%) of the federal poverty guideline an exemption of twenty
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percent (20%) of the assessment cap or the assessed valuation, whichever is less;
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(ii)
(iii)
Taxpayers with an income of not less than one hundred and eighty percent (180%)
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and not more than two hundred percent (200%) of the federal poverty guideline an exemption of
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thirty percent (30%) of the assessment cap or the assessed valuation, whichever is less;

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(iii)
(iv)
Taxpayers with an income of not less than one hundred and sixty percent (160%)
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and not more than one hundred and eighty percent (180%) of the federal poverty guideline an
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exemption of forty percent (40%) of the assessment cap or the assessed valuation, whichever is
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less;
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(iv)
(v)
Taxpayers with an income of not less than one hundred and forty percent (140%)
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and not more than one hundred and sixty percent (160%) of the federal poverty guideline an
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exemption of fifty percent (50%) of the assessment cap or the assessed valuation, whichever is less;
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and
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(v)
(vi)
Taxpayers with an income of not more than one hundred and forty percent (140%)
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of the federal poverty guideline an exemption of sixty percent (60%) of the assessment cap or the
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assessed valuation, whichever is less.
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(2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this section, any person receiving
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an exemption pursuant to chapter 359 of the Public Laws January Session 1984, at the time of the
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adoption of the ordinance contemplated in this section and whose property is assessed in excess of
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the assessment cap and who qualifies for an exemption under the terms of any ordinance adopted
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pursuant to this chapter shall receive an exemption based on the assessment value, not limited by
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the assessment cap.
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(3) For purposes of this section, the income described in subdivision (1) of this subsection
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is that specified in the federal poverty guideline for one person for all individual owners and that
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specified for a family of two (2) for all joint owners, including husband and wife. Only one
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exemption is granted to cotenants, joint tenants, and tenants by the entirety, even though all the
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cotenants, joint tenants and tenants by the entirety are sixty-five (65) years of age or over and
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occupy the property. In addition to the requirements of domicile within the town of Jamestown at
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the time of making application, the applicant must have been a resident of the town for a period of
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five (5) years ending with the date of assessment for the year for which exemption is claimed;
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provided, however, that the exemption shall not be allowed in favor of any person unless the
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individual has presented to the assessor a true and exact account of his or her ratable estate as
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provided for in §§ 44-5-15 and 44-5-16 for the year for which exemption is claimed, together with
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evidence that he or she is entitled to the exemption.
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(c) No income-bearing residential property, business or combination of business and
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residential property, owned and occupied by any person or persons sixty-five (65) years of age or
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over is entitled to the exemption provided in this section. It is the express purpose of this section to
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confine the exemption to residential property exclusively used as residential property by the owners
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of the property. Professional persons who operate and conduct their respective professions from

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their residences are not entitled to the exemption provided for in this section. The practice of the
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profession from any residence is deemed, for the purpose of this section, to constitute it income-
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bearing property.
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(d) All exemptions terminate upon the conveyance of the subject property, death of the
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person excepted, or the moving of the person from the town of Jamestown; also when the subject
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property is altered as to character and use that the property becomes subject to the provisions of
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subsection (e) of this section.
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(e) When used in this section:
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(1) “Federal poverty guideline” means the poverty guidelines issued each year by the
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Department of Health and Human Services and published in the federal register.
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(2)(i) “Income” in subsection (b) of this section means annual cash receipts before taxes
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from all sources except as provided in this section. Income includes money wages and salaries
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before any deductions; net receipts from non-farm self-employment (receipts from a person’s own
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unincorporated business, professional enterprise, or partnership, after deductions for business
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expenses); net receipts from farm self-employment (receipts from a farm which one operates as an
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owner, renter, or sharecropper, after deductions for farm operating expenses); regular payments
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from social security, railroad retirement, unemployment compensation, strike benefits from union
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funds, workers’ compensation, veterans’ payments, public assistance (including aid to families with
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dependent children or temporary assistance for needy families, supplemental security income, and
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non-federally-funded general assistance or general relief money payments), and training stipends;
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alimony, child support, and military family allotments or other regular support from an absent
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family member or someone not living in the household; private pensions, government employee
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pensions (including military retirement pay), and regular insurance or annuity payments; college
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or university scholarships, grants, fellowships, and assistantships; and dividends, interest, net rental
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income, net royalties, periodic receipts from estate or trusts, and net gambling or lottery winnings.
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(ii) “Income” does not include the following types of money received; capital gains; any
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assets drawn down as withdrawals from a bank, the sale of property, a house, or a car; or tax refunds,
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gifts, loans, lump-sum inheritances, one-time insurance payments, or compensation for injury. Also
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excluded are non-cash benefits, such as the employer-paid or union-paid portion of health insurance
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or other employee fringe benefits, food or housing received in lieu of wages, the value of food and
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fuel produced and consumed on farms, the imputed value of rent from own-occupied non-farm or
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farm housing, and federal non-cash benefit programs like Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, school
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lunches, and housing assistance.
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(3) “Resident” means one legally domiciled within the town of Jamestown for a period of

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five (5) years ending with the date of assessment for a year for which the exemption is claimed.
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Mere seasonal or temporary residence within the town, of whatever duration, does not constitute
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domicile within the town for the purposes of this section. Absence from the town for a period of
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twelve (12) months is prima facie evidence of abandonment of domicile in the town. The burden
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of establishing legal domicile within the town is upon the applicant.
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(4) “Due evidence”: No exemption from taxation on the valuation of real property, as
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provided in this section, is allowed, except upon the written application, which application is on a
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form prescribed by the assessor. It is the burden of the applicant to prove his or her eligibility for
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the exemption in this section and the tax assessor may require the applicant to produce supporting
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information including, but not limited to, federal and/or state income tax returns and birth
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certificate. If this information is required, the tax assessor shall maintain the confidentiality of the
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information. The assessor may, at any time, inquire into the right of a claimant to the continuance
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of an exemption under this section; and, for that purpose, he or she may require the filing of a new
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application or the submission of any proof that the assessor deems necessary to determine the right
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of the claimant to continuance of the exemption.
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(5) “Assessment cap” means the sum of one hundred forty-two thousand dollars ($142,000)
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as the sum may be adjusted from time to time as provided in this section. At any times that the tax
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assessor updates the assessments for real property in the town, the tax assessor shall adjust the
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assessment cap by the percentage increase or decrease between the median residential property
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value based on the aggregate residential property assessments then made under the new revaluation,
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or statistical updates, and the median residential property value under the previous revaluation, or
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statistical updates.
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(6) “Median residential property value” means the assessment, which is the midpoint of
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the frequency distribution of residential property assessments or the assessment above which and
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below which fifty percent (50%) of the assessments lie.
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(f) Nothing contained in this section abrogates or affects the authority conferred upon the
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assessor by the provisions of § 44-3-4.
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SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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EXPLANATION
BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
OF
A N A C T
RELATING TO TAXATION -- PROPERTY SUBJECT TO TAXATION
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This act would authorize the town of Jamestown to authorize, by ordinance, the expansion
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of the local tax exemption ordinance for seniors.
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This act would take effect upon passage.
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