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H8436aaProperty

Taxation-Property Subject to Taxation - Glocester - Exemption of Elderly and Disabled Persons

This bill gives the town of Glocester more flexibility to set property tax exemptions for elderly and disabled residents.

Introduced36 Yea0 Nay2 Not voting
Population
Affected
15
Email Legislator
Introduced Apr 10, 2026Committee House Municipal Government & Housing

Plain-English Summary

This bill updates the property tax exemption rules for elderly and disabled residents in the town of Glocester. It removes the previous, rigid tax credit amounts and gives the town council more flexibility to set exemption rules by local ordinance. It establishes new maximum exemption amounts, such as up to $2,070 for residents 65 and older or permanently disabled, and an extra $1,000 for those 80 and older. It also allows the town to establish requirements for how long someone must live in Glocester to qualify and removes income limits for certain new applicants.

For younger readers

This bill changes how the town of Glocester gives property tax discounts to older people and people with disabilities. Property taxes are money people pay to the town for owning a home. The new rules let the town's leaders decide how much of a discount to give, up to certain amounts. For example, people over 65 or who have a disability can get up to a $2,070 discount, and people over 80 can get an extra $1,000 off. It also lets the town decide how long someone has to live there before getting the discount.

Who & Where It Applies

Impacted groups
Elderly residents of GlocesterPermanently disabled residents of GlocesterGlocester property ownersGlocester Town CouncilGlocester taxpayers
Impacted communities
Glocester

Constitutional & Fiscal Check

None Likely. This bill delegates the administration and specific parameters of local property tax exemptions for elderly and disabled persons to a municipal town council. It does not implicate First Amendment, Fourth Amendment, or substantial due process concerns.

Estimated cost
Amount unknown
Estimated revenue
None

Bill Analysis

Both viewpoints
For Progressives
  • Provides crucial financial relief to vulnerable populations, specifically the elderly and permanently disabled, helping them afford to stay in their homes.
  • Ties the base exemption amount to the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U), ensuring the tax relief keeps pace with inflation and rising living costs.
  • Grants local government the flexibility to design and adjust tax relief programs that best fit the specific needs of their community's residents.
  • Removes income limitations for new applicants for the base exemptions, meaning wealthy elderly residents receive the same tax break as lower-income ones, which is a regressive tax policy.
  • Allows the town to set strict residency duration requirements, which could exclude newer, potentially marginalized or lower-income residents from receiving the tax relief.
  • Reduces the overall property tax revenue for the town, which could lead to cuts in essential public services, like schools or public infrastructure, that lower-income residents rely on.
For Conservatives
  • Reduces the property tax burden for senior citizens and disabled individuals, allowing them to keep more of their own money and protecting private property rights.
  • Decentralizes power by giving the local town council, rather than the state, the authority to set the specific rules and requirements for the tax exemptions.
  • Removes income limitations for certain exemptions, ensuring that individuals are not penalized for having higher incomes or savings when receiving the tax break.
  • Allows the town to establish a "minimum tax provision," ensuring that even those who qualify for exemptions are still forced to pay a certain amount of property taxes.
  • Mandates that consumer price index adjustments use a non-compounded methodology, which could result in the tax exemption amount growing slower than actual economic inflation.
  • Creates a complex administrative burden for the municipal government to verify eligibility criteria such as legal domicile, disability status, and income thresholds for variable exemptions.

Votes

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Full Bill Text

2 versions
Changes to existing Rhode Island law · 51 additions · 20 deletions

SECTION 1. Section 44-3-13.5 of the General Laws in Chapter 44-3 entitled "Property Subject to Taxation" is hereby amended to read as follows: 44-3-13.5. Glocester — Exemption of elderly and disabled persons.

(a) The town council of Glocester may, by ordinance, issue a tax credit for real property situated in the town of Glocester which is owned and occupied by owners over sixty-five (65) years of age or under sixty-five (65) years of age who are permanently disabled in an amount of one thousand one hundred fifty dollars ($1,150) adjusted annually by the rate of the annual tax increase, if any, times the per one thousand dollar ($1,000) average valuation of the exempted real properties and in like manner may also by ordinance issue a tax credit for real property situated in the town which is owned and occupied by owners with a combined adjusted gross taxable annual income not to exceed twenty-three thousand dollars ($23,000) adjusted annually by the consumer price index — all urban customers (CPI-U) published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor as set forth in the following schedule:

(1) Owners who are sixty-five (65) but less than eighty (80) years of age: — an additional tax credit not to exceed one thousand five hundred dollars ($1,500);

(2) Owners who are eighty (80) years of age or older: — an additional tax credit not to exceed four thousand five hundred ($4,500).

(b) The exemption shall be pro-rated among the owners of the real property and shall be in addition to any and all other exemptions from taxation to which the person may be otherwise entitled. The exemption shall be applied uniformly. Only one exemption shall be granted to co- tenants, joint tenants, and tenants by the entirety, even though all of the co-tenants, joint tenants, and tenants by the entirety are eligible for an exemption. The provisions of this section apply notwithstanding the provisions of § 44-3-15. Notwithstanding any provision of the general laws to the contrary, the town of Glocester may, by ordinance, provide for exemptions or tax credits for real property situated in the town and owned and occupied by qualified persons as follows:

(1) The town council may establish exemptions or tax credits for real property owned and occupied by qualified persons including, but not limited to:

(i) A base exemption for real property owned and occupied by persons sixty-five (65) years of age or older, or under sixty-five (65) years of age who are permanently disabled, in an amount not to exceed two thousand seventy dollars ($2,070), which amount shall be adjusted annually by the consumer price index for all urban consumers (CPI-U). The town may, by ordinance, establish and modify the required length of legal residency within the town of Glocester as a condition of eligibility for this exemption including, but not limited to, minimum consecutive years of residency immediately preceding application.

(ii) An additional exemption for real property owned and occupied by persons eighty (80) years of age or older, in an amount not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), which amount may be adjusted by ordinance. The town of Glocester may, by ordinance, establish and modify the required length of residency within the town for eligibility for this exemption, as well as any required duration of ownership and occupancy of the subject property.

(iii) A minimum tax provision requiring that any qualified owner-occupant receiving an exemption shall pay not less than a minimum annual tax amount as may be established by ordinance.

(iv) A variable income exemption for qualified owner-occupants who received such exemption prior to a date established by ordinance, with income thresholds, exclusions, and administration as established by ordinance, including annual verification requirements.

(v) Authority to adjust income eligibility thresholds annually based on the CPI-U or a regional equivalent, as provided by ordinance.

(vi) No income limitation shall apply to exemptions granted under subsections (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) of this section for applicants qualifying after a date established by ordinance.

(b) Consumer price index (CPI) adjustments shall be calculated using a non-compounded methodology, applying each annual percentage change solely to the original base amount.

(c) The town council may, by ordinance, establish and enforce all qualifications and eligibility criteria including, but not limited to:

(1) Age requirements;

(2) Length of residency within the town, including authority to set different residency requirements for different exemption categories;

(3) Ownership and occupancy requirements, including principal residence limitations;

(4) Legal domicile requirements;

(5) Disability status and verification, including physician certification;

(6) Income and asset limitations, including definitions and exclusions;

(7) Duration of ownership or occupancy of the property;

(8) Grandfathering provisions or date-based eligibility distinctions;

(9) Household composition or co-ownership considerations;

(10) Application procedures, deadlines, and renewal requirements;

(11) Documentation and verification requirements; and

(12) Any other reasonable qualification or administrative standard necessary to implement the exemptions.

(d) The exemptions shall be prorated among the owners, applied uniformly, limited to one exemption per property, and shall be in addition to any other exemptions otherwise authorized.

(e) This section shall apply notwithstanding the provisions of § 44-3-15.

(f) The exemptions authorized herein may be provided in addition to, in lieu of, or in combination with any other exemptions authorized by law or ordinance.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect upon passage and shall apply to assessments as of December 31, 2025, and thereafter, for use in the tax roll for fiscal year 2026–2027 and thereafter.