An Act To Clarify Charitable Status for Property Tax Exemption
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §652, sub-§1, ¶A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 627, §20, is further amended to read:
For the purposes of this paragraph, "benevolent and charitable institution" means an institution that advances a charitable purpose, donates or renders gratuitously a substantial portion of its services, benefits a substantial and indefinite class of persons who are legitimate subjects of charity, relieves the government of some of its burden and operates free from private profit motive. For the purposes of this paragraph, "benevolent and charitable institutions" includes, but is not limited to, nonprofit nursing homes licensed by the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to Title 22, chapter 405, nonprofit residential care facilities licensed by the Department of Health and Human Services pursuant to Title 22, chapter 1663, nonprofit community mental health service facilities licensed by the Commissioner of Health and Human Services pursuant to Title 34-B, chapter 3 and nonprofit child care centers incorporated by this State as benevolent and charitable institutions. For the purposes of this paragraph, "nonprofit" refers to an institution that has been determined by the United States Internal Revenue Service to be exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Code.
summary
This bill provides standards for determining which institutions qualify for a property tax exemption as a benevolent and charitable institution.