Relating to the tax exemption of religious institution or society property being used for educational purposes by a third party, and including effective date and retroactive applicability provisions

This bill relates to the tax exemption of religious institution or society property being used for educational purposes by a third party. The bill allows grounds owned by a religious institution or society and used by a person or entity, regardless of whether the religious institution or society has a lease agreement with the person or entity, to retain tax-exempt status if the grounds are being used by the person or entity for the primary purpose of providing educational instruction to children, the person or entity providing educational services includes in its instruction religious instruction consistent with the doctrines of the religious institution or society, and the person or entity using the grounds is not required to make rental payments to the religious institution or society. For the purposes of determining the tax-exempt status of a property belonging to a religious institution or society, a payment from the person or entity using the grounds to the religious institution or society that owns the grounds as reimbursement for janitorial services, utilities, or other similar reimbursement will not be considered a rental payment. The bill is effective upon enactment and retroactively applies to assessment years beginning on or after January 1, 2024.