Bill
HB 5965
Cranston could, at its option, grant a local homestead tax exemption of up to 20% for qualifying residential property.
Note: Two different bills numbered HB 5965 are included in the materials. One is a Michigan bill (environment/PFAS assistance for farmers) introduced in 2024 and later withdrawn; the other is a Rhode Island bill (Cranston homestead exemption) introduced in 2025. Summaries for both follow.
Status: Introduced Sept. 26, 2024; Withdrawn at sponsor’s request Mar. 4, 2025.
Purpose
- Establish a state grant program to assist farmers whose land, agricultural products, or water are contaminated by PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances).
Key provisions
- Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (in consultation with Dept. of Agriculture & Rural Development) to create and administer the grant program and promulgate implementing rules.
- Eligible uses include: medical/mental-health testing and care not covered by insurance or settlements; costs of buying/selling agricultural land; removal/filtration/destruction of PFAS; investment in equipment, infrastructure, or remediation; income replacement and mortgage payments (based on prior-year gross income); voluntary monitoring/testing of products, livestock, and feed; and short-term assistance (enterprise budgets, remediation strategies, technological adaptations, transition plans).
- Application requirements: contact and tax ID, farm business operations and sales before/after PFAS discovery, federal tax returns, monthly profit/loss statements, documentation of other PFAS-related payments, and a plan describing proposed use of funds and transition/remediation actions.
- Grant caps / indemnities (adjusted by other payments and unaffected sales):
- Livestock depopulation: up to 100% fair market value, not to exceed $10,000 per animal or an average of $5,000 per animal in the herd/flock/aquaculture lot.
- Agricultural products/crops: indemnification up to 100% fair market value per USDA Risk Management Agency crop loss calculations or county USDA price/yield averages where insurance unavailable.
- Agricultural land: indemnification up to 100% of appraised fair market value if land can no longer be used for agriculture.
- Land rent: up to 100% of rental rate based on a 3‑year NASS county average, limited to the farmer’s transition plan period.
- PFAS Impact Fund: created in state treasury to receive funds (including specified increases in civil infractions or other source receipts). Money remains in the fund year-to-year; expenditures require appropriation.
Who is affected
- Farmers whose land, products, or irrigation/water supplies are determined contaminated by PFAS; household members with PFAS-related health effects; local agriculture markets and food buyers; state agencies administering the program.
Other notes
- The bill’s enacting section conditions its effectiveness on enactment of related measures (cross-referenced bills).
- Withdrawn by sponsor on 3/4/2025, so it did not advance to enactment in this form.
Status: Introduced Feb. 28, 2025; referred to House Municipal Government & Housing; scheduled for hearing.
Purpose
- Authorize the Cranston city council to create an annual homestead exemption from local property tax for qualifying residential real property.
Key provisions
- City council may set, by ordinance or resolution, a homestead exemption up to 20% of assessed value for residential property used exclusively for residential purposes and improved with a dwelling containing fewer than three units.
- If a parcel is partly residential, the exemption is prorated by the percentage of square footage used for residential purposes multiplied by the exemption percentage.
- Council may adopt rules governing eligibility and may prorate the exemption when property is sold or transferred mid‑year.
- Effective date (if enacted): December 31, 2025.
Who is affected
- Owners of qualifying residential property in the city of Cranston (potentially reducing property tax liability depending on the exemption percentage set by the city council).
- Cranston municipal finance and tax assessment processes (need to implement rules and proration procedures).
Procedural/timeline notes
- RI bill is pending committee consideration; if enacted it would give local legislative authority to Cranston to adopt an exemption (not a mandate).
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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