Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...Homes of the Synod of Florida, appellant-appellee. Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., and Baya Harrison, III, Deputy Atty. Gen., for J. Ed Straughn, appellee-appellant. ERVIN, Justice. The question submitted in these consolidated appeals is whether F.S. Section 196.197(1), (2), (3), 1971 F.S.A., prescribing criteria, primarily "income test," for determining ad valorem tax exemption for homes for the aged is constitutional and conforms to the limitation or exemption provision of Section 3(a), Article...

...rt upheld the constitutionality of the statute and applied it to grant Presbyterian Homes of the Synod of Florida a tax exemption for the year 1972 of 36.6 per cent of the ad valorem tax on its home for the aged in Winter Park, Florida. We find F.S. Section 196.197(1), (2), (3), F.S.A., to be unconstitutional and reverse. Summarized, F.S. Section 196.197(1), (2), (3), F.S.A., in essential part provides homes for the aged shall be exempt only if residency is restricted to (a) persons 62 years of age or older having a gross income of not more than $5000 per year; (b) couples, one of who...

...Department of Housing and Urban Development for housing facilities for the lower income elderly financed under Section 202 or Section 236 of the National Housing Act, or of corresponding sections of any subsequently enacted National Housing Act. It is our view that F.S. Section 196.197(1), (2), (3), F.S.A....

...e test" of the residents to be benefitted by residence in the home. To further aggravate and extend the inappositeness of the "income test" as the criterion for satisfying the predominate use limitation of Section 3, Article VII, a paragraph of F.S. Section 196.197(1), (2), (3), F.S.A., provides for a "sliding scale" to increase the maximum amounts of income prescribed for eligibility for tax exemption in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d) of subsection (2) depending upon future acts of Congress or future Federal agency rulings of the U.S....

...This "sliding scale" depending upon future Federal action is contrary to this Court's holdings in Freimuth v. State (Fla. 1972), 272 So.2d 473 and State v. Camil (Fla. 1873), 279 So.2d 832, to the effect a state statute cannot adopt in advance a future and unknown Federal Act or regulation. Section 196.197(1), (2), (3) providing for an "income test" as the criterion for tax exemption of homes for the aged raises serious questions of equal protection....

...raternity houses, schools, churches, nursing homes, hospitals, fraternal organizations, veterans' groups, Boy and Girl Scouts, and a host more when none has coupled with it an appreciable indigency or pecuniary status restriction as is prescribed in Section 196.197(1), (2), (3) as a condition precedent to allowance of tax exemption for the charitable or religious housing and care of the aged. See again dissents in Presbyterian Homes v. City of Bradenton, supra. It is our view that F.S. Section 196.197(1), (2), (3), F.S.A., being unconstitutional can be excised from Chapter 196 as a necessary constitutional deletion in order that violence will not be visited upon the essential purpose of Chapter 196 to grant tax exemptions for homes for the aged....

...ary 1 of the year for which exemption from ad valorem taxation is requested." F.S. Section 196.196, F.S.A., sets forth the general criteria for determining that portion of charitable or religious property which is entitled to exemption. Without F.S. Section 196.197(1), (2), (3), F.S.A., the language of the chapter set forth above would appear to be ample criteria to be used in determining the tax exemption of a religious or charitable home for the aged pursuant to Section 3(a), Article VII, State Constitution, when coupled with the interpretation in Jasper v. Mease Manor, supra. Logically it appears the rationale in Jasper v. Mease Manor is controlling in regard to tax exemption of religious and charitable homes for the aged, upon the excision of F.S. Section 196.197(1), (2), (3), F.S.A. The foregoing considered, we reverse the judgment of the Circuit Court for Orange County, Florida, upholding Florida Statute 196.197(1), (2), (3), F.S.A., as well as that Court's application thereof that only 36.6 per cent of the property in issue was predominantly used for charitable purposes and that the plaintiff appellant, Presbyterian Homes of the Synod of Florida, is...

...2 (36.6 per cent) of its taxes for the tax year 1972. The tests to be applied by taxing authorities and by the courts, if resort is had thereto, in determining whether to allow tax exemption for a home for the aged or disabled after deletion of F.S. Section 196.197(1), (2), (3), F.S.A., are found in the remainder of Chapter 196 and particularly the definitions in F.S....

...The dissents in the latter case were given a large degree of viability in the later Jasper v. Mease Manor case. If it appears by applying the described tests that a property under investigation is used for exempt purposes in excess of 50 per cent the exemption should be allowed. Only subsections (1), (2) and (3) of F.S. Section 196.197, F.S.A., are held unconstitutional by us....

...roperty tax exemptions for Units 1, 5, 6, 7, and 8. Because no facts were in dispute, Taxpayers filed a motion for summary final judgment contending that they met the criteria for the granting of an exemption from ad valorem taxation as set forth in section 196.197, Florida Statutes (1989)....

...a nonprofit corporation for use in the hospital operation (an exempt purpose), the property was owned by a nonexempt for-profit entity and for this reason did not qualify under the statute for an ad valorem tax exemption. The trial court ruled that section 196.197(2) is clear on its face and grants a specific ad valorem property tax exemption for property leased to a nonprofit corporation that provides direct medical services to patients in a nonprofit hospital and qualifies under section 196.196....

...rem taxation. In this case, the trial court ruled that ownership of the property by an exempt entity is not required where such property is leased to a nonprofit hospital that provides direct medical services to patients in such hospital, relying on section 196.197(2) as express authority for this ruling. Section 196.197, Florida Statutes (1989), states: 196.197 Additional provisions for exempting property used by hospitals, nursing homes, and homes for special services....

...the trial court relied, does not state that the owner of the property or facilities leased to a nonprofit corporation need not be an "exempt entity," as required by sections 196.192 and 196.195. Rather, when read in conjunction with the remainder of section 196.197, it simply makes clear that when an applicant who meets the other criteria of chapter 196 leases property to a nonprofit corporation, and that corporation, in turn, provides direct medical services to patients in a nonprofit or public...

...." (Emphasis added.) [6] Appellants provide a good example of such a situation: where a nonprofit corporation owns a hospital and leases a portion of such hospital to a nonprofit emergency room care corporation that provides direct medical services to patients on the property, section 196.197(2) would expressly exempt such property from taxation.

regards the now defunct income limitation. Section 196.197(2), F.S. Since exemptions from taxation must

QUESTION: Does the decision of the Florida Supreme Court in Presbyterian Homes of the Synod of Florida v. Wood, 297 So.2d 556 (Fla. 1974), eliminate any consideration of the provisions contained in s. 196.197 (4), F.S., thereby leaving determination of a home for the aged's entitlement to ad valorem tax exemption solely under the definitional section for "charitable purpose," s....

...196.012 (6), F.S., and the provisions for determining nonprofit status, s. 196.195 , F.S.? SUMMARY: The decision of the Florida Supreme Court in Presbyterian Homes of the Synod of Florida v. Wood, 297 So.2d 556 (Fla. 1974), did not eliminate any consideration of the provisions of s. 196.197 (4), F.S....

...However, before exemption may be granted under said subsection, the home for the aged must be found to be serving a charitable purpose as defined by s. 196.012 (6), F.S., must meet the criteria of nonprofit status contained in s. 196.195 , F.S., and such portions for which exemption is sought under s. 196.197 (4), F.S., must not be entitled to exemption under s. 196.197 (1) or (2), F.S. Section 196.197 , F.S. 1973, provides additional criteria which must be met by, inter alia, homes for the aged in order to be granted exemption from ad valorem taxation. Among those criteria are the "income tests" contained in subsections 196.197 (2)(a), (b), (c), and (d), F.S....

...1974), the Florida Supreme Court held the "income tests," italicized above, to be unconstitutional, in violation of Art. VII, s. 3(a), State Const. In AGO 074-275, I expressed the opinion that, after excising the "income test" portions of the above-quoted statutes, the age and disability criteria retained their validity. Subsection 196.197 (4), F.S., as amended by Ch. 74-264, Laws of Florida, provides an alternative exemption, s. 196.197 (3), for certain portions of homes for the aged under certain circumstances: (4)(a) Each unit or apartment of homes for the aged which are owned and operated by a Florida corporation organized under the provisions of chapter 617 not exempt...

...nts for special benefits, to the extent of five thousand dollars of assessed valuation of such property for each apartment or unit. . . . (Emphasis supplied.) Initially it should be noted that all of the criteria listed in the various subsections of s. 196.197 , F.S., are under the general heading of s. 196.197 : In addition to criteria for granting exemptions for charitable use of property set forth in other sections of this chapter, hospitals, nursing homes, homes for special services, and homes for the aged shall be exempt to the extent they meet the following criteria . . . . (Emphasis supplied.) Thus, before any exemption may be granted, even under s. 196.197 (4), supra, a home for the aged must be found to be serving a "charitable purpose" as defined in s....

...This determination is a factual one which must be made in the first instance by the assessor. Section 196.193 , F.S.; AGO 074-75. In addition, the home for the aged applicant must be found to be "nonprofit" under the criteria of s. 196.195 , F.S. Subsection 196.197 (4), F.S., as amended, thus comes into play to provide an exemption for certain portions of a home for the aged under the provisions contained therein only after: The home for the aged is determined to be serving a "charitable purpose" as defined by s. 196.012 (6), F.S.; the home for the aged is determined to be nonprofit under the criteria of s. 196.195 , F.S.; and such portions of the home for the aged for which exemption under s. 196.197 (4), F.S., is sought must not be entitled to exemption under s. 196.197 (1) or (2), F.S....

...After exhausting its administrative remedies, Plymouth Harbor filed suit to obtain an exemption. The complaint was premised upon four theories. Count I asserted generally Plymouth Harbor's claim for exemption on the basis that its property was used for charitable purposes; count II claimed an exemption under Fla. Stat. § 196.197(7) (1971); count III alleged that the Assessor had, in effect, granted the application for exemption by failing to deny it in writing by June 1, 1971, as required by Fla. Stat. § 196.193(5) (1971); and count IV challenged the constitutionality of subparagraphs 1 and 2 of Fla. Stat. § 196.197 (1971). Following discovery, the court entered a summary final judgment granting Plymouth Harbor's claim for relief under Fla. Stat. § 196.197(7) (1971), which both parties have referred to as the "grandfather clause" of Chapter 71-133, Laws of Florida....

...Chapter 71-133, Laws of Florida 1971, which became incorporated into Chapter 196, repealed the existing laws on charitable exemptions and replaced them with new laws on the subject. Included in this new legislation were provisions becoming Fla. Stat. § 196.197(1) and (2) (1971), which permitted exemption only to the extent that residency in the home was restricted to persons having a gross income of less than a specified amount....

...gs below. The Assessor contends, inter alia, that even if all the Plymouth Harbor contracts met the requirements of the grandfather clause, this only had the effect of eliminating the minimum income requirements of residents prescribed in Fla. Stat. § 196.197(1) and (2) (1971)....

...ssessor argues, with some logic, that the language of the clause suggests that the grandfather clause was only intended to provide a two-year grace period for those residential units occupied by persons not meeting the minimum income requirements of § 196.197(1) and (2)....

...Thus, the Assessor would interpret the word "chapter" to mean "section." However, we believe that the opinion in Presbyterian Homes of Synod of Florida v. Wood, Fla. 1974, 297 So.2d 556, issued since the filing of this appeal, makes the determination of that question moot. In that case, the Supreme Court declared § 196.197(1), (2) and (3) (1973) (substantially those provisions which were formerly § 196.197(1) and (2) (1971)) to be unconstitutional because of their failure to conform with art....

...aritable institution. The court went on to say: "The tests to be applied by taxing authorities and by the courts, if resort is had thereto, in determining whether to allow tax exemption for a home for the *632 aged or disabled after deletion of F.S. Section 196.197(1), (2), (3), F.S.A., are found in the remainder of Chapter 196 and particularly the definitions in F.S....

...thly charge for the payment of ad valorem taxes is legally insufficient to dictate a contrary result. The Assessor's contention that none of the "common areas" are exempt from taxation by reason of the grandfather clause is without merit. Fla. Stat. § 196.197(5) (1971) states: "The extent of exemption of property of homes for the aged found to be used predominantly for exempt purposes, shall be made by dividing the total number of rental units and apartments meeting all requirements for exempti...

...ates the necessity of meeting any other *635 criteria in order to qualify for an exemption. We hold that it does not. Aside from the ambiguities in the subsection which were pointed out in the original opinion, the introductory portion of Fla. Stat. § 196.197 (1971) indicates the necessity of also meeting the requirements contained in the balance of Chapter 196....