READ FIRST TIME 02/09/10.   

     AN ACT Relating to a property tax exemption for property owned by a nonprofit organization and used for the purpose of a farmers market; amending RCW 84.36.037 and 84.36.020; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 84.36.037 and 2006 c 305 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Real or personal property owned by a nonprofit organization, association, or corporation in connection with the operation of a public assembly hall or meeting place is exempt from taxation. The area exempt under this section includes the building or buildings, the land under the buildings, and an additional area necessary for parking, not exceeding a total of one acre. When property for which exemption is sought is essentially unimproved except for restroom facilities and structures and this property has been used primarily for annual community celebration events for at least ten years, the exempt property shall not exceed twenty-nine acres.
     (2) To qualify for this exemption the property must be used exclusively for public gatherings and must be available to all organizations or persons desiring to use the property, but the owner may impose conditions and restrictions which are necessary for the safekeeping of the property and promote the purposes of this exemption. Membership shall not be a prerequisite for the use of the property.
     (3) The use of the property for pecuniary gain or for business activities, except as provided in this section, nullifies the exemption otherwise available for the property for the assessment year. The exemption is not nullified by:
     (a) The collection of rent or donations if all funds collected are used for capital improvements to the exempt property, maintenance and operation of the exempt property, or for exempt purposes.
     (b) Fund-raising activities conducted by a nonprofit organization.
     (c)(i) Except as provided in (c)(ii) of this subsection, the use of the property for pecuniary gain, for business activities for periods of not more than fifteen days each assessment year so long as all income received from rental or use of the exempt property is used for capital improvements to the exempt property, maintenance and operation of the exempt property, or for exempt purposes.
     (ii) The use of the property for pecuniary gain or for business activities if the property is used for activities related to a qualifying farmers market, as defined in RCW 66.24.170, for not more than fifty-three days each assessment year, and all income received from rental or use of the exempt property is used for capital improvements to the exempt property, maintenance and operation of the exempt property, or exempt purposes.
     (d) In a county with a population of less than twenty thousand, the use of the property to promote the following business activities: Dance lessons, art classes, or music lessons.
     (e) An inadvertent use of the property in a manner inconsistent with the purpose for which exemption is granted, if the inadvertent use is not part of a pattern of use. A pattern of use is presumed when an inadvertent use is repeated in the same assessment year or in two or more successive assessment years.
     (4) The department of revenue ((shall)) must narrowly construe this exemption.

Sec. 2   RCW 84.36.020 and 1994 c 124 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:
     The following real and personal property ((shall be)) is exempt from taxation:
     (1) All lands, buildings, and personal property required for necessary administration and maintenance, used, or to the extent used, exclusively for public burying grounds or cemeteries without discrimination as to race, color, national origin or ancestry;
     (2) All churches, personal property, and the ground, not exceeding five acres in area, upon which a church of any nonprofit recognized religious denomination is or ((shall)) will be built, together with a parsonage, convent, and buildings and improvements required for the maintenance and safeguarding of such property. The area exempted ((shall)) in any case includes all ground covered by the church, parsonage, convent, and buildings and improvements required for the maintenance and safeguarding of such property and the structures and ground necessary for street access, parking, light, and ventilation, but the area of unoccupied ground exempted in such cases, in connection with church, parsonage, convent, and buildings and improvements required for the maintenance and safeguarding of such property, ((shall)) does not exceed the equivalent of one hundred twenty by one hundred twenty feet except where additional unoccupied land may be required to conform with state or local codes, zoning, or licensing requirements. The parsonage and convent need not be on land contiguous to the church property. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, to be exempt the property must be wholly used for church purposes((: PROVIDED, That)). The loan or rental of property otherwise exempt under this ((paragraph)) subsection to a nonprofit organization, association, or corporation, or school for use for an eleemosynary activity ((shall)) or for use for activities related to a farmers market, does not nullify the exemption provided in this ((paragraph)) subsection if the rental income, if any, is reasonable and is devoted solely to the operation and maintenance of the property. However, activities related to a farmers market may not occur on the property more than fifty-three days each assessment year. For the purposes of this section, "farmers market" has the same meaning as "qualifying farmers market" as defined in RCW 66.24.170.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   This act applies to taxes levied for collection in 2011 through 2020.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   This act expires December 31, 2020.