Exemption from Ad Valorem Taxes of Child Care Facilities:
SB 1306 would expand Florida’s property tax exemption for educational institutions to include a new category of child care facilities: any portion of property used as a child care facility that has achieved Gold Seal Quality status under the state’s Gold Seal Quality Care Program. The bill amends section 196.198, Florida Statutes, to treat qualifying Gold Seal child care facilities as educational institutions for purposes of the ad valorem tax exemption, regardless of whether the property is owned or leased.
The bill also addresses leased facilities. If a qualifying child care facility is leased, the lessor child care facility operator may be considered eligible to receive the benefit of the exemption if the operator demonstrates that it will be exempt from ad valorem taxation under the lease arrangement. In addition, property owners would be required to disclose to the child care facility operator the total amount of the tax benefit and the method for ensuring the operator receives that benefit. The bill makes a conforming change to the Gold Seal Quality Care Program statute and would take effect July 1, 2025.
If enacted, SB 1306 would broaden the scope of Florida’s ad valorem tax exemption law by adding qualifying Gold Seal child care facilities to the list of properties treated as educational institutions under section 196.198. This would reduce property tax liability for eligible child care facilities and potentially shift financial benefits to operators or owners depending on lease terms. It would also impose new disclosure obligations on property owners and clarify how the exemption applies in leased-property situations.
The bill appears to have been generally favorable in concept, as reflected by its advancement through the legislative process and the fact that a companion measure passed. The available record does not include committee debate or recorded votes, so there is no detailed evidence of opposition in the provided materials. However, the bill ultimately died in the Senate Community Affairs committee despite the companion bill’s success, suggesting that support was not sufficient to move this particular measure forward in the Senate.
The main policy issue is whether Gold Seal child care facilities should receive the same property tax treatment as educational institutions, which would lower costs for providers but reduce local tax revenues. A second point of potential contention is the leased-property provision: the bill requires owners to disclose the value of the exemption and allows lessor operators to derive the benefit only upon a specified showing, which may raise questions about how the tax savings are allocated between landlords and operators. The absence of committee transcripts limits the ability to identify specific members or stakeholder groups who opposed or supported these provisions.