Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §652, sub-§1, ¶K, as amended by PL 1973, c. 719, is further amended to read:

K. The real and personal property leased by owned and occupied or used solely for its own purposes by an incorporated benevolent and charitable organization which that is exempt from taxation under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, and the primary purpose of which is the operation of a hospital licensed by the Department of Human Services, health maintenance organization or blood bank.

SUMMARY

This bill makes the property tax exemption for hospitals consistent with the exemptions granted to other organizations by requiring a hospital to own the property rather than lease it.