The Rhode Island Senate Finance Committee unanimously advanced a bill this week that would expand property tax relief for senior citizens on fixed incomes, a measure that sponsors say is urgently needed as rising property assessments are forcing elderly homeowners out of houses they have owned for decades.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Hanna Gallo, D-Cranston, and co-sponsored by a bipartisan group of seven senators, would increase the maximum property tax exemption for seniors over 65 with household incomes below $50,000 from $4,000 to $8,000 annually. It would also create a new "circuit breaker" provision that caps property tax liability at 5 percent of household income for qualifying seniors, regardless of the assessed value of their home.

"We have seniors in Cranston, Warwick, and Providence who have lived in their homes for 40 years and are now facing property tax bills that have doubled in a decade," said Sen. Gallo. "They are on fixed incomes. They cannot absorb these increases. We are going to lose these people from our communities if we don't act."

The Rhode Island Association of Realtors and the AARP Rhode Island chapter both expressed strong support for the measure, noting that Rhode Island has one of the highest effective property tax rates in New England for middle-income homeowners. "Property taxes are the primary driver of housing unaffordability for seniors," said AARP Rhode Island State Director Kathleen Connell. "This bill is a meaningful step toward keeping seniors in their homes and in their communities."

The bill now heads to the full Senate, where it is expected to pass with bipartisan support. The House version of the bill, sponsored by Rep. Charlene Lima, D-Cranston, is awaiting a committee hearing.