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HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1393 FILED ON: 1/14/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2153
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_________________
PRESENTED BY:
Steven Owens and Tommy Vitolo
_________________
To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:
The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
An Act expanding access to commuter transit benefits offered by employers.
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PETITION OF:
NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Steven Owens29th Middlesex1/14/2025James B. EldridgeMiddlesex and Worcester2/9/2025James K. Hawkins2nd Bristol2/11/2025 1 of 3
HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1393 FILED ON: 1/14/2025
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2153
By Representatives Owens of Watertown and Vitolo of Brookline, a petition (accompanied by
bill, House, No. 2153) of Steven Owens, James B. Eldridge and James K. Hawkins relative to
expanding access to commuter transit benefits offered by employers. Labor and Workforce
Development.
[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 1929 OF 2023-2024.]
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
_______________
In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
(2025-2026)
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An Act expanding access to commuter transit benefits offered by employers.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
of the same, as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Chapter 149 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition,
2is hereby amended by inserting after section 203 the following section:-
3 Section 204 (a) As used in this section, the following words, unless the context clearly
4requires otherwise, shall have the following meanings:-
5 “Employee”, shall have the same meaning as provided in clause (h) of section 1 of
6chapter 151A.
7 “Employer”, shall have the same meaning as provided in subsection (i) of section 1 of
8chapter 151A; except the United States government shall not be considered an employer; 2 of 3
9provided, however, that an individual employer shall be determined by the Federal Employer
10Identification Number.
11 “Pre-tax transportation fringe benefit,” a pre-tax election transportation fringe benefit that
12provides commuter highway vehicle and transit benefits, consistent with the provisions and
13limits of section 132(f)(1)(A), (B), and (D) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986
14(26 U.S.C. s.132(f)(1)(A), (B), and (D)) at the maximum benefit levels allowable under federal
15law, to be deducted for those programs from an employee’s gross income pursuant to section
16132(f)(2) of the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. s.132(f)(2)).
17 (b) Every employer in the commonwealth of Massachusetts that employs at least 50
18persons shall offer to all of that employer’s employees, that are not covered by a collective
19bargaining agreement, the opportunity to utilize a pre-tax transportation fringe benefit; provided,
20nothing herein shall prevent an employer and employees covered by a collective bargaining
21agreement from bargaining to include a pre-tax transportation fringe benefit in such agreement.
22 (c) Any employer found to be in violation of this section shall be liable for a fine of $100
23for a first violation. For each additional month in which an employer fails to offer a pre-tax
24transportation fringe benefit shall constitute a subsequent violation and a fine of $250 shall be
25imposed for each subsequent violation. A fine shall not be imposed on any individual employer
26more than once in a month.
27 (d) The department of revenue shall direct a public multilingual awareness campaign in
28conjunction with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority that encourages the public to
29contact employers about pre-tax transportation fringe benefits and shall coordinate such
30campaign with regional planning agencies, transportation management associations, regional 3 of 3
31transportation authorities, chambers of commerce, private and non-profit providers of public
32transportation, and other transportation stakeholders. The department of revenue shall prepare
33and disseminate model multilingual written materials to be used by employers to notify
34employees of the pre-tax transportation fringe benefits offered.
35 (e) The commissioner of the department of revenue shall adopt regulations to ensure
36compliance and implementation of the provisions of this section, including but not limited to, a
37process by which employees and others can confidentially report non-compliant employers.
38 SECTION 2. Subsection (c) of Section 1 shall take effect one year after the passage of
39this act.