Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H3239 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

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1	1	1 of 1
2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 163 FILED ON: 1/6/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3239
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Adam J. Scanlon
8	8	_________________
9	9	To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
10	10	Court assembled:
11	11	The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:
12	12	An Act relative to municipal property tax reform.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Adam J. Scanlon14th Bristol1/6/2025 1 of 7
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 163 FILED ON: 1/6/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3239
18	18	By Representative Scanlon of North Attleborough, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
19	19	3239) of Adam J. Scanlon relative to municipal property tax reform. Revenue.
20	20	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
21	21	_______________
22	22	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
23	23	(2025-2026)
24	24	_______________
25	25	An Act relative to municipal property tax reform.
26	26	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
27	27	of the same, as follows:
28	28	1 Section 1. Said chapter 41, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after
29	29	2section 30B the following section:-
30	30	3 Section 30B1/2. Notwithstanding any general or special law, charter provision or local
31	31	4bylaw, ordinance or vote to the contrary, in any city or town that accepts this section, the chief
32	32	5executive officer of the city or town, may, on behalf of the city or town, enter into an agreement
33	33	6with 1 or more cities or towns to form a regional board of assessors. The regional board of
34	34	7assessors shall have all the powers and responsibilities outlined in general law for local boards of
35	35	8assessors and will assume all the activities and undertakings of the local board of assessors for
36	36	9each member city and town.
37	37	10 The agreement shall provide for:
38	38	11 (i) the division, merger or consolidation of administrative functions between or among
39	39	12the parties; 2 of 7
40	40	13 (ii) the financing of the joint undertaking;
41	41	14 (iii) the rights and responsibilities of the parties with respect to the direction and
42	42	15supervision of the work to be performed and with respect to the administration of the regional
43	43	16board of assessors office, including the receipt and disbursement of funds, the maintenance of
44	44	17accounts and records and the auditing of accounts;
45	45	18 (iv) annual reports of the regional board of assessors to the constituent parties;
46	46	19 (v) the duration of the agreement and procedures for amendment, withdrawal or
47	47	20termination thereof; and
48	48	21 (vi) any other necessary or appropriate matter as agreed to by the chief executive officers
49	49	22of the city or town.
50	50	23 With the approval of the member cities and towns, the regional board of assessors may
51	51	24appoint assistant assessors pursuant to section 25A of chapter 41. Member cities and towns may,
52	52	25in their individual capacity, employ a local assessor and support staff who shall be responsible
53	53	26for estimating the value of the real and personal estate for such city or town and who shall report
54	54	27to the regional board of assessors. Otherwise, member cities and towns may permit the regional
55	55	28board of assessors to hire a regional assessor or assessors and support staff who shall be
56	56	29responsible for estimating the value of the real and personal estate in each such city or town and
57	57	30who shall report to the regional board of assessors. A city or town may become a party to an
58	58	31existing agreement with the approval of a majority of the other members.
59	59	32 An agreement under this section may also provide for the employment of necessary staff
60	60	33to perform administrative functions. Any joint costs associated with the regional board of 3 of 7
61	61	34assessors shall be identified in the agreement and subject to appropriation by each member city
62	62	35or town and accounted for in accordance with the procedures identified in section 4A of chapter
63	63	3640. Subject to the rules and regulations established by the commissioner of revenue pursuant to
64	64	37section 1 of chapter 58, the agreement shall provide for qualifications, terms and conditions of
65	65	38employment for the members of the regional board of assessors and employees of the office. The
66	66	39agreement may provide for inclusion of the regional board of assessor employees in insurance,
67	67	40retirement programs and other benefit programs of one of the member parties, but all parties to
68	68	41the agreement shall pay a proportionate share of the current and future costs of benefits
69	69	42associated with the appointment or employment of all persons performing services for them
70	70	43during the duration of the agreement. A city or town who is a party to such an agreement shall
71	71	44include employees under the agreement in such programs in accordance with the terms of the
72	72	45agreement.
73	73	46 Unless otherwise agreed to by all member municipalities, the number of persons on the
74	74	47regional board of assessors shall be at least equal to the number of member cities and towns.
75	75	48Unless otherwise agreed to by all member municipalities, each city or town shall have at least 1
76	76	49person appointed by the chief executive officer of that city or town to the regional board of
77	77	50assessors. The number of assessors on the regional board may exceed the number of member
78	78	51municipalities if so agreed and such an agreement shall provide for the appointment of such
79	79	52additional board members. Any vacancies shall be filled by the applicable member municipality
80	80	53forthwith, who may also appoint a temporary board member until such time that a permanent
81	81	54replacement is appointed unless a different process is agreed to by all member municipalities.
82	82	55 Unless otherwise designated in the agreement, an agreement made pursuant to this
83	83	56section shall go into effect on the first day of the fiscal year after this section has been accepted 4 of 7
84	84	57and the agreement has been finalized by all member municipalities; provided, however, no
85	85	58agreement or amendment to an agreement made pursuant to this section shall take effect until it
86	86	59has been approved in writing by the commissioner of revenue.
87	87	60 Notwithstanding any general or special law, charter provision or local bylaw or ordinance
88	88	61to the contrary, once in effect, the local board of assessors of the member municipalities, whether
89	89	62elected or appointed, shall be considered abolished. Any incumbent of the local board of
90	90	63assessors serving at the time of acceptance shall continue to hold said office and to perform the
91	91	64duties thereof until the effective date as described in the preceding paragraph.
92	92	65 Section 2. Clause Forty-first C of said section 5 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is
93	93	66hereby amended by striking out, in line 1371, the words “by not more than 100 per cent” and
94	94	67inserting in place thereof the following words:- an amount to be determined locally.
95	95	68 Section 3. Said section 5 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended
96	96	69by striking out clause Forty-third and inserting in place thereof the following clause:-
97	97	70 Forty-third, Real estate of the surviving minor children, including adopted children, of a
98	98	71police officer or firefighter killed in the line of duty as such police officer or firefighter; provided
99	99	72that such real estate is owned, including real estate that is owned by a trustee, conservator or
100	100	73other fiduciary for the benefit of the surviving minor children, and occupied by such children as
101	101	74their domicile, and provided, further, that no real estate shall be so exempt which the assessors
102	102	75shall adjudge has been conveyed to such children to evade taxation.
103	103	76 Section 4. Said section 5 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended
104	104	77by adding the following 2 clauses:- 5 of 7
105	105	78 Fifty-ninth. In any city or town that accepts this clause, a person whose domicile is
106	106	79owned by a trustee, conservator or other fiduciary for the person’s benefit shall be deemed the
107	107	80owner of the domicile for purposes of an exemption under any clause listed in the third
108	108	81paragraph of section 59 or a deferral under clause Eighteenth A or Forty-first A of this section
109	109	82and shall be granted the exemption provided the person is otherwise eligible under such clause.
110	110	83 Sixtieth. In a city or town that accepts this section and is certified by the commissioner to
111	111	84be assessing all property at full and fair cash valuation, an abatement granted pursuant to any
112	112	85clause specifically listed in the first paragraph of section 5 shall be increased annually by an
113	113	86amount not to exceed the increase in the cost of living as determined by the Consumer Price
114	114	87Index for such year. The department of revenue shall annually inform each city or town that
115	115	88accepts this clause of the amount of this increase.
116	116	89 Section 6. Said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after
117	117	90section 5O the following section:-
118	118	91 Section 5P. (a) In a city or town that accepts this section, there shall be an exemption for
119	119	92income and age qualified domiciliary homeowners as provided herein. For the purposes of this
120	120	93section, “parcel” shall mean a unit of real property as defined by the board of assessors under the
121	121	94deed for the property and shall include condominium units. The exemption provided for herein
122	122	95shall be in addition to any other exemptions allowed by the General Laws.
123	123	96 (b) With respect to each qualifying parcel of real property classified as class one,
124	124	97residential in the municipality, there shall be an exemption from the property tax in an amount to
125	125	98be set annually by the chief executive officer as provided in paragraph (d). The exemption shall
126	126	99be applied to the domicile of the taxpayer. 6 of 7
127	127	100 (c) A parcel of real property shall qualify for the exemption under this section if each of
128	128	101the following criteria is met:
129	129	102 (i) The qualifying real property is owned and occupied by a person whose income from
130	130	103the prior year would make the person eligible for the income tax credit allowed under subsection
131	131	104(k) of section 6 of chapter 62;
132	132	105 (ii) The qualifying real property is owned by a single applicant age 65 or older as of July
133	133	1061 of the applicable fiscal year or jointly by persons either of whom is age 65 or above as of July
134	134	1071 of the applicable fiscal year and the joint applicant is 60 years of age or older;
135	135	108 (iii) The qualifying real property is owned and occupied by the applicant or joint
136	136	109applicants as their domicile;
137	137	110 (iv) The applicant or at least 1 of the joint applicants has been domiciled and owned a
138	138	111home in the municipality for at least 10 consecutive years before filing an application for the
139	139	112exemption;
140	140	113 (v) The assessed value of the domicile is not greater than the prior year’s maximum
141	141	114assessed value for qualification for the income tax credit allowed under subsection (k) of section
142	142	1156 of chapter 62, as adjusted annually by the commissioner of revenue;
143	143	116 (vi) The total assets of the applicant do not exceed any asset limitations established by the
144	144	117chief executive officer under paragraph (e) to determine eligibility for this exemption; and
145	145	118 (vi) The board of assessors has approved the application.
146	146	119 (d) The chief executive officer shall annually determine the exemption amount, which
147	147	120shall not be more than two hundred per cent of the maximum amount of the income tax credit 7 of 7
148	148	121allowed under subsection (k) of section 6 of chapter 62 for which the applicant qualified in the
149	149	122previous year.
150	150	123 (e) The chief executive officer may establish limits on the total assets that may be owned
151	151	124by an applicant for purposes of eligibility.
152	152	125 (f) A person who seeks to qualify for the exemption shall, on or before April 1 of the
153	153	126applicable tax year, or within 3 months after the bill or notice of assessment was sent, whichever
154	154	127is later, file an application, on a form to be adopted by the board of assessors, containing
155	155	128supporting documentation to demonstrate the applicant’s income and assets as described in the
156	156	129application. The application shall be filed each year for which the applicant seeks the exemption.
157	157	130 (g) The total amount exempted by this section shall be allocated proportionally within the
158	158	131residential tax levy. No exemption shall be granted under this section until the commissioner of
159	159	132revenue certifies a residential tax rate for the applicable tax year.