Massachusetts 2025-2026 Regular Session

Massachusetts House Bill H3587 Compare Versions

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

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2	2	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3435 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
3	3	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3587
4	4	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
5	5	_________________
6	6	PRESENTED BY:
7	7	Daniel Cahill
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 to grow and maintain space in cities and towns for the creative economy.
13	13	_______________
14	14	PETITION OF:
15	15	NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Daniel Cahill10th Essex1/17/2025Christopher M. Markey9th Bristol2/13/2025 1 of 6
16	16	HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3435 FILED ON: 1/17/2025
17	17	HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3587
18	18	By Representative Cahill of Lynn, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 3587) of Daniel
19	19	Cahill and Christopher M. Markey for legislation to establish a local option trust to provide
20	20	creative space and presentation space in municipalities. Tourism, Arts and Cultural
21	21	Development.
22	22	The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
23	23	_______________
24	24	In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court
25	25	(2025-2026)
26	26	_______________
27	27	An Act to grow and maintain space in cities and towns for the creative economy.
28	28	Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority
29	29	of the same, as follows:
30	30	1 SECTION 1. Section 31 of Chapter 184 of the General Laws is hereby amended by
31	31	2adding at the end thereof the following:
32	32	3 “A Creative space restriction means a right, either in perpetuity or for a specified number
33	33	4of years, whether or not stated in the form of a restriction, easement, covenant or condition in
34	34	5any deed, mortgage, will, agreement, or other instrument executed by or on behalf of the owner
35	35	6of the land appropriate to a) limiting the use of all or part of land or structure to occupancy by
36	36	7persons for the creation, practice, presentation, exhibition of art, creative expression or culture or
37	37	8to occupancy by persons or families for live/work artist studio housing. Such restriction may
38	38	9include provisions to restrict the resale price of all or part of the property in order to assure its
39	39	10affordability by future low or moderate income artists, creative workers, culture bearers, and
40	40	11artisans of fine, applied, traditional or popular arts.” 2 of 6
41	41	12 SECTION 2. Chapter 44 is hereby amended by adding the following new Section:-
42	42	13 Section 1.
43	43	14 Definitions
44	44	15 “Creative space” - space where the primary use is the creation and practice of art, culture
45	45	16and creative expression and the primary users are artists, creative workers or artisans in the fine,
46	46	17applied or popular arts, where “creation” encompasses all activities required to generate artistic
47	47	18products including but not limited to sketching, design, prototyping, writing, rehearsing,
48	48	19composing, recording, etc., and “practice” encompasses all activities related to developing,
49	49	20expanding, and maintaining skills and competencies that enable the creation of arts, culture and
50	50	21creative expression.
51	51	22 “Presentation space” - space where the primary use is showcasing, presentation and
52	52	23exhibition of art, culture and creative expression by artists, creative workers, and artisans in the
53	53	24fine, applied or popular arts, and community members.
54	54	25 Section 2.
55	55	26 Municipal Creative Space Trust Fund
56	56	27 Section XX. (a) Notwithstanding section XX or any other general or special law to the
57	57	28contrary, a city or town that accepts this section may establish a trust to be known as the
58	58	29Municipal Creative Space Trust Fund, in this section called the trust. The purpose of the trust is
59	59	30to provide for the creation and preservation of creative space and presentation space in
60	60	31municipalities. 3 of 6
61	61	32 (b) There shall be a board of trustees, in this section called the board, which shall include
62	62	33no less than 5 trustees, including the chief executive officer, as defined by section 7 of chapter 4,
63	63	34of the city or town, but where the chief executive officer is a multi-member body, that body shall
64	64	35designate a minimum of 1 of its members to serve on the board; provided, that, if said city or
65	65	36town has formed a Local or Regional Cultural Council, as defined in Section 58 of Chapter 10 of
66	66	37the general laws, said chief executive officer shall appoint to the board a minimum of 1 member
67	67	38from said cultural council; provided further, that, if said city or town has a municipal board,
68	68	39committee or commission dedicated to local arts and culture, said chief executive officer shall
69	69	40appoint to the board a minimum of 1 member from said body.. Trustees shall be appointed in a
70	70	41city by the mayor or by the city manager in a Plan D or Plan E municipality, subject in either
71	71	42case, to confirmation by the city council, and in a town by the board of selectmen, shall serve for
72	72	43a term not to exceed 2 years, and are designated as public agents for purposes of the constitution
73	73	44of the commonwealth. Nothing in this subsection shall prevent a board of selectmen from
74	74	45appointing the town manager or town administrator as a member or chair of the board, with or
75	75	46without the power to vote.
76	76	47 (c) The powers of the board, all of which shall be carried on in furtherance of the
77	77	48purposes set forth in this act, shall include the following powers, but a city or town may, by
78	78	49ordinance or by-law, omit or modify any of these powers and may grant to the board additional
79	79	50powers consistent with this section: —
80	80	51 (1) to accept and receive real property, personal property or money, by gift, grant,
81	81	52contribution, devise or transfer from any person, firm, corporation or other public or private
82	82	53entity, including but not limited to money, grants of funds or other property tendered to the trust
83	83	54in connection with any ordinance or by-law or any general or special law or any other source; 4 of 6
84	84	55 (2) to purchase and retain real or personal property, including without restriction
85	85	56investments that yield a high rate of income or no income;
86	86	57 (3) to sell, lease, exchange, transfer or convey any personal, mixed, or real property at
87	87	58public auction or by private contract for such consideration and on such terms as to credit or
88	88	59otherwise, and to make such contracts and enter into such undertaking relative to trust property
89	89	60as the board deems advisable notwithstanding the length of any such lease or contract;
90	90	61 (4) to execute, acknowledge and deliver deeds, assignments, transfers, pledges, leases,
91	91	62covenants, contracts, promissory notes, releases, grant agreements and other instruments sealed
92	92	63or unsealed, necessary, proper or incident to any transaction in which the board engages for the
93	93	64accomplishment of the purposes of the trust;
94	94	65 (5) to employ advisors and agents, such as accountants, appraisers and lawyers as the
95	95	66board deems necessary;
96	96	67 (6) to pay reasonable compensation and expenses to all advisors and agents and to
97	97	68apportion such compensation between income and principal as the board deems advisable;
98	98	69 (7) to apportion receipts and charges between incomes and principal as the board deems
99	99	70advisable, to amortize premiums and establish sinking funds for such purpose, and to create
100	100	71reserves for depreciation depletion or otherwise;
101	101	72 (8) to participate in any reorganization, recapitalization, merger or similar transactions;
102	102	73and to give proxies or powers of attorney with or without power of substitution to vote any
103	103	74securities or certificates of interest; and to consent to any contract, lease, mortgage, purchase or
104	104	75sale of property, by or between any corporation and any other corporation or person; 5 of 6
105	105	76 (9) to deposit any security with any protective reorganization committee, and to delegate
106	106	77to such committee such powers and authority with relation thereto as the board may deem proper
107	107	78and to pay, out of trust property, such portion of expenses and compensation of such committee
108	108	79as the board may deem necessary and appropriate;
109	109	80 (10) to carry property for accounting purposes other than acquisition date values;
110	110	81 (11) to borrow money on such terms and conditions and from such sources as the board
111	111	82deems advisable, to mortgage and pledge trust assets as collateral;
112	112	83 (12) to make distributions or divisions of principal in kind;
113	113	84 (13) to comprise, attribute, defend, enforce, release, settle or otherwise adjust claims in
114	114	85favor or against the trust, including claims for taxes, and to accept any property, either in total or
115	115	86partial satisfaction of any indebtedness or other obligation, and subject to the provisions of this
116	116	87act, to continue to hold the same for such period of time as the board may deem appropriate;
117	117	88 (14) to manage or improve real property; and to abandon any property which the board
118	118	89determined not to be worth retaining;
119	119	90 (15) to hold all or part of the trust property uninvested for such purposes and for such
120	120	91time as the board may deem appropriate; and
121	121	92 (16) to extend the time for payment of any obligation to the trust.
122	122	93 (d) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, all moneys paid to the
123	123	94trust in accordance with any zoning ordinance or by-law, exaction fee, or private contributions
124	124	95shall be paid directly into the trust and need not be appropriated or accepted and approved into
125	125	96the trust. General revenues appropriated into the trust become trust property and to be expended 6 of 6
126	126	97these funds need not be further appropriated. All moneys remaining in the trust at the end of any
127	127	98fiscal year, whether or not expended by the board within 1 year of the date they were
128	128	99appropriated into the trust, remain trust property.
129	129	100 (e) The trust is a public employer and the members of the board are public employees for
130	130	101purposes of chapter 258.
131	131	102 (f) The trust shall be deemed a municipal agency and the trustees special municipal
132	132	103employees, for purposes of chapter 268A.
133	133	104 (g) The trust is exempt from chapters 59 and 62, and from any other provisions
134	134	105concerning payment of taxes based upon or measured by property or income imposed by the
135	135	106commonwealth or any political subdivision thereof.
136	136	107 (h) The books and records of the trust shall be audited annually by an independent auditor
137	137	108in accordance with accepted accounting practices. Said independent auditor shall submit an
138	138	109annual report to the Massachusetts cultural council.
139	139	110 (i) The trust is a governmental body for purposes of sections 23A, 23B and 23C of
140	140	111chapter 39.
141	141	112 (j) The trust is a board of the city or town for purposes of chapter 30B and section 15A of
142	142	113chapter 40; but agreements and conveyances between the trust and agencies, boards,
143	143	114commissions, authorities, departments and public instrumentalities of the city or town shall be
144	144	115exempt from said chapter 30B.