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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2743 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3966 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Jennifer Balinsky Armini , (BY REQUEST) |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act to reform property tax assessments and abatement processes. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Jay Catelli21A Buena Vista St Swampscott, MA |
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| 16 | 16 | | 01907 |
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| 17 | 17 | | 1/16/2025 1 of 2 |
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| 18 | 18 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2743 FILED ON: 1/16/2025 |
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| 19 | 19 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 3966 |
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| 20 | 20 | | By Representative Armini of Marblehead (by request), a petition (accompanied by bill, House, |
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| 21 | 21 | | No. 3966) of Jay Catelli for legislation to further regulate the property tax assessments and |
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| 22 | 22 | | abatement processes. Revenue. |
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| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Fourth General Court |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2025-2026) |
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| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
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| 28 | 28 | | An Act to reform property tax assessments and abatement processes. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 SECTION 1. The first paragraph of section 7 of chapter 58A of the General Laws, as |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the ninth sentence |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3the following sentence:- If the board finds in favor of the appellant, then the appellee shall |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4reimburse the appellant the cost of the entry fee for filing the petition. |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5 SECTION 2. Section 13 of said chapter 58A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6striking out, in line 59, the figure “8” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 14. |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7 SECTION 3. Section 38 of chapter 59 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8amended by adding the following paragraph:- |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9 The assessors of each city and town shall make the property card, including the fair cash |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10valuation of each estate, available to the public upon request. The assessors of each city and town |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11shall mail to the taxpayer of record of an estate the property card for the property, which shall |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12include the fair cash valuation, together with a written explanation of the valuation. 2 of 2 |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13 SECTION 4. Section 59 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby amended by |
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| 44 | 44 | | 14striking out, in lines 4 and 5, the words “on or before the last day for payment” and inserting in |
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| 45 | 45 | | 15place thereof the following words:- within 60 days following the tax bill issue date. |
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| 46 | 46 | | 16 SECTION 5. Said section 59 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further |
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| 47 | 47 | | 17amended by inserting, in line 18, after the word “him” the following words:- ; provided further, |
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| 48 | 48 | | 18if the assessors of a city or town do not provide to the person aggrieved by the tax the property |
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| 49 | 49 | | 19card, including the fair cash valuation as required by section 38, the deadline for applying for an |
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| 50 | 50 | | 20abatement shall be extended until 60 days following the date when such valuation and |
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| 51 | 51 | | 21documentation are made available. |
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| 52 | 52 | | 22 SECTION 6. The second paragraph of section 60 of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is |
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| 53 | 53 | | 23hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- Boards of assessors shall record an |
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| 54 | 54 | | 24abatement, including an abatement decision by the appellate tax board, on any relevant property |
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| 55 | 55 | | 25record card, which shall be open to public inspection. |
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| 56 | 56 | | 26 SECTION 7. Said chapter 59 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 61A |
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| 57 | 57 | | 27the following section:- |
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| 58 | 58 | | 28 Section 61B. The assessors shall notify the person applying for an abatement of when the |
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| 59 | 59 | | 29abatement will be considered and shall provide the person with the opportunity to present any |
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| 60 | 60 | | 30relevant information to the assessors. |
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