Session Laws

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to immediately authorize the collection of betterment charges by cities and towns, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

Chapter 83 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 15A the following section:-

Section 15B. A city or town may assess and collect estimated sewer assessments in connection with the construction of water pollution collection, pumping, treatment and disposal facilities. The total amount of such estimated sewer assessments shall not exceed one-half of the municipality's liability under all contracts it has entered into for the construction of such facilities, and the total of such estimated assessments shall be allocated by the same method to be used for the allocation of the actual assessments upon the completion of the work.

When the final costs of construction of the facilities has been determined, the city or town may assess and collect actual sewer assessments. The provisions of chapter eighty relative to the apportionment, division, interest and collection of assessments shall apply to estimated assessments under this section, but the provisions of chapter eighty relating to abatements shall not apply to estimated assessments under this section.

Revenues from estimated assessments under this section shall be dedicated to the payment of the costs of constructing the facilities or to paying the principal and interest on any debt issued in connection with the construction of the facilities, until all such costs and debt service obligations have been paid in full.