Session Laws

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to immediately allow the filing of certain abatements, 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:

SECTION 1. Clause Sixteenth A of section 5 of chapter 59 of the General Laws, inserted by section 1 of chapter 373 of the acts of 1996, is hereby amended by striking out subclause (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subclause:- (c) was in existence and conducting business in the commonwealth on or before January fifteenth, nineteen hundred and ninety-six, all property owned by such limited liability company other than the following: real estate, poles and underground conduits, wires and pipes.

SECTION 2. Section 59 of said chapter 59, as appearing in the 1994 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- A person upon whom a tax has been assessed or the administrator of the estate of such person or the executor or trustee under the will of such person, if aggrieved by such tax, may, except as hereinafter otherwise provided, on or before the last day for payment, without incurring interest in accordance with the provisions of section fifty-seven or section fifty-seven C, of the first installment of the actual tax bill issued upon the establishment of the tax rate for the fiscal year to which the tax relates, apply in writing to the assessors, on a form approved by the commissioner, for an abatement thereof, and if they find him taxed at more than his just proportion or upon an improper classification, or upon an assessment of any of his property in excess of its fair cash value, they shall make a reasonable abatement; provided, however, that a person aggrieved by a tax assessed upon him under section seventy-five or section seventy-six or reassessed upon him under section seventy-seven may apply for such abatement at any time within three months after the bill or notice of such assessment or reassessment is first sent to him.

SECTION 3. The first paragraph of section 3A of chapter 60 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1994 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following four sentences:- Every bill or notice shall be in a form approved by the commissioner and shall summarize the deadlines under section fifty-nine of chapter fifty-nine for applying for abatements and exemptions. Every bill or notice shall also have printed on it the last date for the assessed owner to apply for abatement and for exemptions under clauses other than those specifically listed in said section fifty-nine of said chapter fifty-nine. Except in the case of a bill or notice for reassessed taxes under section seventy-seven of said chapter fifty-nine, every bill shall also have printed on it the last date on which payment can be made without interest being due. If a bill or notice contains an erroneous payment or abatement application date that is later than the date established under said chapter fifty-nine, the date printed on the bill or notice shall be the deadline for payment or for applying for abatement or exemption, but if the error in the date is the wrong year, the due date shall be the day and month as printed on the bill but for the current year.

SECTION 4. Chapter 204 of the acts of 1996 is hereby amended by striking out section 156 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 156. Notwithstanding the provisions of section two A of chapter fifty-nine of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the board of assessors of the towns of Monterey, Egremont and Great Barrington may, for the fiscal year beginning July first, nineteen hundred and ninety-five determine the valuation of property destroyed or damaged by the tornado of May twenty-ninth, nineteen hundred and ninety-five, immediately subsequent to the said tornado for the purpose of granting abatements applied under section fifty-nine of said chapter fifty-nine. This section shall apply to any of said towns only upon acceptance of its provisions by vote at a town meeting pursuant to section twenty-seven C of chapter twenty-nine of the General Laws.

SECTION 5. Section one of this act shall not apply to any city or town which accepted clause Sixteenth A of section five of chapter fifty-nine of the General Laws before the effective date of said section one, unless the city or town also accepts the provisions of said section one.

SECTION 6. Sections two and three of this act shall take effect for fiscal years beginning on or after July first, nineteen hundred and ninety-seven.