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

Chapter 211 of the acts of 1998 is hereby amended by striking out section 3 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 3. Beginning with the April, 2007 annual town meeting, the town may appropriate from the fund by a 2/3 vote of the town meeting for any lawful purpose, except capital expenditures, to offset any loss of revenue resulting from the deregulation of the electric utility industry.