AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE TAXATION OF REAL AND PERSONAL PROPERTY.
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. Section 52B of chapter 59 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 1 to 3, inclusive, the words "sections thirty-eight D, thirty-eight E, and sixty-one A of chapter fifty-nine and section eight A of chapter fifty-eight A" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- section 8A of chapter 58A and sections 38D, 38E, 57D and 61A of this chapter.
SECTION 2. Section 57D of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following 2 paragraphs:-
A notice of preliminary, estimated or actual tax for real estate and personal property shall include an affidavit of address, to be signed and sworn to by the owner of record of such property. The affidavit shall include the following information: name of the owner, street number, street name, city or town, state and zip code. The affidavit shall not be required of those property owners for any parcel for which the owner has been granted, in the previous fiscal year, a residential exemption under section 5C.
The affidavit shall not be required of those owners of parcels subject to chapter 183A.
SECTION 3. Said section 57D of said chapter 59 is hereby further amended by inserting after the second paragraph, as so appearing, the following paragraph:-
Information provided by taxpayers pursuant to this section shall not be a public record and shall be used by the city or town only for either the mailing of legal notices or to contact property owners for other municipal purposes. In no event shall any information provided pursuant to this section be sold, distributed or copied to any individual or organization in any form.
SECTION 4. Said section 57D of said chapter 59 is hereby further amended by striking out the fourth paragraph, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-
If there is any change in the information provided on the affidavit for the owner of record or his agent, the owner shall immediately notify the local board of assessors by mailing a new affidavit.
SECTION 5. Said section 57D of said chapter 59 is hereby further amended by striking out the fifth paragraph, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-
If an owner fails to comply with this section, a city or town may notify the owner of that noncompliance. The owner shall have an additional 30 days from the date of service of the notice of noncompliance within which to file an affidavit or otherwise comply with this section. If an owner fails to file the affidavit within this additional 30-day period or otherwise to comply with this section, the city or town may impose a fine of $100 per preliminary tax bill on the owner. If an owner fails to pay any fine imposed under this section, a city or town may then determine that the fine constitute a lien upon the real estate and the fine shall thereafter be subject to collection by a city or town through means which are generally available to cities and towns for the collection of outstanding property taxes.
SECTION 6. Said section 57D of said chapter 59 is hereby further amended by inserting after the fifth paragraph, as so appearing, the following paragraph:-
Upon receipt of payment or notification of abatement of any fine imposed under this chapter or upon receipt of the affidavit required by this chapter, any city or town that has determined the fine to constitute a lien upon the property and has initiated proceedings to recover the fine, shall issue a release of lien in recordable form within 30 days of the receipt of the payment, notice of abatement or an affidavit required by this section. For good cause shown, a city or town may abate any part or all of a fine that was imposed under this section, if the affidavit required by this section is filed with the city or town as required by this section.