SENATE DOCKET, NO. 1075        FILED ON: 1/13/2009

SENATE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 787

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_______________

In the Year Two Thousand Nine

_______________

An Act creating a fund to assist municipalities experiencing extraordinary increases in the need for public safety services..

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. Chapter 29 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2006 Official Edition , is hereby amended by adding the following new section:

Section 2YYY. There is hereby established and set up on  the books of the Commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Municipal Relief Fund, consisting of any monies appropriated to the  fund by the general court and any income derived from investment of monies in the fund.  The fund shall be administered by the secretary of administration and finance.  Funds may be expended by the secretary in grants to cities and towns to:

1) meet the extraordinary increases in the cost of public safety services provided by a municipality, provided that the provision of services has been in response to requests for assistance from mental health facilities, community residential programs, homeless shelters, and rehabilitation facilities and related educational facilities which provide clinical, rehabilitative and supportive services for adults or children; and provided further that preference shall be given to municipalities in which there has been an increase in requests for public safety services during the previous 60 months of at least 25%; and

2) meet the extraordinary increases in the cost of public safety services provided by a municipality provided that the provision of services has been in response to requests for assistance from a correctional institution or other facility operated by the department of correction, and provided further that preference shall be given to communities in which such requests for public safety services in fiscal year 2007 was increased by at least 20% over such requests in fiscal year 2006; and

3) provide assistance to municipalities in which at least 190 parcels, representing at least 1% of the total number of parcels in that municipality, are exempt from taxation under clause 3 of section 5 of chapter 59 of the General Laws.

No expenditures from the fund shall be authorized that would cause the fund to be deficient at the end of any fiscal year.