HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4439        FILED ON: 6/26/2012

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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Elizabeth A. Poirier and George T. Ross

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act Municipal Option Abatement for Contaminated Real Property.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 4439        FILED ON: 6/26/2012

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No.         

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Twelve

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An Act Municipal Option Abatement for Contaminated Real 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. Chapter 59 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, after section 59A, the following new section:

SECTION 59B. (a) In any city or town which accepts the provisions of this section, the board of selectmen of a town or in a municipality having a town council form of government, the town council or the mayor with the approval of the city council in a city may establish a program to:

(1) enter into an agreement with the owner of any real property, as defined by section 2A of this chapter, to abate the property tax due as of the date of the agreement for a period not to exceed 7 years if (A) the property has been subject to a release of oil or hazardous material, as defined by section 2 of chapter 21E, (B) the owner does not qualify as an “eligible person”, as defined by section 2 of chapter 21E, (C) and the owner agrees to conduct any assessment, containment and removal of the oil or hazardous material necessary to redevelop the property. Any such tax abatement shall only be for the period of the assessment, containment and removal process and shall be contingent upon the continuation and completion of the assessment, containment and removal process with respect to the purposes specified in the agreement. The abatement shall cease upon the sale or transfer of the property for any other purpose unless the municipality consents to its continuation. The municipality may also establish a recapture provision in the event of sale provided such recapture shall not exceed the original amount of taxes abated and may not go back further than the date of the agreement; (2) forgive all or a portion of the principal balance and interest due on delinquent property taxes for the benefit of any prospective purchaser who has initiated a response action approved by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection or a hazardous waste site cleanup professional, licensed pursuant to sections 19 through 19J of chapter 21A, and completes such response plan for a property deemed by the municipality to be abandoned or a brownfields, as established in chapter 21E; or (3) enter into an agreement with the owner of any real property to fix the assessment of the property as of the last assessment date prior to commencement of the response action for a period not to exceed 7 years, provided the property has been the subject of a response action approved by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection or verified by a hazardous waste site cleanup professional, licensed pursuant to sections 19 through 19J of chapter 21A.

(b) A municipality shall notify the Commissioner of Environmental Protection and the Commissioner of the Department of Revenue not later than 30 days after granting any abatement or forgiveness of taxes or any fixed assessment under subsection (a) of this section. Such notice shall provide the owner or purchaser's name, as the case may be, and the address of the property