HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2600        FILED ON: 1/17/2013

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 214

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Sean Garballey

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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 relative to improving public health, environment and economic development through investment in water and sewer infrastructure.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2600        FILED ON: 1/17/2013

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 214

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Thirteen

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An Act relative to improving public health, environment and economic development through investment in water and sewer infrastructure.

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 35 of Chapter 10 of the general laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended, in subsection (c), by inserting, after the words “the net balance of the State Lottery and Gaming Fund”, the following new words:- “minus three percent of any total amount which shall be deposited into the Municipal Water and Sewer Assistance Trust Fund created under section 2FFFF of chapter 29.” 

SECTION 2.  Section 2Z of Chapter 29 of the general laws, as appearing in the same edition, is hereby amended by striking the sentence “The division of local services of the department of revenue, in consultation with the department of environmental protection, shall develop guidelines to certify an issuer’s eligible indebtedness and shall create a process to distribute funds equitably to eligible issuers, in order to mitigate extraordinary increases in sewer costs” and replacing it with the following new sentence:-

“The board of the water pollution abatement trust, in consultation with the division of local services of the department of revenue and the department of environmental protection, shall develop guidelines to certify an issuer’s eligible indebtedness and shall create a process to distribute funds equitably to eligible issuers, in order to mitigate extraordinary increases in sewer costs.”

SECTION 3.  Chapter 29 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby by amended by inserting after Section 2EEEE, the following new section:-             

“Section 2FFFF.  There shall be established and placed within the control of the board of the water pollution abatement trust a separate fund to be known as the Municipal Water and Sewer Assistance Trust Fund which shall be used for financing water and sewer-related purposes throughout the Commonwealth. There shall be credited to the fund any revenues from appropriations or other monies authorized by the general court and specifically designated to be credited to the fund by law or otherwise, any gifts, grants, private contributions, investment income earned on the fund’s assets, and any other monetary asset. Money remaining in the fund at the end of the year shall not revert to the General Fund.  The board of the water pollution abatement trust may create a reserve fund with assets of this fund.

The fund, which shall be under the control of the Board of the water pollution abatement trust and not subject to appropriation, shall be used as follows:

a)to construct, replace, or rehabilitate a treatment works or a municipal or regional water or sewer system;

b)to increase water efficiency, reduce the demand for water, or reduce the demand for treatment works or municipal or regional water system capacity;

c)to manage or control stormwater;

d)to reuse municipal wastewater or stormwater;

e)for the consolidation of 2 or more treatment works or municipal or regional water or sewer systems;

f)to increase drinking water source protection for surface and groundwater sources;

g)for construction activities involving--

i.the repair, replacement, or upgrading of a treatment works or sewage collection system in a municipal or regional that exists on the date of enactment of this Act to address an adverse environmental condition existing on that date of enactment; and

ii.implementation measures to control, manage, reduce, treat, infiltrate, or reuse municipal stormwater, the primary purpose of which is the protection, preservation, or enhancement of water quality to support public purposes (including decentralized or distributed stormwater controls, low-impact development technologies and nonstructural approaches, stream buffers, and wetlands restoration and enhancement, the procurement and use of equipment to support minimum measures, such as street sweeping and storm drain system cleaning, and acquisition of other land and interests in land to meet the needs of existing development that are necessary for those activities and measures);

h)to implement a water management program;

i)to develop and implement a conservation and management plan;

j)to increase the security of wastewater treatment works or a municipal or regional water or sewer system (excluding any expenditure for operations or maintenance);

k)to carry out water conservation or efficiency projects, the primary purpose of which is the protection, preservation, or enhancement of water quality to support public purposes;

l)to implement measures to integrate water resource management planning and implementation;

m)to carry out water, rainwater, and wastewater reuse, reclamation, recycling, and rainwater harvesting projects, the primary purpose of which is the protection, preservation, or enhancement of water quality to support public purposes; and

n)for capital costs associated with monitoring equipment for combined or sanitary sewer overflows;

o)a non-capital project that is-- (i) associated with a capital project; and (ii) the aim of which is to promote the use of environmentally sustainable projects, including utility-backed stormwater and water efficiency retrofit programs; and

p) 2 or more projects described above that are combined to receive a single direct loan or loan guarantee.

SECTION 4.  Section 1 of Chapter 29C of the general laws, as appearing in the same edition, shall be amended by inserting the following new definition:-

“Municipal Water and Sewer Assistance Trust Fund”, the fund created under chapter 29, section 2FFFF which shall be used for the purposes described therein.

SECTION 5.  Section 2 of Chapter 29C of the general laws, as appearing in the same edition, shall be amended by inserting the following new subsection:-

(c) The Board shall also administer the Municipal Water and Sewer Assistance Trust Fund, established pursuant to section 2FFFF of chapter twenty-nine. The trust is hereby designated as the instrumentality of the commonwealth to establish and administer said fund the purposes enumerated under section 2FFFF of chapter twenty-nine. The exercise by the trust, and by the board of trustees thereof, of the powers conferred by this chapter shall be deemed to be the performance of an essential public function.

SECTION 6.  Chapter 44 of the general laws, as appearing in the same edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following new section:-

“Section 53F ¾.  Notwithstanding the provisions of section fifty-three or any other provision of law to the contrary, a city or town shall establish a water and sewer infrastructure enterprise fund. Such account shall be maintained by the treasurer, and all receipts, revenues and funds from any source derived from all activities of the enterprise shall be deposited in such separate account. The treasurer may invest the funds in such separate account in the manner authorized by sections fifty-five and fifty-five A of chapter forty-four. Any interest earned thereon shall be credited to and become part of such separate account. The books and records of the enterprise shall be maintained in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles and in accordance with the requirements of section thirty-eight.

No later than one hundred and twenty days prior to the beginning of each fiscal year, an estimate of the income for the ensuing fiscal year and a proposed line item budget of the enterprise shall be submitted to the mayor, board of selectmen or other executive authority of the city or town by the appropriate local entity responsible for operations of the enterprise. Said board, mayor or other executive authority shall submit its recommendation to the town meeting, town council or city council, as the case may be, which shall act upon the budget in the same manner as all other budgets.

The water and sewer infrastructure enterprise fund shall be funded, in part, by a surcharge of five cents per thousand of assessed value for residential property tax and ten cents per thousand of assessed value on all other real estate. 

The water and sewer infrastructure enterprise fund shall be utilized exclusively for water infrastructure projects, including, but not limited to construct, replace, or rehabilitate a treatment works, sewer system or a municipal or regional water and sewer system; to increase water efficiency, reduce the demand for water, or reduce the demand for treatment works or municipal or regional water system capacity; to manage or control stormwater; to reuse municipal wastewater or stormwater; for the consolidation of 2 or more treatment works or municipal or regional water or sewer systems; to increase drinking water source protection for surface and groundwater sources; to implement a water management program; to develop and implement a conservation and management plan; to increase the security of wastewater treatment works or a municipal or regional water system (excluding any expenditure for operations or maintenance); to carry out water conservation or efficiency projects, the primary purpose of which is the protection, preservation, or enhancement of water quality to support public purposes; to implement measures to integrate water resource management planning and implementation; to carry out water, rainwater, and wastewater reuse, reclamation, recycling, and rainwater harvesting projects, the primary purpose of which is the protection, preservation, or enhancement of water quality to support public purposes; and for capital costs associated with monitoring equipment for combined or sanitary sewer ; and for the coordination of water infrastructure projects and other infrastructure projects to minimize expense through coordinated construction efforts.

If a city or town does not establish a water and sewer infrastructure enterprise fund within five years of the enactment of this Act, it shall not be eligible to receive funds under Municipal Water and Sewer Assistance Trust Fund created under section 2FFFF of chapter 29.  A municipality may demonstrate that it has an existing water infrastructure enterprise fund to satisfy the requirements of this section.

SECTION 7.  Chapter 58 of the general laws, as appearing in the same edition, shall be amended by inserting, after section 18F, the following new section:-

“Section 18G.  Commencing with fiscal year two thousand and fourteen and continuing thereafter, the state treasurer shall, subject to appropriation, annually distribute three percent of the net the State Lottery and Gaming Fund to the Municipal Water and Sewer Trust Fund created under section 2FFFF of chapter 29. The distribution shall be made in four equal payments. Said payments shall be made annually, in each fiscal year, on or before September thirtieth, December thirty-first, March thirty-first and June thirtieth.”

SECTION 8. Section 3A of Chapter 64G of the general laws, as appearing in the same edition, shall be amended by inserting, after the words “the transfer of occupancy in each such city or town”, the following new words:- “; provided further, that twenty percent of any total amount shall be deposited into the Municipal Water and Sewer Assistance Trust Fund created under section 2FFFF of chapter 29.”

SECTION 9. Section 2 of Chapter 64L of the general laws, as appearing in the same edition, shall be amended by inserting, in subsection (b), after the words “received from the sales of restaurant meals in that city or town”, the following new words:- “; provided further, that twenty percent of any total amount shall be deposited into the Municipal Water and Sewer Assistance  Trust Fund created under section 2FFFF of chapter 29.”

SECTION 10.  Chapter 184 of the general laws, as appearing in the same edition, shall be amended by inserting the following new section at the end thereof:-

“Section 36.  Any real estate transaction involving the sale of land or premises shall include a water and sewer infrastructure surcharge that shall be deposited in the Municipal Water and Sewer Assistance Trust Fund created under section 2FFFF of chapter 29.  The surcharge shall be $200 for residential sales of property and $400 for commercial sales of property.  Said surcharge shall be collected at the time of recording or registering of real estate transactions and forwarded by the respective Registry of Deeds to the comptroller for deposit into the Municipal Water and Sewer Assistance Trust Fund.”