HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 513        FILED ON: 1/13/2017

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1610

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

_________________

PRESENTED BY:

Elizabeth A. Poirier

_________________

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 municipal option abatement for contaminated real property.

_______________

PETITION OF:

 

Name:

District/Address:

Date Added:

Elizabeth A. Poirier

14th Bristol

1/13/2017

Mathew Muratore

1st Plymouth

1/17/2017


HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 513        FILED ON: 1/13/2017

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 1610

By Mrs. Poirier of North Attleborough, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 1610) of Elizabeth A. Poirier and Mathew Muratore relative to municipal option tax abatements for contaminated real property.  Revenue.

 

[SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION
SEE HOUSE, NO. 2662 OF 2015-2016.]

 

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

 

_______________

In the One Hundred and Ninetieth General Court
(2017-2018)

_______________

 

An Act relative to 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 2014 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