HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2944        FILED ON: 2/18/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 861

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Natalie M. Blais

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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 supporting the Commonwealth's farmers.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2944        FILED ON: 2/18/2021

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 861

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the One Hundred and Ninety-Second General Court
(2021-2022)

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An Act supporting the Commonwealth's farmers.

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 20 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 6C the following section:-

Section 6D. There shall be established within the department a circuit rider program to provide on-site guidance to businesses in the commonwealth that are regulated by the department of agricultural resources about state programs, regulations, and funding opportunities. Subject to appropriation, the commissioner shall designate a program director. The director shall establish places at which and the methods whereby farmers may make requests for a farm visit by program staff at no cost. Program staff shall coordinate with state agencies as necessary to assist farmers with compliance. Farm visits under the circuit rider program shall be made in a non-enforcement capacity.

SECTION 2. The second sentence of subsection (a) of section 23 of chapter 20 of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after the “words for agricultural purposes” the following words:- ; provided, that the committee or any independent appraisal to determine the fair market value of the land restricted for agricultural purposes shall include in its valuation the appraised value of any easements and infrastructure including dwellings, structures, plumbing and irrigation systems on the entire parcel in its fair market value consideration or any payment,.

SECTION 3. Chapter 29 of the General Laws is hereby amended by adding the following section:-

Section 2DDDDD: (a) There shall be established and set up on the books of the commonwealth a separate fund to be known as the Next Generation Farmers Fund. The fund shall be administered by the secretary of energy and environmental affairs, in consultation with the secretary of labor and workforce development.

(b) The fund shall be credited with $3,000,000 annually from the Massachusetts Alternative and Clean Energy Investment Trust Fund, established by section 35FF of chapter 10, for an agricultural workforce development grant program. Said program shall award grants to the commonwealth’s higher education institutions, vocational technical schools, or community-based organizations that have existing programs for providing workforce development training to first time farmers or the capacity to create such programs. Priority consideration shall be given to programs that serve a high percentage of minority or low-income students or people with disabilities, as well as programs that include hands-on training and training in agricultural practices that mitigate climate change and protect the environment. Not less than $3,000,000 annually from this fund shall go to programs that provide training in agriculture as defined by section 1A of chapter 128, provided that not more than $1,000,000 shall be granted annually to programs providing training in the growing and harvesting of forest products upon forest land.

(c) A report detailing the expenditures of the fund shall be submitted annually on or before May 30 to the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate, the house and senate committees on ways and means, the committees on economic development and emerging technologies and the committee on environment, natural resources and agriculture.

SECTION 4: Chapter 61A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2018 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out Section 2 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 2: Land shall be considered to be in horticultural use when primarily and directly used in raising fruits, vegetables, berries, nuts and other foods for human consumption, feed for animals, tobacco, flower, sod, trees, nursery or greenhouse products, and ornamental plants and shrubs for the purpose of selling these products or a product derived from such plants in the regular course of business; or when primarily and directly used in raising forest products under a certified forest management plan, approved by and subject to procedures established by the state forester, designed to improve the quantity and quality of a continuous crop for the purpose of selling these products in the regular course of business; or when primarily and directly used in a related manner which is incidental to those uses and represents a customary and necessary use in raising these products and preparing them for market or the products derived therefrom for market.

SECTION 5. Chapter 61A of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 4 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 4. (a) For general property tax purposes, the value of land, not less than 5 acres in area, which is actively devoted to agricultural, horticultural or agricultural and horticultural uses during the tax year in issue and has been so devoted for at least the 2 immediately preceding tax years, shall, upon application of the owner of such land and approval thereof, be that value which such land has for agricultural or horticultural purposes.

        (b) For the said tax purposes, land so devoted shall be deemed to include such contiguous land under the same ownership as is not committed to residential, industrial or commercial use and which is covered by application submitted pursuant to section 6. Land shall be deemed contiguous if it is separated from other land under the same ownership only by a public or private way or waterway.

Land under the same ownership shall be deemed contiguous if it is connected to other land under the same ownership by an easement for water supply.

        (c) For the said tax purposes, land so devoted shall be deemed to include such non-contiguous land under the same ownership as is not committed to residential, industrial or commercial use and which is covered by application submitted pursuant to section 6. Non-contiguous portions of land less than 5 acres in area, for which the total area of all such portions of land is not less than 5 acres, may be included; provided, however, that the portions of land are within the confines of the same municipality as, or no more than 10 miles from, any boundary of such other portions of land under the same ownership; and provided further, that such portions of land are utilized together for a unified agricultural, horticultural or agricultural and horticultural economic purpose.        

(d) All such land, which is considered contiguous or non-contiguous for purposes of this chapter, shall not exceed in acreage 100 per cent of the acreage which is actively devoted to agricultural, horticultural or agricultural and horticultural uses.

        (e) The rate of tax applicable to such agricultural or horticultural land shall be the rate determined to be applicable to class three, commercial property under chapter 59.

SECTION 6: Section 5 of said chapter 61A is hereby amended by inserting after the word “contiguous” the following words:- or non-contiguous.

SECTION 7. The Massachusetts emergency management agency shall consider and develop, in all emergency preparedness planning efforts, plans for supporting agricultural, seafood, and processed food production in the commonwealth in order to mitigate the impacts of food supply chain disruptions. Plans shall be developed in coordination with the department of agricultural resources, the department of public health, and the department of transitional assistance, and shall include consideration for production, transportation, storage, and distribution.

SECTION 8. Subsection (c) of section 4 of chapter 61A of the General Laws, as amended by this act, shall apply to applications for classification as agricultural, horticultural or agricultural and horticultural land for fiscal years beginning on or after the date of enactment of this act.

SECTION 9. Section 2 of chapter 61 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2016 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the second paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

When, in the judgment of the assessors, land which is classified as forest land or which is the subject of an application for such classification is not being managed under a program, is being used for purposes incompatible with forest production or does not otherwise qualify under this chapter, the assessors may, not later than February 1 in any year, file an appeal in writing mailed by certified mail to the state forester requesting a denial of application or, in the case of classified forest land, requesting removal of the land from such classification. The appeal shall state the reasons for the request. A copy of the appeal shall be mailed by the assessors by certified mail to the owner of the land. The state forester may initiate, not later than December 1 of any year, a proceeding to remove land from classification, sending notice of the action by certified mail to the assessors and the owner of the land. The state forester may deny the owner's application, may withdraw all or part of the land from classification or may grant the application, imposing terms and conditions that the state forester deems reasonable to carry out this chapter, and shall notify the assessors and the owner of that decision not later than March 1 of the following year. If the owner or the assessors are aggrieved by a decision of the state forester they may, not later than June 15, give notice to the state forester of a claim of appeal. Not later than 30 days after receipt of a notice of appeal, the state forester shall convene a panel in the region in which the land is located. The panel shall consist of 3 members, 1 of whom shall be named by the state forester, 1 of whom shall be named by the assessors and 1 of whom shall be named by the state forester and the assessors. The panel shall give notice of the date, time and place of the hearing in writing to the parties not less than 7 days before the date of that hearing. The panel shall furnish the parties, in writing, with a notice of its decision not later than 10 days after the adjournment of the hearing. Decisions of the panel shall be by majority vote of its members. If the owner or the assessors are aggrieved by a decision of the panel, they may, not more than 45 days after receipt of the decision, petition either the superior court in the county in which the land is located for a review of the decision, pursuant to chapter 30A, or the appellate tax board, pursuant to chapter 58A; provided further, that the land shall not be classified or withdrawn from classification until the final determination of such petition. The state forester may adopt such regulations as the state forester deems necessary to carry out this chapter.

SECTION 10.  Said section 2 of said chapter 61, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 40, the word “October” and inserting in place thereof the following word:- December.

SECTION 11. Chapter 61A of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 6, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 6. The eligibility of land for valuation, assessment and taxation pursuant to section 4 shall be determined separately for each tax year. An application for eligibility shall be submitted to the board of assessors in the city or town in which the land is situated by not later than December 1 preceding each tax year for which the valuation, assessment and taxation are being sought. The application shall not be withdrawn after it is submitted. An application shall be made on a form prescribed by the commissioner of revenue and provided to applicants by the board of assessors. The form shall provide for the reporting of information pertinent to this chapter and to Article XCIX of the Articles of Amendment to the Constitution of the Commonwealth and for certification by the applicant that the applicant will immediately, but not later than December 1 of the following year, notify the board of assessors in writing of any subsequently developing circumstance within the applicant’s control or knowledge which may cause a change in use of the land covered by the form. An application submitted pursuant to this section for leased land shall be accompanied by a written statement of the lessee’s intent to use the land for the purposes in the application and shall be signed by the lessee. The landowner shall certify, in a manner prescribed by the commissioner, that under the penalties of perjury the information in the landowner’s application is true. If the application is allowed pursuant to section 9, then the classification of the land as actively devoted to agricultural, horticultural or agricultural and horticultural use shall take effect on January 1 preceding the beginning of the tax year to which the application relates and taxation pursuant to this chapter shall commence with that tax year.

SECTION 12. Section 7 of said chapter 61A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 3, the words “October first and June thirtieth of the year” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- December 1 and June 30.

SECTION 13. Said chapter 61A is hereby further amended by striking out section 8, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 14. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, in any tax year for which a city or town has undertaken and completed a program of revaluation of all property in that city or town and the commissioner of revenue has certified that revalued property is assessed by the board of assessors at full and fair cash valuation, applications by landowners for the valuation, assessment and taxation of their lands on the basis of being actively devoted to agricultural, horticultural or agricultural and horticultural use that are filed with the board of assessors by not later than the last day for filing an application for abatement of the tax assessed on the new valuation shall be deemed to have been timely made for the tax year of the revaluation program. If the application is approved and the lands qualify for valuation, assessment and taxation as lands actively devoted to agricultural, horticultural or agricultural and horticultural use in that tax year, then the portion of any tax assessed for that year which is in excess of the tax that would have been assessed on the lands, if the application had been timely made and approved, shall be abated.

SECTION 15. Section 14 of said chapter 61A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the eighteenth paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

The assignment shall be for the purpose of maintaining not less than 70 per cent of the land in use as forest land as defined in section 1 of chapter 61, as land in agricultural or horticultural use as defined in sections 1 and 2 or as recreational land as defined in section 1 of chapter 61B, and in no case shall the assignee develop a greater proportion of the land than was proposed by the developer whose offer gave rise to the assignment. All land other than land that is to be developed shall then be bound by a permanent deed restriction that meets the requirements of chapter 184.

SECTION 16. Chapter 61B of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out section 3, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 3. The eligibility of land for valuation, assessment and taxation pursuant to this chapter shall be determined separately for each tax year. An application for eligibility shall be submitted to the board of assessors in the city or town in which the land is situated by not later than December 1 preceding each tax year for which the valuation, assessment and taxation is being sought. The application shall be made on a form prescribed by the commissioner of revenue and provided to applicants by the board of assessors. The form shall provide for the reporting of information pertinent to this chapter and for certification by the applicant that the applicant will immediately, but not later than the December 1 of the following year, notify the board of assessors in writing of any subsequent circumstance within the applicant’s control or knowledge which may cause a change in use of the land covered by the form. An application submitted pursuant to this section for leased land shall be accompanied by a written statement of the lessee’s intent to use the land for the purposes in the application and shall be signed by the lessee. The landowner shall certify, in a manner prescribed by the commissioner, that under the penalties of perjury the information in the landowner’s application is true. If the application is allowed pursuant to section 6, then the classification of the land as recreational land shall take effect on January 1 preceding the beginning of the tax year to which the application relates and taxation pursuant to this chapter shall commence with that tax year.

SECTION 17. Section 4 of said chapter 61B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 2 and 3, the words “October first and June thirtieth ” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- December 1 and June 30.

SECTION 18. Said chapter 61B is hereby further amended by striking out section 5, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 5. Notwithstanding any provision of this chapter to the contrary, in any tax year for which a city or town has undertaken and completed a program of revaluation of all property in that city or town and the commissioner of revenue has certified that revalued property is assessed by the board of assessors at full and fair cash valuation, applications by landowners for the valuation, assessment and taxation of their lands on the basis of being maintained in recreational use, if filed with the board of assessors by not later than the last day for filing an application for abatement of the tax assessed on the new valuation, shall be deemed to have been timely made for the tax year of the revaluation program. If the application is approved and the lands qualify for valuation, assessment and taxation as lands actively devoted to agricultural, horticultural or agricultural and horticultural use in that tax year, then the portion of a tax assessed for that year which is in excess of the tax which would have been assessed on the lands, if the application had been timely made and approved, shall be abated.

SECTION 19. Section 6 of said chapter 61B, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 13, the words “a disallowance” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- an allowance.