Amendment #38 to H.4461

Amendment #38 to H4461

Cranberry Industry Revitalization

Representatives Straus of Mattapoisett, Schmid of Westport and Gifford of Wareham move to amend the bill by adding the following sections:-

SECTION XX. Chapter 61A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, after section 2, the following section:-

Section 2A. Land, or a portion thereof, which is no longer actively devoted to agricultural, horticultural or agricultural and horticultural use, shall be considered to be for a renewable energy use only when the land is converted or separated to allow or permit the development of such land to be primarily used to generate or produce electricity from any renewable energy generating source capable of producing not more than 125 per cent of the annual energy needs of the land upon which it is located, and which shall include contiguous or non-contiguous land owned or leased by the owner, or in which the owner otherwise holds an interest.

For the purposes of this chapter, the term “renewable energy use” shall mean any renewable energy use on land converted or developed to produce, manufacture or otherwise generate electricity powered in whole or in part by the sun, wind, biomass, or otherwise any other renewable fuel.

SECTION XX. Section 13 of said chapter 61A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the third sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:-

Notwithstanding this paragraph, no roll-back taxes shall be assessed if the land involved, or a lesser interest in the land, is (i) acquired for a natural resource purpose by the city or town in which it is situated, by the commonwealth, or by a nonprofit conservation organization; (ii) acquired for, or sold or converted to, a renewable energy use as defined under section 2A; (iii) subject to a permanent wetland reserve easement through the agricultural conservation easement program established under the Food Security Act of 1985, 16 U.S.C. 3865c, as recently amended by Public Law 113-79; or (iv) otherwise subject to any other federal conservation programs; provided, however, that if any portion of the land is sold or converted to commercial, residential or industrial use within 5 years after acquisition by a nonprofit conservation organization, roll-back taxes shall be assessed against the nonprofit conservation organization in the amount that would have been assessed at the time of acquisition of the subject parcel by the nonprofit conservation organization had the transaction been subject to a roll-back tax.

SECTION XX. Said section 13 of said chapter 61A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended in line 59 by inserting after the word “61B” the following:-

or meets the definition of a renewable energy use under section 2A.

SECTION XX. Section 17 of said chapter 61A of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following:-

provided, land which is valued, assessed and taxed under this chapter is separated for a renewable energy use rather than an agricultural and horticultural use shall not be subject to liability for conveyance or roll-back taxes under this section.

SECTION XX. Section 6 of chapter 62 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, after subsection (s), the following subsection:-

(t) (1) For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

“Commissioner”, the commissioner of revenue.

“Cranberry bog” or “bog”, an area actively cultivated for the harvesting or production of any variety of cranberry.

“Qualified renovation expenditure”, any expenditure or cost directly incurred in connection with the qualified renovation of a cranberry bog. The term shall not include costs incurred in acquiring or purchasing, or the cost of acquiring property, in relation to the construction of structures for the purpose of cultivating, harvesting or producing cranberries.

"Qualified renovation'', any renovation, repair, replacement, re-grading or restoration of a cranberry bog for the purpose of cultivating, harvesting or producing any variety of cranberry, or otherwise any other activity or action associated with the renovation of an abandoned cranberry bog. The term “qualified renovation” shall not include the construction of facilities or structures for the purpose of processing cranberries.

“Secretary”, the secretary of energy and environmental affairs.

"Taxpayer'', a taxpayer subject to the taxation under this chapter.

(2)(i) A taxpayer primarily engaged in cranberry production shall be allowed a credit against the taxes imposed by this chapter equal to 25 per cent of the total qualified renovation expenditures incurred in connection with the qualified renovation or restoration of a cranberry bog; provided, however, the amount of the credit that may be claimed by a taxpayer under this section shall not exceed $100,000.

(ii) The credit under this subsection shall be taken against the taxes imposed under this chapter and shall be refundable. The commissioner shall apply the credit against the liability of the taxpayer as determined on its return, as first reduced by any other available credits, and shall then refund to the taxpayer the balance of the credits. If the amount of the credit allowed under this subsection exceeds the taxpayer's tax liability, the commissioner shall treat the excess as an overpayment and shall pay the taxpayer the entire amount of the excess. Any amount of the tax credit that exceeds the tax due for a taxable year may be carried forward by the taxpayer to any of the 5 subsequent taxable years.

(iii) The secretary, in consultation with the commissioner of agricultural resources, shall authorize annually, for the period beginning January 1, 2017 and ending December 31, 2021, tax credits under this subsection together with section 38GG of chapter 63, an amount not to exceed $2,000,000 per year. No credits shall be allowed under this subsection except to the extent authorized in this paragraph.

(3) For a taxpayer to qualify for the credit provided for under this subsection, the taxpayer shall file with the secretary a summary of qualified renovation expenditures in connection with the qualified renovation. The secretary shall approve the summary of qualified renovation expenditures and provide notice to the commissioner. Any qualified renovation expenditures applicable to this credit shall be treated for purposes of this subsection as made on the date that the secretary provides notice of the certification to the commissioner.

(4) Any portion of tax credits not awarded by the secretary in a calendar year shall not be applied to awards in a subsequent year. The secretary shall provide any documentation that the commissioner may deem necessary to confirm compliance with subparagraph (iii) of paragraph

(2) and the commissioner shall provide a report confirming compliance to the secretary of

administration and finance.

(5) The secretary shall annually, not later than September 1, file a report with the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on agriculture, environment and natural resources and the joint committee on revenue identifying the total amount of tax credits claimed and the total amount of tax credits refunded pursuant to this subsection in the preceding fiscal year.

(6) The secretary, in consultation with the commissioners of agricultural resources and revenue, shall promulgate regulations or other guidelines necessary for the administration and implementation of this subsection.

SECTION XX. Chapter 63 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, after Section 38FF, the following section:-

Section 38GG. (a) For purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

“Commissioner”, the commissioner of revenue.

“Cranberry bog” or “bog”, an area actively cultivated for the harvesting or production of any variety of cranberry.

“Secretary”, the secretary of energy and environmental affairs.

"Taxpayer'', a taxpayer subject to the taxation under this chapter.

(b)(1) A taxpayer primarily engaged in cranberry production shall be allowed a credit against the taxes imposed by this chapter equal to 25 per cent of the total qualified renovation expenditures incurred in connection with the qualified renovation or restoration of a cranberry bog; provided, however, the amount of the credit that may be claimed by a taxpayer under this section shall not exceed $100,000.

(2) The credit under this section shall be taken against the taxes imposed under this chapter and shall be refundable. The commissioner shall apply the credit against the liability of the taxpayer as determined on its return, as first reduced by any other available credits, and shall then refund to the taxpayer the balance of the credits. If the amount of the credit allowed under this section exceeds the taxpayer's tax liability, the commissioner shall treat the excess as an overpayment and shall pay the taxpayer the entire amount of the excess. Any amount of the tax credit that exceeds the tax due for a taxable year may be carried forward by the taxpayer to any of the 5 subsequent taxable years.

(3) The secretary, in consultation with the commissioner of agricultural resources, shall authorize

annually, for the period beginning January 1, 2017 and ending December 31, 2021, tax credits under this subsection together with section 38GG of chapter 63, an amount not to exceed $2,000,000 per year. No credits shall be allowed under this subsection except to the extent authorized in this subsection.

(c) For a taxpayer to qualify for the credit provided for under this section, the taxpayer shall file with the secretary a summary of qualified renovation expenditures in connection with the qualified renovation. The secretary shall approve the summary of qualified renovation expenditures and provide notice to the commissioner. Any qualified renovation expenditures applicable to this credit shall be treated for purposes of this subsection as made on the date that the secretary provides notice of the certification to the commissioner.

(d) Any portion of tax credits not awarded by the secretary in a calendar year shall not be applied to awards in a subsequent year. The secretary shall provide any documentation that the commissioner may deem necessary to confirm compliance with paragraph (3) of subsection (b) and the commissioner shall provide a report confirming compliance to the secretary of administration and finance.

(e) The secretary shall annually, not later than September 1, file a report with the house and senate committees on ways and means, the joint committee on agriculture, environment and natural resources and the joint committee on revenue identifying the total amount of tax credits claimed and the total amount of tax credits refunded pursuant to this section in the preceding fiscal year.

(f) The secretary, in consultation with the commissioners of agricultural resources and revenue, shall promulgate regulations or other guidelines necessary for the administration and implementation of this section.

SECTION XX. Section 276 of chapter 165 of the acts of 2015 is hereby amended by striking out the words “and 2017” and inserting in place thereof the following:-

2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020.

SECTION XX. Section 11 of chapter 310 of the acts of 2008 is hereby amended by inserting before the first paragraph the following:-

“SECTION XX. Chapter 128 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2014 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting the following section:-

“SECTION XXX. Said section 11 of said chapter 310, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “federation”, in line _, the following words:-

, 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation, 1 of whom shall be a representative of the Cape Cod Cranberry Growers’ Association, 1 of whom shall be a cranberry grower, 4 of whom shall be a farmer appointed by the Governor.

SECTION XX. Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the executive office of energy and environmental affairs shall establish a cranberry wetland mitigation banking program for the purposes of off-site mitigation of public or private projects subject to the wetlands protection act, section 40 of chapter 131 of the General Laws, requiring variances or orders of conditions.

For the purposes of this section, the following words shall have the following meanings unless the context clearly requires otherwise:

“Credit”, a unit of trade representing the increase in the ecological value of the site, as measured by acreage, functions or some other assessment method.

“Pilot Cranberry Wetlands Bank” or “bank”, the development of a single wetlands bank through a public/private partnership in two or more watersheds for the assessing the effectiveness of wetlands banking as a regulatory tool to mitigate environmental impacts associated with construction activities. Credits from the pilot cranberry wetland mitigation bank for off-site mitigation shall only be available for project mitigation after all regulatory requirements for avoiding, minimizing and mitigating impacts on site to the greatest extent practicable have been met. Off-site mitigation sites shall be located on cranberry bogs in active production in the two chosen watersheds. These sites are from previously filled or drained shall be the priority for off-site mitigation. Local Conservation Commissions located in the chosen watersheds under authority of General Law chapter 131 Section 40 and in agreement with project proponents may send projects requiring mitigation to the receiving bank.

Within 30 days after the effective date of this act, the executive office of energy and environmental affairs shall issue a request for proposals for the selection of a contractor with experience in cranberry agriculture, knowledge of grower base and potential cranberry acreage available for mitigation and knowledge of the wetlands protection act to assist in the design, approval, creation, ownership and management and long term ecological monitoring of a cranberry wetlands restoration bank in the two chosen watersheds.

Within 90 days of issuing the request for proposals, the executive office of energy and environmental affairs shall select a banking contractor. This request for proposals and selection of a contractor shall not be subject to chapter 30B of the General Laws.

Bank financing and sale of bank credits shall be subject to an agreement developed between the

executive office of energy and environmental affairs and the selected contractor, subject to the review and approval of the inspector general.

The executive office of energy and environmental affairs shall file a joint report assessing the process of establishing the pilot cranberry wetlands mitigation bank, describing the transactions and projects affected by the bank, and the effectiveness of the bank in protecting wetlands while enabling projects requiring mitigation to progress with the joint committee on environment, natural resources and agriculture within 1 year of the creation of the pilot cranberry wetlands bank and for each year thereafter, for 5 years. The report shall include information on the

amount, acreage, location and types of wetlands restored and credits issued or traded, and list of all projects utilizing bank credits at the time the report is prepared. This provision shall sunset unless extended by the legislature 5 years from date of passage.

SECTION XX. Notwithstanding any general or special law or regulation to the contrary, cranberry water use registrations and permits issued pursuant chapter 21G of the General Laws may be used, transferred or sold, in whole or in part, for mitigation by other permitted or registered users within the same Drainage Basin.