AN ACT RELATIVE TO DISTRIBUTION OF REGIONAL GREENHOUSE GAS INITIATIVE AUCTION PROCEEDS.
Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to distribute certain payments, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:
(a) Notwithstanding any general law or special law to the contrary, the department of energy resources shall expend an amount not to exceed $3,000,000 from the RGGI Auction Trust Fund established in section 35II of chapter 10 of the General Laws for a 1-time reimbursement to a municipality that has been negatively impacted by a reduction in property tax receipts from a dual coal and oil fired electric generating station due to a reduction in capacity factor, occurring after July 1, 2012. The municipality shall be entitled to reimbursement under this section of an amount by which the tax receipts, including payments in lieu of taxes or other compensation, paid by the affected property owner of the electric generating station in tax year 2013 is less than the amount of the tax receipts paid by the electric generating station in 2012. Before reimbursement to a municipality under this section, the municipality and the affected property owner of the electric generating station shall negotiate in good faith payments in lieu of taxes or other compensation for subsequent years, but if the municipality and the affected property owner of the electric generating station have not negotiated in good faith payments in lieu of taxes and other compensation, then the facility’s tax obligation shall be determined by an independent third party assessor paid by the facility but selected jointly by the municipality and the affected property owner of the electric generating station or, if they are unable to arrive at a joint selection, by the department of revenue.
(b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the Massachusetts clean energy technology center shall provide not less than $100,000 for communities to conduct site assessments of retiring coal-fired electric generating power plants located in that community.
Approved, August 7, 2013.