AN ACT INCREASING THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF PENALTIES WHICH MAY BE IMPOSED FOR VIOLATIONS OF ORDINANCES IN THE CITY OF BOSTON
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 448 of the acts of 1854, as most recently amended by section 102 of chapter 341 of the acts of 1989, is hereby further amended by striking out in the second sentence the words "three hundred dollars" and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- $2,000.
SECTION 2. Said section 35 of said chapter 448, as so amended, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:-
The maximum penalty set forth in this section shall be adjusted for inflation, rounded to the nearest $100, on January 1, 2025, and on January 1 every 5 years thereafter, based on the annual percentage change in the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H. Core Based Statistical Area, all items or its successor index.
SECTION 3. The provisions of this act are severable and if any provision, or portion thereof, shall be held unconstitutional or otherwise invalid by any court of competent jurisdiction, such unconstitutionality or invalidity shall not affect the remaining provisions, which remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved, January 8, 2025.