Session Laws

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to immediately provide for the issuance of accurate preliminary tax bills in cities and towns, 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:

SECTION 1. Section 23D of chapter 59 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1994 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 6, the words "per cent" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- percent of one hundred and two and one-half percent.

SECTION 2. Said section 23D of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word "year", in line 6, the following words:- and of the amount by which such tax would have increased if any referendum question submitted to the voters under the provisions of paragraph (g), (i>), (j) or (k) of section twenty-one C and approved for the fiscal year had been approved for the preceding fiscal year.

SECTION 3. Said section 23D of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word "amount", in line 25, the following words:- and a referendum question submitted to the voters under the provisions of said paragraph (g), (i>), (j) or (k) has been approved.

SECTION 4. Said section 23D of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word "relates", in line 68, the following words:- and of the amount by which such tax would have increased if any referendum question submitted to the voters under the provisions of said paragraph (g), (i>), (j) or (k) and approved for the fiscal year had been approved for the preceding fiscal year.

SECTION 5. The first paragraph of section 57C of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the third sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The preliminary tax shall in no event exceed fifty percent of one hundred and two and one-half percent of the tax payable during the preceding fiscal year and of the amount by which such tax would have increased if any referendum question submitted to the voters under the provisions of paragraph (g), (i>), (j) or (k) of section twenty-one C and approved for the fiscal year had been approved for the preceding fiscal year.

SECTION 6. Said section 57C of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the first paragraph the following paragraph:-

Notwithstanding the provisions of the first paragraph, a notice of preliminary tax may be sent out after July first; provided, however, that no such notice of preliminary tax shall be sent unless first approved by the commissioner of revenue; provided, further, that as a condition of such approval, the commissioner may establish such requirements as he deems appropriate, which may include, but not be limited to, the submission by the board of assessors of all information required to set the tax rate under the provisions of section twenty-three, except the assessed valuation of all real and personal property subject to taxation for the current fiscal year. Any notice of preliminary tax mailed after July first shall be due and payable in two installments, the first installment due thirty days after the mailing of the notice, the second November first, after which dates if unpaid, they shall become delinquent and subject to interest as provided herein; provided, however, that in the event that such notice is mailed after August first, the entire notice shall be due and payable November first, or thirty days after the date of mailing, whichever is later.

SECTION 7. The third paragraph of said section 57C of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- Notwithstanding the provisions of the first paragraph, a city or town that seeks to issue a notice of preliminary tax for any fiscal year may require the payment of a preliminary tax in excess of fifty percent of one hundred and two and one-half percent of the tax payable during the preceding fiscal year and of the amount by which such tax would have increased if any referendum question submitted to the voters under the provisions of paragraph (g), (i>), (j) or (k) of section twenty-one C and approved for the fiscal year had been approved for the preceding fiscal year, to the extent that such excess represents one-half of the amount of tax accruing as a result of the loss of exemption from tax that had been granted in the preceding fiscal year, improvements to the parcel, or the parcel being taxed as a separate parcel for the first time.

SECTION 8. Said section 57C of said chapter 59, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the third paragraph the following paragraph:-

Notwithstanding the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, the assessors of any city or town that issues a notice of preliminary tax may add any betterment assessment or apportionment thereof, water rate, annual sewer use charge and any other charge placed on the annual tax bill to the preliminary tax on the property to which it relates and such amount shall become part of the preliminary tax.