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 7 of chapter 30 of the acts of 1946 is hereby amended by striking out the words ", except that interest shall be at the rate of 6 percent per annum".

SECTION 2. Said section 7 of said chapter 30 is hereby further amended by adding the following sentence:- Notwithstanding the provisions of the first sentence to the contrary, if the owners of not less than 75 per cent of the land abutting a proposed sewer project, calculated on the basis of total frontage of those lots to be served by said project, petition the sewer commissioners for construction of an extension of the sewer system subject to betterment, the sewer commissioners may assess betterments up to 100 per cent of the cost of such extension to the sewer system.

SECTION 3. Said chapter 30 is hereby further amended by striking out section 9 and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 9. The income of the sewer system shall be appropriated to defray all operating expenses, interest charges and payments on the principal as they accrue upon any bonds or notes issued for the purpose of the sewer system or an extension thereof. If in any fiscal year there should be a net surplus remaining after providing for the aforesaid charges for that fiscal year, such surplus, or so much of said net surplus as may be necessary to reimburse the town's general fund for any net deficit as may have been incurred in any prior fiscal year after the effective date of this section, shall be paid into the town's general fund, and the sewer commissioners shall adjust the sewer rentals and charges for the succeeding fiscal year to meet not only its aforesaid projected operating expenses and debt service, but also to fully reimburse the town's general fund for any net deficit as may remain outstanding. If in any fiscal year there should be a net surplus after providing for the aforesaid charges and for the payment of any reimbursement in full, such surplus may be appropriated for such new construction, extraordinary maintenance, or repairs, as the sewer commissioners, with the approval of the town, may determine. Said commissioners shall annually, and as often as the town may require, render a report upon the condition of the sewer system under their charge, and an account of their activities, including an account of the receipts and expenditures.

SECTION 4. This act shall take effect as of July 1, 1999.