SECTION 5. Section 31A of chapter 7 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 19, the words "subject to appropriation, expend sums" and inserting in place thereof the following words:- retain a portion of new revenues received or savings generated in other items of appropriation and may expend these retained amounts without further appropriation.
SECTION 38.
(a) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of administration and finance may authorize the transfer of funds from any item of appropriation for any executive branch agency to any other item of appropriation for that agency or within its executive office. No transfer authorized by this section shall exceed 5 per cent of the amount appropriated for an item. The transfer may be made only with the written approval of the heads of the sending and receiving agencies and of the secretary of their executive office.
(b) Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, the secretary of administration and finance, with concurrence from the secretary of health and human services and the secretary of housing and economic development, may authorize the transfer of funds between item 7004-0100 and item 4000-0250 in section 2.
(c) Before making any transfer authorized by this section, the secretary of administration and finance shall submit a transfer schedule to the house and senate committees on ways and means. The schedule shall include the following: (1) the amount of money transferred from one item of appropriation to another; (2) the reason for the transfer; and (3) the date on which the transfer is to be completed.
SECTION 45.
(a) The division of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the department of conservation and recreation, may, notwithstanding sections 40E to 40K and 52 to 55, inclusive, of chapter 7 of the General Laws, and using competitive proposal processes that the division considers appropriate, lease or enter into other agreements for the Blue Hills Ski Area in the town of Canton, for terms not to exceed 25 years to one or more operators, so as to provide for the continued use, operation, maintenance, repair, and improvement of this state-owned recreational facility together with the land and appurtenances associated with it.
(b) The lease or other agreement shall be on terms acceptable to the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, after consultation with the commissioner of department of conservation and recreation, and, notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, shall provide for the operator to operate, manage, improve, repair, and maintain the properties. Any such leases or other arrangements requiring improvements to be made to any portion of the facility may include a description of the initially required improvements and shall include performance specifications.
(c) The inspector general shall review and approve any request for proposal issued by the division before issuance.
(d) All consideration received from the lease or other agreement shall be payable to the department of conservation and recreation for deposit into the Blue Hills Reservation Trust Fund in accordance with section 34C of chapter 92 of the General Laws. The operator shall bear costs as determined by the commissioner of conservation and recreation for the transactions including, without limitation, costs for legal work, survey, title, and the preparation of plans and specifications.
SECTION 46.
Notwithstanding sections 40E to 40K and 52 to 55 of chapter 7 of the General Laws, the division of capital asset management and maintenance, in consultation with the department of conservation and recreation, may lease and enter into agreements, using a competitive proposal process or processes that the division considers necessary or appropriate, for terms not to exceed 25 years, to 1 or more operators, for 1 or more skating rinks, so as to provide for the continued use, operation, maintenance, repair, and improvement of the following state-owned buildings and facilities together with the associated land and appurtenances formerly under the jurisdiction of the metropolitan district commission: Bajko memorial rink, Hyde Park district, Boston; Connell memorial rink, Weymouth; Devine memorial rink, Dorchester district, Boston; Emmons Horrigan O'Neill memorial rink, Charlestown district, Boston; Flynn memorial rink, Medford; Jim Roche memorial rink, West Roxbury district, Boston; LoConte memorial rink, Medford; Murphy memorial rink, South Boston district, Boston; Reilly memorial rink, Brighton district, Boston; Shea memorial rink, Quincy; Steriti memorial rink, Boston; Veterans Memorial Rink, Somerville; and, Ulin memorial rink, Milton.
The leases and other agreements shall be on terms acceptable to the commissioner of capital asset management and maintenance, after consultation with the commissioner of conservation and recreation, and, notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, shall provide for the lessees to operate, manage, improve, repair, and maintain the properties, and may provide for the department to make initial capital improvements or direct grant funds to the lessee to undertake initial capital improvements at 1 or more of the properties that the commissioner of the department determines to be necessary due to the structural condition of any of the properties. Any leases or other arrangements requiring improvements to be made to any buildings may include a description of the initially-required improvements and, at minimum, performance specifications. Ice time at rinks under the jurisdiction of the division of urban parks and recreation shall be allocated to user groups in the following priority order: general public skating; youth groups; high school hockey; and adult organizations or informal groups. Ice time may be allocated at the discretion of the operator with the following restrictions: general public skating shall be booked at a minimum of 16 hours per week, with a range of times and days which reasonably allow for public skaters of all ages to participate in some public skating sessions. Every effort shall be made to balance the ice allocation needs of long-established youth organizations and newly-formed youth organizations in a manner that provides equal opportunity and equal access for youths of each gender. Leases and other agreements authorized in this section shall provide that any benefits to the communities and the costs of improvements and repairs made to the properties provided by the lessees or the recipients of the properties shall be taken into account as part of the consideration for the leases or other agreements. All consideration received from the leases or other agreements shall be payable to the department of conservation and recreation for deposit into the Division of Urban Parks Trust Fund under section 34 of chapter 92 of the General Laws; provided that any consideration received for the Jim Roche Memorial Rink shall be payable to the department for deposit into the Roche Community Rink Fund under section 2NNN of chapter 29 of the General Laws. The lessees or the recipients of these properties shall bear all costs considered necessary or appropriate by the commissioner of conservation and recreation for the transactions including, without limitation, all costs for legal work, survey, title, and the preparation of plans and specifications.
The department may consider payments made by a lessee at the Connell Rink as private matching funds for the purposes of item 2800-0105 of section 2E of chapter 352 of the acts of 2004.