PETITION OF:

Whereas, the deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is forthwith to provide relief from the problem facing many members of the senior and disabled population in the Commonwealth created by substantial increases in real estate taxes, 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 5 of chapter 59 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 8, after the figure “Forty-first C” the following figure: — , Forty-first C½.

SECTION 2. Clause Eighteenth of section 5 of chapter 59 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 438, the word “and” and inserting in place thereof the following word:— or.

SECTION 3. Said clause Eighteenth of said section 5 of said chapter 59 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by adding at the end thereof the following paragraph:—
The eligibility of said persons to defer any portion of their tax liability under the provisions of clause Forty-first A shall not be considered by the assessors in determining poverty or financial hardship.

SECTION 4.           Clause Forty-first of said section 5 of said chapter 59 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 928, the words “and clause Forty-first C” and inserting the following words:— , clause Forty-first C and clause Forty-first C½.
                SECTION 5.           Said section 5 of said chapter 59 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out clause Forty-first A and inserting in place thereof the following clause:—
                Forty-first A, Real property, to an amount determined as hereinafter provided, of a person 65 years of age or over or disabled and occupied by him as his domicile, of a person who owns the same jointly with his spouse, either of whom is 65 years of age or over or disabled, and occupied as their domicile, or of a person who owns the same jointly or as a tenant in common with a person not his spouse and occupied by him as his domicile; provided, that such person has been domiciled in the commonwealth for the preceding 10 years and

(1) has so owned and occupied as his domicile such real property or other real property in the commonwealth for 5 years; or

(2) is a surviving spouse who inherits such real property and has occupied such real property or other real property in the commonwealth as his or her domicile for 5 years and who otherwise qualifies under this clause; and provided further that such person, and such person and his spouse, if married, had, during the preceding year, gross receipts from all sources not in excess of $20,000. Any city or town may also, by vote of its legislative body, adopt a higher maximum qualifying gross receipts amount for the purposes of this section; provided, however, that such maximum qualifying gross receipts amount shall not exceed the amount of income determined by the commissioner for the purposes of subsection (k) of section 6 of chapter 62.

In determining the total period ownership of an applicant for exemption under this clause, the time during which the same property was owned by a husband or wife individually shall be added to the period during which such property was owned by said husband and wife jointly. In computing the gross receipts of such an applicant or of such an applicant and his spouse, if married, ordinary business expenses and losses may be deducted but not personal and family expenses.

Any such person may, on or before December 15 of each year to which the tax relates or within 3 months after the date on which the bill or notice is first sent, whichever is later, apply to the board of assessors for an exemption of all or part of such real property from taxation during such year; provided, however, that in the case of real estate owned by a person jointly or as a tenant in common with a person not his spouse, the exemption shall not exceed that proportion of total valuation which the amount of his interest in such property bears to the whole tax due. The board of assessors shall grant such exemption provided that the owner or owners of such real property have entered into a tax deferral and recovery agreement with said board of assessors on behalf of the city or town. The said agreement shall provide:

(1) that no sale or transfer of such real property may be consummated unless the taxes which would otherwise have been assessed on such portion of the real property as is so exempt have been paid, with interest at a uniform rate to be determined annually by the local appropriating authority not in excess of 8 per cent per annum;

(2) that the total amount of such taxes due, plus interest, for the current and prior years does not exceed 50 per cent of the owner's proportional share of the full and fair cash value of such real property;

(3) that upon the demise of the owner of such real property, the heirs-at-law, assignees or devisees shall have first priority to said real property by paying in full the total taxes which would otherwise have been due, plus interest; provided, however, if such heir-at-law, assignee or devisee is a surviving spouse who enters into a tax deferral and recovery agreement under this clause, payment of the taxes and interest due shall not be required during the life of such surviving spouse. Any additional taxes deferred, plus interest, on said real property under a tax deferral and recovery agreement signed by a surviving spouse shall be added to the taxes and interest which would otherwise have been due, and the payment of which has been postponed during the life of such surviving spouse, in determining the 50 per cent requirement of subparagraph (2);

(4) that if the taxes due, plus interest, are not paid by the heir-at-law, assignee or devisee or if payment is not postponed during the life of a surviving spouse, such taxes and interest shall be recovered from the estate of the owner; and

(5) that any joint owner or mortgagee holding a mortgage on such property has given written prior approval for such agreement, which written approval shall be made a part of such agreement.

In the case of each tax deferral and recovery agreement entered into between the board of assessors and the owner or owners of such real property, said board of assessors shall forthwith cause to be recorded in the registry of deeds of the county or district in which the city or town is situated a statement of their action which shall constitute a lien upon the land covered by such agreement for such taxes as have been assessed under the provisions of this chapter, plus interest as hereinafter provided. A lien filed pursuant to this section shall be subsequent to any liens securing a reverse mortgage, excepting shared appreciation instruments. The statement shall name the owner or owners and shall include a description of the land adequate for identification. Unless such a statement is recorded the lien shall not be effective with respect to a bona fide purchaser or other transferee without actual knowledge of such lien. The filing fee for such statement shall be paid by the city or town and shall be added to and become a part of the taxes due.

In addition to the remedies provided by this clause, the recorded statement of the assessors provided for in this clause shall have the same force and effect as a valid taking for nonpayment of taxes under the provisions of section 53 of chapter 60, except that: (1) interest shall accrue at the rate determined under this clause for each year until the conveyance of the property or the death of the person whose taxes have been deferred, after which time interest shall accrue at the rate provided in section 62 of chapter 60; (2) no assignment of the municipality's interest under this clause may be made pursuant to section 52 of chapter 60; (3) no petition under section 65 of chapter 60 to foreclose the lien may be filed before the expiration of six months from the conveyance of the property or the death of the person whose taxes have been deferred.

For purposes of this clause, the term “disabled” shall refer to an individual who has been determined disabled for purposes of Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income programs created under title II and XVI, respectively, of the Social Security Act.

SECTION 6. Said section 5 of said chapter 59 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after clause Forty-first C the following clause:—

Forty-first C½, Real property, of an amount equal to 10 per cent of the average assessed value of all Class One parcels within such city or town of the principal residence of a taxpayer as used by the taxpayer for income tax purposes of a person who has reached his seventieth birthday prior to the fiscal year for which an exemption is sought and occupied by said person as his domicile, or of a person who owns the same jointly with his spouse, either of whom has reached his seventieth birthday prior to the fiscal year for which an exemption is sought and occupied by them as their domicile, or for a person who has reached his seventieth birthday prior to the fiscal year for which an exemption is sought who owns the same jointly or as a tenant in common with a person not his spouse and occupied by him as his domicile; provided: (A) that such person (1) has been domiciled in the commonwealth for the preceding 10 years, (2) has so owned and occupied such real property or other real property in the commonwealth for 5 years, or 3) is a surviving spouse who inherits such real property and has occupied such real property in the commonwealth 5 years and who otherwise qualified under this clause; and (B) that such taxpayer's total income, as defined in subsection (k) of section 6 of chapter 62, would qualify such person for the credit therein provided for the tax year ending during the fiscal year to which such assessment applies.

A city, by vote of its council and approval of its mayor, or a town, by vote of town meeting, may adjust the following factors contained in these provisions by: 1) increasing the amount of the exemption to as much as 20 per cent of the average assessed value of all Class One parcels within such city or town; 2) reducing the requisite age of eligibility to any person age 65 years or older; and 3) reducing the residency requirements to not less than 5 years.

This clause shall take effect in any city or town that votes to accept its terms at the next regularly scheduled municipal election for any fiscal year commencing on or after July 1, 2005. The question appearing on the official ballot shall be in the following form:

“Shall section ___ of Chapter ___ of the Acts of 2005 granting real estate property tax reductions to qualifying senior citizens, be accepted?”

If a majority of the votes cast in answer to said question is in the affirmative, said clause shall take effect, but not otherwise. In those cities and towns which accept the provisions of this clause, the provisions of clauses Forty-first, Forty-first B and Forty-first C shall not be applicable; provided, however, that any amount of money annually appropriated by the commonwealth for the purpose of reimbursing cities and towns for taxes abated under this clause, clause Forty-first, clause Forty-first B and clause Forty-first C shall be distributed as provided in said clause Forty-first.

SECTION 7. Section 5K of chapter 59 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 13, the figure “$750” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:— “$1,000”.

SECTION 8. Paragraph (1) of said subsection (k) of said section 6 of said chapter 62 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the definition of “Head of household” the following definition:—

"Price-of-housing adjustment'', for any calendar year, the percentage, if any, by which the statewide average sale price for a single-family home for the preceding calendar year, as reported by the department of housing and community development, exceeds the statewide average sale price for a single-family home for calendar year 2003, as reported by same.

SECTION 9. Paragraph (2) of said subsection (k) of said section 6 of said chapter 62 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting, in line 428, after the word “older” the following words:— or a disabled person.

SECTION 10. Said paragraph (2) of said subsection (k) of said section 6 of said chapter 62 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out subparagraph (ii) and inserting in place thereof the following subparagraph:—

(ii) the assessed valuation of the residence does not exceed $600,000.

SECTION 11. Paragraph (4) of said subsection (k) of said section 6 of said chapter 62 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 441, the word “cost-of-living” and inserting in place thereof the following word:— price-of-housing.

SECTION 12. There is hereby established the elderly and disabled persons tax relief outreach program for the purposes of assisting elderly and disabled residents of the commonwealth in obtaining information about available options designed to provide limited relief from state and local taxes.

The secretary of the commonwealth shall administer the program in conjunction with the secretary of the executive office of elder affairs and the commissioner of the department of revenue.

In order to assist interested persons in obtaining such information, the outreach program shall:

(a) create and distribute literature outlining all tax relief programs for the elderly and disabled, including those providing relief from state and local taxes and describing the benefits and eligibility criteria for each option;

(b) organize presentations and workshops to better facilitate the awareness and education of elderly and disabled persons in the tax-related issues that concern them, what relief is available to them and the application process for such relief programs; and

(c) create and maintain a statewide toll free telephone number staffed by individuals qualified to inform and advise interested and potentially eligible persons about available options designed to provide limited relief from state and local taxes.

The secretary of the commonwealth, the secretary of the executive office of elder affairs and the commissioner of the department of revenue shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary to implement the elderly and disabled persons tax relief outreach program.