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#76
BLOCKING
INTERSECTIONS
Mr. Lees moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 2010), in
section 38, by inserting at the end thereof the following:
"Chapter 272
of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official Edition, is hereby amended
by inserting after the section 59A, the following new section:
Section 59B.
Whoever willfully obstructs, interrupts or disturbs the operation of any motor
vehicle on a public way or the flow of motor vehicle traffic on a public way shall
be punished by a fine of $50. A police officer may arrest without a warrant any
person he has probable cause to believe has violated this section.
Upon conviction
for a violation of this section, the court shall conduct an evidentiary hearing
to ascertain the costs incurred by the city, town or the commonwealth for the
arrest, detention and prosecution of the defendant. The court shall order that
restitution be paid to the city, town or the commonwealth for such costs, in addition
to a fine, and not in lieu thereof."
#77
TAX AMNESTY EXTENSION
Ms.
Melconian moves to amend the bill by inserting the following new section:-
SECTION
1. Chapter 4 of the acts of 2003 is amended by striking out in section 73 subsection
(a) the word "2003" and inserting in place the word "2004"
#78
CIVIL
SERVICE
Mr. Lees moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 2010) by adding
at the end thereof the following new section:
"SECTION __. Chapter 31
of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official Edition, is hereby amended
by inserting at the end thereof the following section:-
Section 78. Notwithstanding
any other section of this chapter or any other general or special law to the contrary,
upon the effective date of this act, the provisions of chapter 31 shall no longer
apply to municipal employees, including those municipal employees previously tenured
under the provisions of said chapter; provided, however, that the provisions of
chapter 31 shall continue to apply to municipal police officers and firefighters."
#79
MUNICIPAL AND EMPLOYEE SAVINGS
Ms. Melconian moves
to amend the bill by inserting the following new section:-
"SECTION____.
Section 31A of the General Laws is hereby amended by striking out in lines 25,
33 and 40 the word "paid" and inserting in place thereof, in each instance,
the following words:-
"entitled to a contribution to a qualified retirement
plan established in their name under section 401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code
and pursuant to chapter 32 of the General Laws"
#80
STUDY COMMISSION
ON THE MUNICIPAL CENSUS
Mr. Rosenberg moves to amend the bill (Senate,
No. 2010) by inserting after section 71 the following section:-
SECTION 72. There shall be a special commission to investigate, study, and make a report on the so-called "annual municipal census" conducted pursuant to section 4 of chapter 51 of the General Laws. Said report shall assess the necessity of continuing an annual municipal census and include recommendations to the legislature on alternative methods for achieving the results currently derived from the "municipal census". The commission shall consist of 13 members; the house and senate chairs of the joint committee on election laws who shall serve as co-chairpersons; the secretary of the commonwealth or designee; the jury commissioner or designee; two representatives of the Massachusetts Town Clerks Association, one of whom shall be from a rural community; a representative of the Massachusetts City Clerks Association; a representative of the Massachusetts Municipal Association; the director of the Massachusetts Institute of Social and Economic Research or designee; 1 member of the house of representatives to be appointed by the speaker and 1 member of the house of representatives to be appointed by the minority leader; 1 member of the senate to be appointed by the president of the senate and 1 member of the senate to be appointed by the minority leader. The commission shall file its report, including its recommendations and a draft of any legislation necessary to carry out its recommendations, by filing the same with the clerks of the house of representatives and the senate not later than December 1, 2003.
#81
LOCAL
OPTION TEACHER RETIREMENT
Mr. Brewer, Ms. Murray, Ms. Chandler, Mr.
Moore, Mr. Joyce, Mr. Magnani and Mr. Pacheco move to amend the bill, by inserting,
after Section ___, the following new Section:-
"SECTION ___. Notwithstanding
chapter 32 of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary
and upon the acceptance of this section, on or before July 1, 2003 by the legislative
authority of a local school district, the provisions of this act providing for
an early retirement incentive program shall apply to an eligible employee who:
(i) shall be an employee of the school district and an active member in service
of the state teacher's retirement system on the date of the district's acceptance
of this section; (ii) shall be 55 years of age by September 1, 2003; (iii) shall
have 20 years of creditable service with the state teachers' retirement system
as of September 1, 2003; (iv) shall have filed a written application with said
retirement system in accordance with this act; and (v) shall be classified in
Group 1, Group 2 or Group 4 in accordance with clause (g) of subdivision (2) of
section 3 of said chapter 32.
For the purposes of this act, "legislative
authority" shall mean the district school committee. The early retirement
incentive program shall be administered by the state teachers' retirement board
and the board shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement the program.
Notwithstanding said chapter 32 to the contrary, the normal yearly amount
of the retirement allowance for an eligible employee shall be based on the average
annual rate of regular compensation as determined under paragraph (a) of subdivision
(2) of section 5 of said chapter 32 and shall be computed according to the table
contained in said paragraph (a) based on the age of such member and his number
of years and full months of creditable service at the time of his retirement increased
by adding up to 5 years of creditable service or by a combination of additional
years of age and service the sum of which shall not be greater than 5. The legislative
authority of the school district may limit the amount of additional credit for
service offered and may limit the total number of employees for whom it will approve
a retirement calculated under this act or the total number of employees within
each group classification for whom it will approve a retirement calculated under
this act; provided further, that if participation is limited, the retirement of
employees with greater years of creditable service shall be approved before approval
shall be given to employees with lesser years of creditable service up to 80 per
cent.
The school district shall pay to the teachers' retirement system the
remaining 3 year balance of any Retirement Plus commitment for any member who
retires under this act. The balance shall be paid over a period of 3 years and
any amounts paid by a member in excess of 2 years shall be refunded directly to
the member. For any member retiring under this act who did not elect Retirement
Plus the school district shall pay to the teachers' retirement system, annually
for a period of 5 years, the applicable percentage contribution for the additional
5 years of service or for that number of years less than 5 that result in maximizing
the member's benefit at 80 per cent. The school district will also annually reimburse
the teachers' retirement system for the incremental cost for the 5 additional
years of credit at the regular retirement rate or those number of years less than
5 that result in maximizing the member's retirement at 80 per cent that reimbursement
amount being equal to the difference between the member's current retirement payment
and what the retirement payment would be at the end of 5 years or at the 80 per
cent attainment level.
Words used in this act shall have the same meaning
as they are used in said chapter 32 unless otherwise expressly provided or unless
the context clearly requires otherwise. An eligible employee who retires and receives
an additional benefit in accordance with this section shall be deemed to be retired
for superannuation under said chapter 32 and shall be subject to all of said chapter
32.
The total normal yearly amount of the retirement allowance, as determined
in accordance with section 5 of said chapter 32, of an eligible employee who retires
and receives an additional benefit under the early retirement incentive program
in accordance with this section shall not exceed 80 per cent of the average annual
rate of his regular compensation received during any period of 3 consecutive years
of creditable service for which the rate of compensation was the highest or of
the average annual rate of his regular compensation received during the periods,
whether or not consecutive, constituting his last 3 years of creditable service
preceding retirement, whichever is greater.
Notwithstanding any provision
of section 5 of said chapter 32 that require a retirement date within 4 months
of the filing of an application for superannuation retirement in order to receive
the retirement benefit provided by this section, an eligible employee shall file
his application for retirement not later than a date determined by the legislative
authority, which shall be not later than July 1, 2003; provided, the retirement
date for eligible employees shall be determined by the legislative authority and
shall be not earlier than the effective date of this act and shall be no later
than September 1, 2003.
The executive director of the public employee retirement
administration commission shall analyze, study and valuate the costs and the actuarial
liabilities attributable to the additional benefits payable in accordance with
the early retirement incentive program established by this section for each retirement
system. The executive director shall file a report of his findings to the board,
in writing, on or before December 31, 2003, together with copies thereof to the
county commissioners, the regional retirement board, the mayor, the board of selectmen,
the governing body of an authority, the district committee or the regional school
district committee as the case may be.
In accordance with section 22D of said
chapter 32, the teachers' retirement board which administers this section shall
revise its retirement funding schedule to reflect the costs and the actuarial
liabilities attributable to the additional benefits payable under the retirement
incentive program in accordance with this section. In each of the fiscal years
until the actuarial liability determined under this section shall be reduced to
zero, it shall be an obligation of the applicable city, town, county, authority
and district to fund such liability and there shall be appropriated to the applicable
pension reserve fund in each such fiscal year the amount required by the funding
schedule and the updates thereto."
#82
DESIGN-BUILD
Mr.
Lees moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 2010) by adding at the end thereof the
following new section:
"SECTION __. (a) As used in this section, the
following words shall have the following meanings:-
"Design/build",
a construction method which utilizes a single company for the design and construction
of a building, rather than separately contracting with a designer and then a contractor.
"Municipality",
any city, town, county or regional school district, or agency, board, commission,
authority or instrumentality thereof.
"Project", the design, construction,
repair, renovation, remodeling, equipping, furnishing or partial or complete demolition
of municipal facilities.
(b) Notwithstanding section 38K of chapter 7, section
39M of chapter 30, and sections 44A to 44J, inclusive, of chapter 149 of the General
Laws, any other general or special law regulating the design, construction, advertising,
or bidding of design and of construction contracts, or any other general or special
law to the contrary, municipalities may select and contract with a single contractor
to provide design/build services for the design and construction of a project;
provided, however, that the design/build contractor shall be certified by the
municipality to perform the work required and shall be selected through a competitive
process conducted in conformance with subsection (c); provided further, that this
section shall be limited to municipal projects involving vertical construction
and shall not apply to horizontal construction projects.
(c) Municipalities
shall develop procedures for procurement of contractor services utilizing design/build
services consistent with subsection (b), in consultation with the office of the
inspector general. For the selection of design/build services, the procedures
shall include, but not be limited to, the following provisions:
(1) The municipality
shall obtain design/build services utilizing sealed competitive proposals. The
municipality shall solicit proposals through a request for proposals which shall
include: the time and date for receipt of proposals; the address of the office
to which a proposal shall be delivered; proposed contractual terms and conditions,
some of which may be deemed mandatory or non-negotiable; standards by which acceptability
will be determined as to quality, workmanship, results of inspections and tests,
and suitability for a particular purpose; all evaluation criteria that will be
utilized by the municipality; and such other matters as may be determined by said
municipality. Requests for proposals for design/build services shall also describe
the scope of the design/build project and identify all quality and performance
requirements for said project.
(2) Evaluation criteria for design/build services
shall include, but not be limited to, the relevant technical and management experience
of the offeror's proposed design/build team, including subcontractors, the financial
stability and resources of the offeror, the quality of construction materials,
and the costs and life cycle of installed equipment.
(3) Public notice of each
request for proposals shall at least three weeks prior to the time specified in
such notice for the receipt of proposals be published in the central register
published by the state secretary and in a daily newspaper of general circulation
in the municipality or county where each project is proposed.
(4) A request
for proposals may incorporate documents by reference; provided, however, that
the request for proposals shall specify where offerors may obtain such documents.
The request for proposals for design/build services may provide for the separate
submission of price, and if so provided, shall indicate when and how offerors
shall submit the price, and shall specify that bid security in a form specified
by the municipality shall accompany such proposal. The municipality shall make
copies of each request for proposals available to all offerors on an equal basis.
The municipality may conduct pre-proposal conferences and interviews with interested
parties prior to receiving proposals. An offeror's proposal shall be unconditional
except as provided in this subsection. An offeror may correct, modify, or withdraw
a proposal by written notice received in the office designated in the request
for proposals prior to the time and date set for the opening of proposals.
(5)
At the opening of the proposals, the municipality shall prepare a register of
proposals which shall include the name of each offeror and the number of modifications,
if any, received. The register of proposals shall be open for public inspection.
After the opening of the proposals, an offeror may not correct, modify, or withdraw
the price or any other provisions of its proposal in a manner prejudicial to the
interests of the commonwealth or fair competition. The municipality may waive
minor informalities or allow the offeror to correct them.
(6) The municipality
shall not open the proposals publicly, but shall open them in the presence of
one or more witnesses at the time specified in the request for proposals. Notwithstanding
the provisions of any general or special law to the contrary, until the completion
of the selection process, the contents of the proposals and the selection process
shall not be disclosed to competing offerors and shall not be public documents.
(7)
The municipality shall appoint a design/build selection committee. The committee
shall be composed of experts in design and construction. The committee shall evaluate
the proposals received by the municipality. The committee shall conduct its evaluation
of the proposals based solely on the criteria set forth in the request for proposals.
In the event that price proposals are to be submitted separately from proposals
for design/build services, the design/build selection committee shall not evaluate,
and the municipality shall not disclose, such price proposals to the committee
until the committee has completed its evaluation of the proposals for design/build
services.
(8) For each proposal, the committee shall specify in writing on
each evaluation criterion a rating of highly advantageous, advantageous, not advantageous,
or unacceptable as the committee finds reasonable, and shall specify in writing
a composite rating for each proposal and the reasons for such composite rating.
(9)
The municipality shall make a determination of the most advantageous proposal
for the design/build services from a responsible and responsive offeror based
upon ratings given to the proposals by the committee. If price proposals have
been submitted separately for design/build services, the municipality shall also
base such determination on an evaluation of such price proposals. The municipality
may negotiate all contract terms not deemed mandatory or non-negotiable with such
offerors. If, after negotiation with such offerors, the municipality is unable
to finalize a contract for acquisition of design/build services that is in the
municipality's best interests, the municipality may negotiate with the offeror
of the next most advantageous proposal submitted by a responsible and responsive
offeror based upon the ratings of the committee and upon an evaluation of the
relevant price proposal if separately submitted.
(10) The contract for design/build
services shall be awarded by the municipality to the responsible and responsive
offeror submitting the most advantageous proposal based upon the evaluation criteria
set forth in the request for proposals and the terms of the negotiated contract.
The municipality shall complete the selection process by written notice to the
selected offeror or by notice of rejection to all proposers, as specified below.
The municipality may reserve the right to reject any or all proposals if it is
in the public interest to do so.
(11) For the purposes of this section, the
term "responsible offeror" shall mean a person, corporation, or other
organization or entity which has the capability to perform fully the contract
requirements, and the integrity and reliability which assures good faith performance,
and the term "responsive offeror" shall mean a person, corporation,
or other organization or entity which has submitted a proposal which conforms
in all respects to the request for proposals.
(12) If the municipality awards
the contract for design/build services to an offeror which did not submit the
lowest price proposal, the municipality shall explain the reasons for such an
award in writing, which shall be available for public inspection.
(13) Prior
to execution of a design/build contract, the selected offeror shall furnish to
the municipality a performance bond and payment bond, each in the sum of the contract
price and issued by a surety company qualified to issue bonds in the commonwealth
and satisfactory to the municipality. If the selected offeror fails to execute
a contract or to furnish the necessary bonds within the time period specified
in the request for proposals, the municipality may award the design/build contract
to the offeror of the next most advantageous proposal.
(14) The municipality
shall return the bid security to all design/build offerors which are not selected.
The design/build committee shall have conferences describing relative strengths
and weaknesses of each proposal with the other qualified offerors which were not
selected if the offerors request to have such conferences.
(15) The municipality
shall prepare a written report of the reasons for its selection determination
and any subsequent determinations to negotiate with additional offerors, including
the recorded votes, if any, that were taken which shall be available to the public.
(d)
The municipality shall submit final procedures for procurement of design/build
services to the inspector general for comment at least 30 days prior to the publication
of notice of a request for proposals. Such procedures and the comments of the
inspector general shall be submitted to the governor, the senate president, and
the speaker of the house before the execution of any contract for procurement
of design/build services.
(e) For any contract for construction, reconstruction,
alteration, remodeling or repair of any public work awarded pursuant to this section
and estimated by the awarding authority to cost more than $500,000, the awarding
authority shall, as a condition for the disbursement and acceptance of any funding
from the commonwealth, employ or contract with an owner's representative, as defined
in subsection (g).
(f) For any contract for construction, reconstruction, installation,
demolition, maintenance or repair of any building awarded pursuant to this section,
and estimated by the awarding authority to cost more than $500,000, the awarding
authority shall, as a condition for disbursement and acceptance of any funding
from the commonwealth, employ or contract with an owner's representative, as defined
in subsection (g).
(g) "Owner's representative", the official or
firm designated by the municipality who shall have appropriate fiscal, procurement
and construction experience and shall serve as the focal point of responsibility
and accountability on a project from the study and design phases through the completion
of the public work or building project. Such responsibilities shall include, but
not be limited to, coordinating communication among the project participants,
monitoring the project budget and schedule and maintaining a central file for
project records. The owner's representative shall be independent of any architect,
engineer, contractor, subcontractor or other firm or person hired by the municipality
to provide services in connection with the project."
#83
GRANBY
LEASE EXTENSION
Mr. Lees moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 2010)
by inserting at the end thereof the following new section:-
SECTION ____. Chapter
356 of the acts of 1992 is hereby amended by striking out the word "ten"
and inserting in place thereof the word "twenty".
#84
SCHOOL
TRANSPORTATION FEES
Mr. O'Leary moves to amend the bill in Section 33,
by adding at the end thereof the following:-
; provided, however, that no student
eligible for free or reduced lunch, under the federal school lunch program, shall
be required to pay such a fee; and provided further, that a school committee may
choose to exempt families at other income levels as it may determine.
Mr.
O'Leary moves to further amend the bill, in section 35, by adding at the end thereof
the following:-
; provided, however, that no student eligible for free or reduced
lunch, under the federal school lunch program, shall be required to pay such a
fee; and provided further, that a school committee may choose to exempt families
at other income levels as it may determine.
Mr. O'Leary moves to further
amend the bill, in section 36, by adding at the end thereof the following:-
;
provided, that a school committee may choose to exempt families at other income
levels as it may determine.
#85
FAIR TAXATION OF COOPERATIVE HOUSING
Mr.
Barrios moves to amend Section 5C of Chapter 59 of the General Laws, as appearing,
by inserting after the second paragraph the following new paragraph:- "For
the purpose of this section, "taxpayer" shall include the record holder
of title, or in the case of a cooperative corporation organized pursuant to chapter
157B, the individual shareholders of such corporation."
#86
ESTABLISHING
A UNIFORM RATE OF PARKING FINES.
Mr. Barrios moves to amend Chapter
90 of the General Laws by deleting in its entirety the first paragraph of Section
20E and in their entirety, subsections b, c, d, and e, and inserting the following
first paragraph and subsections b, c, d, and e:-
"Notwithstanding the
provisions of sections twenty A, twenty A½, or any other general or special
law to the contrary concerning parking laws, if the registered owner of a motor
vehicle involved in a parking violation is a person or entity engaged in the taxicab
business or the business of leasing or renting motor vehicles, and such motor
vehicle is under lease or rent or being operated for hire at the time of such
violation, the provisions of this chapter shall be applicable. b. Within forty-five
days of receiving a notice of one or more parking violations from the parking
clerk or their designee, the registered owner shall be entitled to charge the
person or entity renting or leasing the motor vehicle for the fine and penalty
amount of the parking violation and additional surcharge of $10. c. Within sixty
days of receiving a notice of one or more parking violations, the registered owner
must make payment for the parking fines and penalties to the parking clerk for
the one or more tickets appearing on the notice. The registered owner is entitled
to retain the $10 surcharge. d. All motor vehicle rental agreements and/or contracts
shall contain language informing the rentees or lessees of their liability for
payment of parking violations and the $10 surcharge. The amount of the parking
fine and penalty and the surcharge may be charged to the rentee's or lessee's
credit card if the rental or lease agreement, signed by the rentee or lessee,
contains a statement to the effect that the rentee or lessee is liable for the
payment of the parking violation and a $10 surcharge. e. The provisions of section
twenty A, section twenty A½ and Chapter 90 of the Acts of 1982, or any
other special or general law, shall be applicable to the registered owners, lessee
and rentees of motor vehicles as provided herein."
#87
FALLEN
FIREFIGHTER MEMORIAL FUND
Mr. Barrios moves to amend the bill, in section
1, Chapter 334 of the Acts of 2002 by adding at the end of section 3 the following:-
"The Professional Firefighters of Massachusetts to benefit the Fallen Firefighter
Memorial Fund."
#88
RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT FOR LAID OFF FIREFIGHTERS
Mr.
Barrios moves to amend the bill by inserting, after section 71, the following
section:-
"SECTION XX. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, no laid
off fire fighter or fire alarm operator, who becomes employed as a firefighter
or fire alarm operator in a department other than the department from which firefighter
or fire alarm operator was laid off from, shall be required to reside within the
limits of the city or town in which they are employed as a provision for continued
employment."
#89
HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS
Mr. Lees
moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 2010) by adding at the end thereof the following
new section:
"SECTION __. Section 7A of chapter 32B of the General
Laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking
out the last sentence of the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the
following:-
No governmental unit shall pay any premium contribution in excess
of 75 per cent. Subject to the above limitations, a governmental unit may provide
different subsidiary or additional rates to any group or class within that unit.
SECTION
__. Section 16 of chapter 32B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official
Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 30, the word "ten"
and inserting in place thereof the following:- 25.
SECTION __. Section
16 of chapter 32B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official Edition,
is hereby amended by striking out, in line 37, the word "ten" and inserting
in place thereof the following:- 25.
SECTION __. Section 9E of chapter
32B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official Edition, is hereby
amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following:-
No governmental unit shall pay any premium contribution in excess of 75 per
cent. Subject to the above limitations, a governmental unit may provide different
subsidiary or additional rates to any group or class within that unit.
SECTION
__. Notwithstanding these sections, the per cent contribution of the governmental
unit to premiums of retirees who as of the effective date of this act are covered
by group health insurance, are 65 years of age or older and have household incomes
of 133 per cent of the federal poverty level or lower shall not be reduced below
the per cent contribution made to such retirees prior to the effective date of
this act.
SECTION __. The provisions of this act shall become effective
upon passage, provided that any per cent contribution which is determined by a
collective bargaining agreement as of the effective date of this act shall not
be altered until the expiration date of said collective bargaining agreement,
unless the parties to said agreement agree otherwise."
#90
JOINT
PURCHASING HEALTH INSURANCE
Mr. Lees moves to amend the bill (Senate,
No. 2010) by inserting at the end thereof the following new section:-
"SECTION
____. Section 12 of Chapter 32B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2000
Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding the following at the end thereof:-
Notwithstanding
any general or special law to the contrary, governmental units shall be exempt
from any obligation to bargain over the decision to change, alter or eliminate
any benefit or benefits offered by or through a joint purchase group to eligible
employees of a governmental unit. To the extent a governmental unit, which is
a member of a joint purchase group, timely receives a request or requests to bargain
over the impact of a change which has been voted upon by a joint purchase group,
the governmental unit shall comply with its obligation to bargain over the impact
of any such change, though the pendency of any such collective bargaining negotiations
shall in no way effect or limit a joint purchase group's ability to make said
benefit changes, alterations or eliminations to benefit plans offered to the eligible
employees of each and every governmental unit which participated in the joint
purchase group."
#91
LOCAL OPTION FERRY EXCISE TAX
Mr.
O'Leary moves to amend the bill by inserting the following new Section:-
SECTION___.
Notwithstanding any general or special law to the contrary, any city or town within
Barnstable, Nantucket or Dukes County which accepts the provisions of this section
shall be authorized to impose a local excise tax upon all passenger ferry trips
originating from a port located within such city or town, at a rate up to, but
not exceeding, one dollar per passenger trip. The operator of the ferry service
shall pay the local excise tax imposed under the provisions of this act to the
commissioner at the same time and in the same manner as the excise tax due the
commonwealth. All sums received by the commissioner under this section as excise,
penalties or forfeitures, interest, costs of suit and fines shall be distributed,
credited and paid by the state treasurer at least quarterly upon certification
of the commissioner to each city or town that has adopted the provisions of this
section in proportion to the amount of such sums received from the sale of passenger
ferry trips in each such city or town. The city or town shall deposit the monies
received from the excise tax in the city or town's general fund, to be appropriated
for the purpose of mitigating the impacts of ferry service on the city or town.
Nothing in this section shall prohibit a city or town from transferring all or
part of the monies collected from the excise tax to a regional planning or educational
entity that serves the municipality, to be appropriated by that entity for the
purpose of mitigating the impacts of ferry service on the region.
This act
shall only take effect in a city or town accepting the provisions of this act
by a majority vote of the city council with the approval of the mayor, in the
case of a city with a Plan A, Plan B, or Plan F charter; by a majority vote of
the city council, in the case of a city with a Plan C, Plan D, or Plan E charter;
by a majority vote of the annual town meeting or a special meeting called for
the purpose, in the case of a municipality with a town meeting form of government;
or by a majority vote of the town council, in the case of a municipality with
a town council form of government. The provisions of this act shall take effect
on the first day of the calendar quarter following thirty days after such acceptance,
or on the first day of such later calendar quarter as the city or town may designate.
The city or town, in accepting the provisions of this act, may not revoke or otherwise
amend the applicable local tax rate more often than once in any twelve-month period.
Any
city or town that votes to accept the provisions of this section may also vote,
in the manner proscribed above, to exempt commuter and excursion fares from said
local excise tax. For the purposes of this section, commuter fare shall mean any
fare paid for through the purchase of a book of multiple tickets, through the
Steamship Authority's "Islands Preferred Excursion Program," or through
the purchase of a pass.
#92
Local Option Meals Tax
Messrs.
Lees move to amend the bill, (Senate, No. 2010), by striking out section 31 and
inserting in place thereof the following new section: -
"SECTION 31.
Chapter 64H of the General Laws is
hereby amended by inserting after
section 2 the following section:-
Section
2B. (a) Acceptance of the provisions of this section by any city or town shall
be pursuant to the requirements of subsection (b). A city or town may impose an
excise on the sale of meals at the rate of not more than 3 per cent of the total
price of the meal. The vendor shall pay the excise to the commissioner at the
same time and in the same manner as he pays the excise due to the commonwealth.
All sums received by the commissioner under this section as excise, penalties
or forfeitures, interest, costs of suit and fines shall, at least quarterly, be
distributed, credited and paid by the state treasurer upon certification of the
commissioner to each city or town that has accepted this section in proportion
to the amount of the sums received from the sale of meals in each such city or
town. This section shall take effect in a city or town on the first day of the
calendar quarter following 30 days after its acceptance or on the first day of
the later calendar quarter as the city or town may designate; but if the day so
designated is less than 15 days after acceptance, it shall take effect on the
first day of the second calendar month following acceptance. The city or town,
in accepting this section, shall establish the rate of the excise, and shall not
revoke, reimpose or change the rate of the excise provided for in this section
more often than once in a 12-month period.
(b) The local appropriating authority,
as defined in section 21C of chapter 59, may submit to the voters at any city
or town election the following question, which the city or town clerk shall cause
to be printed on the municipal ballot: "Shall the (city or town) accept section
2B of chapter 64H of the General Laws, which provides for a (city or town) tax
on the sale of meals to be imposed in addition to the state meals tax?" If
a majority of the votes cast on said question is in the affirmative, the city
or town shall be deemed to have accepted this section, but not otherwise."
#93
NON
MANDATED SCHOOL TRANSPORTATION FEE
Mr. Creedon of Brockton moves to
amend the bill, House 4003, in section 35 by inserting after the word "district"
at the end of the sentence the following new language:
; provided further,
that any fee assessed pursuant to this section may be deducted from any local
property tax assessed by the municipality; provided further that any person seeking
to deduct said fee from a municipal property tax assessment shall provide proof
that: (a) said fee was paid to the municipality to provide transportation of a
student; and (b) that the student is related to the person having the tax obligation;
and (c) the student resides at the property subject to the tax obligation.
#94
PREVAILING
WAGE
Mr. Lees moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 2010) by adding at
the end thereof the following new sections:
"SECTION __. Section 53
of chapter 44 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official Edition,
is hereby amended by inserting after the words "as provided in section six
or six A" in line 13 the following:-
and provided, further, that the
section 27 of chapter 149 shall not apply to cities and towns for said projects
in the amount of $100,000 or less, and provided, further, that section 27 of chapter
149 shall not apply to towns with populations of 5,000 or less.
SECTION
__. Section 26 of chapter 149 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official
Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the words "engaged in the construction
industry" in line 36 the following:-
; provided, further, that the provisions
of this sentence shall not apply to cities and towns for any contract for the
construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance or repair
of any building, or to any contract for the construction, reconstruction, installation,
demolition, maintenance or repair of any public work, for which the estimated
construction cost is $100,000 or less and provided, further, that the provisions
of this sentence shall not apply to such contracts entered into by towns with
a population of 5,000 or less.
SECTION __. Section 27 of chapter 149 of
the General Laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official Edition, is hereby amended
by inserting at the end thereof the following sentence:-
The provisions of
this section shall not apply to cities and towns for any contract for the construction,
reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance or repair of any building,
or to any contract for the construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition,
maintenance or repair of any public work, for which the estimated construction
cost is $100,000 or less, and the provisions of this section shall not apply to
such contracts entered into by towns with a population of 5,000 or less.
SECTION
__. Section 27B of chapter 149 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2000 Official
Edition, is hereby amended by inserting at the end thereof the following sentence:-
The provisions of this section shall not apply to cities and towns for any
contract for the construction, reconstruction, installation, demolition, maintenance
or repair of any building, or to any contract for the construction, reconstruction,
installation, demolition, maintenance or repair of any public work, for which
the estimated construction cost is $100,000 or less, and the provisions of this
section shall not apply to such contracts entered into by towns with a population
of 5,000 or less."
#95
MUNICIPAL COOPERATION
Ms. Wilkerson
moves to amend the bill by inserting at the end thereof the following new section:
"SECTION . Section 11 of Chapter 32B of the General Laws, as appearing
in the 2000 Official Edition, is hereby amended by adding after the second paragraph,
the following:
Notwithstanding the provision of any charter or ordinance to
the contrary, the appropriate public authority of the cities of Cambridge, Chelsea,
Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, Quincy, Revere and Somerville may notify the
appropriate pubic authority of the city of Boston of its election to participate
in the schedule of benefits made available by said city of Boston for its employees;
and subject to the approval of the appropriate public authority of said city of
Boston and under such terms and conditions and rules and regulations as may be
prescribed from time to time by said appropriate public authority of the city
of Boston, the employees of the city so applying will become insured at the earliest
practicable date as participants in a city of Boston group health or life benefit
plan; provided, that nothing herein is meant to abrogate any collective bargaining
agreement or any provision thereof with respect to health benefits or to impact
adversely the rights and benefits of public employees pursuant to any collective
bargaining agreement or any provision thereof. Nothing in this paragraph shall
prohibit the appropriate pubic authority of the city of Boston from prohibiting
participation by applying cities in certain benefit programs made available by
said city of Boston for its employees. Nothing in this paragraph shall prevent
a participating city from withdrawing from participation upon reasonable notice
provided by the appropriate public authority of the participating city to the
appropriate public authority of the city of Boston. A city granted approval to
participate in the city of Boston's schedule of benefits that incurs costs by
so joining or exiting, including but not limited to paying for claims which have
been incurred but not yet paid may amortize such costs over a period of no more
than ten years from the date of such approval or exit."
#96
FEES
FOR HOSTING FAIRS
Mr. Creedon of Brockton moves to amend the bill,
House 4003, in section 5 , by striking in line 11 after the "chapter 21"
the following language: "or cities or towns hosting fairs that (i) are sponsored
and conducted by an agricultural or horticultural society incorporated under Massachusetts
law (ii) operate at least three days annually (iii) have a majority of exhibits
that are competitive in nature and (iv) are inspected and approved by the department
of food and agriculture.:
Mr. Creedon further moves to amend the bill in section 5 by striking, in lines 17 and 18, the words "or fairs".
Mr.
Creedon further moves the amend the bill in section 5 by striking, in lines 24
to 36, the following language:
"(d) The department of food and agriculture
may establish, assess and collect a $1 per day visitor impact fee for entrance
into fairs meeting the criteria set forth in this section. The fee shall be in
addition to any fees already established or otherwise charged by the department
or by the agricultural or horticultural society sponsoring and conducting the
fair, provided further that the assessment of said $1 per day visitor impact fee
for entrance into fairs, meeting the criteria set forth in this section, shall
require the prior approval of the local town meeting of a town sponsored fair;
or the mayor and city council of a city sponsored fair; or the county body having
governing authority over county sponsored fair activities; visitor impact fees
shall be deposited with the state treasurer and credited to the Visitor Impact
Fund."
Mr. Creedon moves to amend the bill in section 5, in line 37, by
striking "(e)" and inserting in place thereof "(d)".
#97
SPECIAL
COMMISSION ON CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS
Mr. Lees moves to amend the bill
(Senate, No. 2010), in section 70, by striking the number "12" and inserting
in place thereof the following number:-
"14";
and moves to further
amend the bill, in the same section, by inserting after the words "2 members
of the senate to be appointed by the president of the Senate" the following
words:-
"; 1 member of the house of representatives to be appointed by
the house minority leader and 1 member of the senate to be appointed by the senate
minority leader."
#98
TOWING PROVISION
Mr. Lees moves
to amend the bill (Senate, No. 2010), in section 55, by inserting at the end thereof
the following:
Section 39A of Chapter 255 of the General Laws, as appearing
in the 2000 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking in lines 1 and 2 the
words "removed from the scene of an accident and".
#99
VISITOR
IMPACT FUND
Mr. Lees moves to amend the bill (Senate, No. 2010) by striking out section 5.
#100
ELECTRONIC PUBLICATION OF NOTICES
Mr.
Creedon of Brockton moves to amend the bill, House 4003, by striking sections
1, 2 and 3 in their entirety.