State House News
Service
Tuesday, July 17, 2018
...The Senate could
also act Tuesday on a bill (H 4546) that
overwhelmingly passed the House in May
to allow property owners to form
districts and levy assessments to pay
for improvements within them.
Through community
benefit districts, property owners in a
neighborhood can establish a non-profit
board to provide additional services --
like more security, new signage,
beautification efforts or cultural
activities -- funded through an
assessment on the other property owners
in the district.
The House passed what
Ways and Means Chairman Jeffrey Sanchez
called a compromise bill 149-2 in May.
The Legislature included community
benefit district authorization in the
fiscal 2018 budget bill. Gov. Charlie
Baker vetoed it and called the
assessments "the functional equivalent
of new property taxes." ...
