MA H2631

Bill

MA H2631

Relative to expanding agricultural land

Introduced
01/22/2019

In Committee
03/04/2020

Crossed Over

Passed

Dead
12/31/2020

Introduced Session

191st General Court

Bill Summary

Relative to the value of agricultural and horticultural land for tax purposes. Revenue.

AI Summary

This bill aims to expand the definition of agricultural land for tax purposes in Massachusetts. The key provisions include: 1. Allowing non-contiguous land under the same ownership to be considered part of the agricultural land, as long as it is within the same municipality or within 10 miles of the other portions, and is used for a unified agricultural purpose. Previously, only contiguous land could be included. 2. Specifying that the total non-contiguous agricultural land cannot exceed 100% of the actively used agricultural land. 3. Applying the commercial property tax rate to agricultural land, rather than a potentially lower residential rate. The bill is intended to provide more flexibility for landowners to have their non-contiguous parcels of land classified as agricultural, which can result in lower property tax assessments.

Committee Categories

Budget and Finance

Sponsors (11)

Jo Comerford (D), David DeCoste (R), Mindy Domb (D), Carole Fiola (D), Susan Gifford (R), Hannah Kane (R), Mary Keefe (D), Norm Orrall (R), Paul Schmid (D), Alan Silvia (D), José Tosado (D),

Last Action

Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling (on 03/04/2020)

Official Document

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/H2631

(13 Companion Bills)

Version:

Document Type	Source Location
State Bill Page	https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/H2631
Bill	https://malegislature.gov/Bills/191/H2631.pdf

Bill	Bill Name	Last Action	Type
H2390	Relative to non-contiguous farm land	Accompanied H2631	Replaces
H2535	Relative to regional transportation ballot initiatives	Accompanied H2653	Similar To
H2559	Creating a commission to study the PILOT formula and disbursement	Accompanied H2658	Similar To
H2560	Ensuring consistent reimbursement of PILOT funding	Accompanied a study order, see H5080	Similar To
H2595	To reduce taxes generated by charitable raffles and bazaars	Accompanied a study order, see H5080	Similar To
H2601	Relative to exempting farmers’ markets from certain property taxes	Accompanied a study order, see H5080	Similar To
H4244	Relative to the town of Mattapoisett	Signed by the Governor, Chapter 357 of the Acts of 2020	Similar To
S1702	Relative to excessive executive compensation	Accompanied a study order, see H5080	Similar To
S1703	To authorize cities and towns to increase the local tax rate on meals	Accompanied a study order, see S2549	Similar To
S1727	To clarify the net-worth measure of the corporate excise	Accompanied a study order, see H5040	Similar To
S1765	Granting property tax relief to seniors	Accompanied a study order, see S2549	Similar To
S2439	Relative to wind and solar systems within the town of Mattapoisett	Read second and ordered to a third reading	Similar To
S527	To modernize certain provisions of the agricultural preservation restriction program	New draft substituted, see S2520	Similar To

Bill > H2631

summary

Introduced Session

Bill Summary

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Sponsors (11)

Last Action

Official Document

bill text

bill summary

bill summary

bill summary