Bill > H5176

This bill seeks to give the Town of Leicester the authority to grant full annual property tax exemptions to the surviving spouse of Rutland Police Detective and Leicester resident John D. Songy, pursuant to Massachusetts General Law Chapter 59, Section 5, Clause 42. The bill explains that Detective Songy died from COVID-19 contracted in the line of duty, but the state's Division of Local Services has prohibited the town from granting the tax exemption, as death from COVID-19 does not meet their definition of "killed in the line of duty." The bill requests that the town be granted the authority to provide the tax exemption to Songy's surviving spouse, retroactive to the 2020 fiscal year and going forward.