Bill > H4094

This bill establishes a new framework for "Supplemental Infrastructure Financing for Transportation" (SIFT), allowing municipalities to capture the increase in property tax revenue generated by improved transportation infrastructure to help fund those projects. Key provisions include defining terms like "captured assessed value" (the increase in property value within a designated area, or SIFT district, after a transportation project is completed), "SIFT agreement" (a contract between a municipality and the state's transportation department outlining the project, district boundaries, and revenue sharing), and "transportation project" (construction or improvement of roads, bridges, transit facilities, etc.). Before a SIFT agreement can be implemented, the Secretary of Transportation must issue a "SIFT certificate" certifying the project's eligibility, and the municipality must hold public hearings and obtain local approval. The bill also creates two dedicated funds: the "MBTA SIFT Fund" for projects involving the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority and the "Department of Transportation SIFT Fund" for other state transportation projects, into which collected tax increment revenues will be deposited and used specifically for the identified transportation projects or related debt service.