Bill > H4115

This bill proposes to amend Chapter 139 of the General Laws by adding a new section that holds property owners accountable for recurring public nuisance incidents. Specifically, if a municipal police department is called to a property more than 10 times within a 12-month period for incidents involving crime that result in an arrest, citation, or criminal complaint, the property owner of record will be responsible for the reasonable costs of any additional police calls and other expenses incurred by the municipality. The owner must pay these billed amounts to the municipal treasurer or collector within 30 days, and collected funds will go into the municipality's general fund to offset police costs. Enforcement is at the discretion of the Chief of Police or other local authority, and municipalities can adopt ordinances to implement these provisions; unpaid bills will be considered an unpaid municipal charge.