reglab/housing_qa huggingface dataset:
MA Gen L ch 57 § 1a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title VIII - Elections|Chapter 57 - Congressional, Councillor and Senatorial Districts, and Apportionment of Representatives|Section 1a - Definitions

[ Text of section added by 2021, 83, Sec. 1 effective November 4, 2021.]  Section 1A. As used in this chapter, the following words shall, unless the context clearly requires otherwise, have the following meanings:  "Census Block'' or "Census Blocks'', 2020 census geography designated by the United States Census Bureau for which population data is reported under P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data.  "VTD'', Voting tabulation district 2020 census geography designated by the United States Census Bureau for which population data is reported under P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 1 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 1 - Commissioner; Establishment of Minimum Standards of Assessment Performance

Section 1. The commissioner of revenue in chapters fifty-eight to sixty-five C, inclusive, called the commissioner, shall make, and from time to time revise, such reasonable rules, regulations and guidelines, as may be necessary to establish minimum standards of assessment performance. The specific areas to which such standards relate shall include but not be limited to the following: the administration of all laws providing for the assessment and classification of property; the methods of determining the actual fair cash valuation of different kinds of property for tax purposes; the types of qualifications of assessing personnel; and the adequacy of tax maps and other records.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 2 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 2 - Commissioner; Annual Lists to Board of Assessors; Classifications; Objections; Appeal

Section 2. The commissioner shall annually, on or before April first of each year, forward to each board of assessors a list of all corporations known to him to be liable on January first of said year to taxation under chapters fifty-nine, sixty A and sixty-three. Such list shall indicate which of said corporations have been classified by the commissioner as manufacturing corporations or research and development corporations and shall contain such other information as in his judgment will assist such boards of assessors in the assessment of taxes. The operation of a solid waste disposal facility, as defined in section eighteen of chapter sixteen, or the production of any material or other product therefrom which is usable or marketable shall not be deemed to be a manufacturing activity for the purposes of this section.  Any person aggrieved by any classification made by the commissioner under any provision of chapters fifty-nine and sixty-three or by any action taken by the commissioner under this section may, on or before April thirtieth of said year or the thirtieth day after such list is sent out by the commissioner, whichever is later, file an application with the appellate tax board on a form approved by it, stating therein the classification claimed.  The appellate tax board shall, within ten days after the decision on said application, give written notice thereof to the applicant. The decision of the board shall be binding upon the parties to any proceeding pending or brought before it which involves a tax for the year to which the decision is applicable. For the purpose of this section, ''person'' shall include a board of assessors.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 3 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 3 - Commissioner; Assistance to Local Assessors

Section 3. In order to assist the assessors in the performance of their duties, the commissioner shall prepare, issue and periodically revise guides for local assessors. Such guides shall include the rules, regulations, and guidelines of the commissioner relative to the assessment, classification and administration of local taxes, an appraisal manual and, in addition, may include special studies, cost and price schedules, news and reference bulletins and digests of laws relating to local taxation. He shall prepare and issue such other printed instructions to the assessors which are adapted to varying local circumstances and to differences in the character and condition of property subject to local taxation as he shall deem necessary.  He shall conduct or sponsor in-service, pre-entry, and intern training programs on the technical, legal, and administrative aspects of the assessment process and may require assessors to attend such programs. Such programs shall include but not be limited to training required to meet minimum standards of assessment and classification performance established in accordance with section one. The commissioner may contract with educational institutions or appropriate professional associations to provide such training programs. He shall develop, prescribe, and require the use of all forms necessary for administration of the laws relating to the taxation of property. So far as practicable, the forms shall be uniform, but nothing herein shall be deemed to prevent the prescribing of substitute or additional forms where special circumstances require.  He shall annually, on or about January first, furnish to each board of assessors all the information relating to the assessment, classification, valuation and ownership of property taxable in their town that has come into possession of his department, particularly under chapter sixty-five and sixty-five C.  He shall cause a representative of his office to visit every city or town to give to the assessors such assistance as may be authorized or required by law.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 4 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 4 - Noncompliance by Assessors

Section 4. Whenever it appears to the commissioner that the property, or any part thereof, in any town is not valued for taxation according to the first paragraph of section thirty-eight of chapter fifty-nine, and that such failure to comply with the law is the result of failure of the city or town to meet the minimum standards prescribed by the commissioner under the provisions of section one, including but not limited to minimum standards for keeping records of valuation, classification and ownership, production and maintenance of tax maps, and use of the opinions guides, manuals or other information furnished the assessors under the provisions of sections one A and three by the commissioner, or is due to failure on the part of its assessors, or any of them, to properly examine the records of the registry of deeds and probate court, he shall forthwith direct said assessors to meet the minimum standards required, to make use of the opinions, guides, manuals or other information furnished by him, and to make such examinations of the records of the registry of deeds and probate court as he deems necessary to correct the failure of the town to value any or all of the property for taxation according to law. On failure by the assessors, or any of them, to comply with such directions of the commissioner, for any reason, he shall forthwith notify the mayor or the selectmen, in writing, of said failure and of any requirements which he deems necessary or expedient to insure proper performance, valuation and classification of property for taxation according to law. Such notice shall contain a statement that failure of the town to comply with such requirements will result in court action.  At the request of local assessors, he shall contract on behalf of the city or town for engineering, professional or technical services for the installation of such record keeping system, the production and installation of tax maps, the appraisal or reappraisal of property, or such other action as is required for the town to meet the minimum standards prescribed.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 4a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 4a - Continued Non-Compliance With Minimum Standards by Cities or Towns; Contracts by Commissioner; Court Orders

Section 4A. If such city or town fails, within a reasonable time, to comply with the notice and requirements of the commissioner and continues to fail to meet the minimum standards provided in section one and to value property for taxation in violation of section thirty-eight of chapter fifty-nine, (a) the commissioner may contract on behalf of the city or town to provide engineering, professional or technical services for the installation of such record keeping systems, the production and installation of tax maps, the appraisal or reappraisal of property, or such other action as he has required for the town to meet the minimum standards prescribed, or (b) a single justice of the supreme judicial court may, on the petition of the commissioner, order the mayor or selectmen to comply with the requirements of the commissioner or order its assessors to value property for taxation at its fair cash valuation and to classify real property according to use and to meet the minimum standards necessary to accomplish this within a definite period of time to be determined by the court. The commissioner shall file with his petition copies of his directions to the assessors and of his notice to the mayor or selectmen under the provisions of section four, together with such other evidence in his possession which he has collected in accordance with sections one A and six as will be helpful to the court in determining whether or not such an order should be issued.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 4b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 4b - Compliance With Court Orders by Cities or Towns; Provision of Services by Commissioner

Section 4B. A city or town whose mayor or selectmen and assessors have been ordered by the court under section four A to comply with the requirements of the commissioner may request said commissioner to provide engineering, professional or technical services for the installation of such record keeping systems, the production and installation of tax maps, the appraisal or reappraisal of property, the classification of property, or such other action as may be necessary for such city or town to comply with such court order.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 4c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 4c - Costs of Services Provided by Commissioner

Section 4C. Whenever the commissioner provides any service under the provisions of section four, four A or four B, the costs of such services shall be incurred by the commonwealth; and payment therefor shall be deducted by the state treasurer under the provisions of section twenty A of chapter fifty-eight from any amount distributable or payable by the commonwealth to such city or town.  Whenever, in the opinion of the commissioner, it is necessary for an assessor to attend any training program under the provisions of section three, the registration fees, costs of study material and necessary travel expense shall be paid by the city, town or district of such assessor.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 5 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 5 - Notices and Lists; Instructing Assessors

Section 5. The commissioner may give instructions for preparing the notice and bringing in the lists required by section 29 of chapter 59, and may prescribe forms therefor so arranged that the statement of the person bringing in a list shall include all assessable property held by such person. The commissioner may prescribe forms for the lists and statements required therein relative to property held for literary, temperance, benevolent, charitable or scientific purposes.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 6 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 6 - Real Estate Values; Collecting Information

Section 6. The commissioner may collect and tabulate information as to the classification, sales price and fair cash value of real estate in the several towns. For this purpose he may require assessors to furnish him with any information in their possession, may consult persons likely to have knowledge as to the classification, sales price and fair cash value of separate parcels of real estate, and may examine probate and other relevant records.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 7 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 7 - Unpaid Taxes; Obtaining Information; Affidavits

Section 7. The commissioner shall from time to time secure information as to any unpaid taxes in any town, may examine the books, records and papers of collectors and assessors, and of other town officers, and may require them to make reports to him.  The commissioner may annually obtain from local officials at the expense of the commonwealth copies of all affidavits executed under section thirty-six of chapter fifty-one, and shall include the information obtained from such affidavits in any examination of tax records so as to insure the payment of taxes by all domiciliaries of the commonwealth. The commissioner shall also forward a copy of such list of residents to the registrar of motor vehicles.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 8b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 8b - Reimbursement Claims by Cities and Towns; Filing; Time Limitation

Section 8B. All reimbursement claims to which a city or town may be entitled on account of exemptions and abatements granted under section five of chapter fifty-nine shall be filed with the commissioner of revenue on or before the end of the fiscal year to which said claims relate.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 8c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 8c - Affordable Housing Sites; Abatement of Real Estate Tax Obligations

Section 8C. A city or town may establish, relative to sites or portions of sites that will be used as affordable housing, as defined in section 1 of chapter 60, or affordable housing and commercial, an agreement between the city or town and the developer of the sites or portions of sites, regarding the abatement of up to 75 per cent of the outstanding real estate tax obligations and up to 100 per cent of the outstanding interest and costs on the sites or portions of sites. The agreement, for the purpose of developing affordable housing on such sites and redevelopment in such communities, shall include, but shall not be limited to, the amount outstanding, the per cent of interest to accrue if determined applicable by the parties, the description of quantifiable monthly payments, the inception date of such payments, the date of the final payment, late penalties, the number of affordable units, and any other contractual obligations arranged between the parties. The terms of repayment shall be set at the discretion of the municipality and shall be included in the agreement between the parties. A city or town that accepts this section shall adopt an ordinance or by-law specifying the method for negotiating and approving agreements under this section. Copies of each such agreement shall be signed by the municipal officer required by the ordinance or by-law and by the owner of the property in question, notarized, attested to by the city or town clerk, and provided to the department of housing and community development, the city council or board of selectmen, and the owners of the property in question. An abatement under this paragraph may be granted only for a new owner of a parcel who is not liable for any of the outstanding charges secured by the municipality's lien. This section shall take effect in any city or town only upon its acceptance by such city or town. The commissioner, in consultation with the department of housing and community development, may make, and from time to time revise, such reasonable rules and regulations that are consistent with provisions of the preceding paragraph as he deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this paragraph.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 9 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 9 - Proposed Equalized Valuation; Establishment

Section 9. In the year nineteen hundred and sixty-six and in every second year thereafter, the commissioner shall, on or before June first, determine and establish for each city and town a proposed equalized valuation which shall be the fair cash value of all property in such city or town subject to local taxation as of January first in such year.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 10 (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 10 - Determination of Equalized Valuation

Section 10. In determining the equalized valuations required by section nine, the commissioner shall make and issue such comprehensive assessment ratio studies of the average level of assessment, the degrees of assessment, uniformity, and over-all compliance with assessment and classification requirements for each major class of property in each city and town of the commonwealth as he shall deem appropriate to indicate the degree of compliance with the law and rules and regulations for the assessment and classification of property in each city and town.  For the purposes of this section, the commissioner shall collect and tabulate information relative to all sales of real estate and shall also cause appraisals to be made of properties of various classes in each city and town sufficient in number and so selected, by random sampling or otherwise, as to (a) confirm the assessment ratio derived from selling prices, (b) assist in determining assessment ratio wherever the number of sales is insufficient to represent all properties of any specific class in a city or town, (c) provide a substitute for selling prices of properties of a unique character or which are sold at infrequent intervals, and (d) establish an assessment ratio for personal property assessed in each city or town.  The commissioner may require from state, city and town officers and from individual property owners such returns and statements relative to the amount and value of taxable property and the income derived therefrom in the several cities and towns as he deems necessary. If a city or town fails to submit such information in its possession or which it can reasonably be expected to obtain as the commissioner requests in writing for use in determining the equalized valuations required by section nine and such failure continues for thirty days after such written request, such city or town shall not have a right to submit testimony to the commissioner as provided under section ten A and the decision of the commissioner with respect to such city or town shall be final.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 10a (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 10a - Proposed Equalized Valuation; Notice and Hearing; Changes

Section 10A. On or before June tenth, in each year in which an equalization is to be established, the commissioner shall hold a public hearing on the proposed equalized valuations. He shall send written notice thereof, together with a copy of the proposed equalized valuations, to the assessors of each city and town on or before June first of such year. The commissioner may, on the basis of any new information furnished to him at such hearing or otherwise, change the proposed equalized valuation of any city or town. Notice of any change shall be sent to the assessors of such city or town on or before July twentieth next following.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 10b (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 10b - Appeal to Appellate Tax Board

Section 10B. On or before August tenth next following, a city or town aggrieved by the equalized valuation established by the commissioner under sections nine and ten A may appeal the determination of the commissioner to the appellate tax board. The appellant shall have the burden of proving that the equalized valuation of such city or town is substantially different from the commissioner's determination. Every such appeal shall be decided by the board not later than January twentieth of the year next following the year in which it is filed. If the board fails to act upon an appeal within said time, it shall be deemed to be a denial of such appeal. The decision of the board shall be final.
MA Gen L ch 58 § 10c (2021)
2021 Massachusetts General Laws|Part I - Administration of the Government|Title IX - Taxation|Chapter 58 - General Provisions Relative to Taxation|Section 10c - Final Equalization and Apportionment; Establishment; Report to General Court

Section 10C. On or before January thirty-first of the year next following the year for which an equalization is to be established, the commissioner shall, on the basis of the equalized valuations determined under sections nine and ten A, as modified by the appellate tax board under section ten B, establish a final equalization and apportionment upon the several cities and towns as of January first of such year of the fair cash value of all property in the commonwealth subject to local taxation, the fair cash value of all such property in each city and town, the ratio which the fair cash value of all such property in each city or town bears to the fair cash value of all such property in the commonwealth, and the proportion of county tax, which should be assessed upon each city and town. Prior to establishing a final equalization and apportionment, the commissioner shall add to the equalized valuations so determined the fair cash value of all property subject to the excise imposed by section ten of chapter one hundred and twenty-one A and said property shall, for the purpose of this section only, be deemed property subject to local taxation. The fair cash value of said property shall be established by the commissioner at an amount no higher than that which would result if the owner thereof were paying a tax under the provisions of chapter fifty-nine equal to the total payments made to the city or town under chapter one hundred and twenty-one A in the most recent calendar year, and if all property actually subject to local taxation in such city or town were being assessed at the equalized valuation determined by the commissioner hereunder. The equalized valuations and apportionments so established shall be the basis for all state, county or district assessments, distributions and appropriated grants and reimbursements which are based on equalized valuations and apportionments, in the next two-year period and until another equalization and apportionment has been established.