Governor Maura Healey filed legislation to help local governments across Massachusetts reduce long-term fiscal pressures, attract a talented workforce, provide high-quality services, and streamline operations to best serve residents.

The Municipal Empowerment Act retains major efficiency measures that were part of the legislation filed last session. This includes permanently enabling municipalities to permit hybrid public meetings as well as new provisions have been added to help local officials improve public health and lower costs.

One of the provisions creates new property tax exemptions for seniors to allow cities and towns to adopt a Senior Means Tested Property Tax Exemption for qualifying seniors and to increase existing senior property tax exemptions.

Other sections (§§ 48, 52, 62) propose Personal Exemptions/Trusts, which would “extend the local option cities and towns have for veterans whose domicile is held in trust, conservatorship or other fiduciary arrangement qualify as the owner for exemption purposes to seniors, blind persons and other individuals eligible for personal exemptions.”

More information on the Municipal Empowerment Act is available here.