Tracking List: 23_24 JtR10 Reports

Establishes a special commission tasked with developing recommendations to expand the cryptocurrency industry and the use of blockchain technology in the Commonwealth.

Amends GL 18:2 relative to Comprehensive Financial Assistance Program within the Department of Transitional Assistance by adding a requirement that DCF also provide “financial literacy” along with health, mental health, educational, correctional and employment services for persons who are unable to provide such services for themselves.

Amends GL 26:8G relative to the Auto Damage Appraiser Licensing Board by expanding its membership and transferring the Board from the Division of Insurance to the Division of Professional Licensure; provides for the Attorney General to appoint two new members, including a member to represent her office, as well as a member unaffiliated with an auto body shop or an insurance company to represent the interests of consumers; additionally, replaces an appointee from the Commissioner of Insurance with an appointee from the Commissioner of the Division of Professional Licensure; prohibits members from serving more than 2 consecutive and complete 3 year terms.

Amends GL Chapter 93H relative to electronic data security breaches by rewriting substantial portions of the chapter; requires a store or other entity that caused a data breach to reimburse the financial institution that issued any credit cards of access devices for the costs of reasonable actions undertaken by the financial institution as a result of the breach in order to protect the information of its cardholders; these reasonable actions include the cancellation or reissuance of cards, the closure and reopening of any deposit, transaction, share draft, or other accounts affected by the breach, stop payments or block transactions, any refund to a cardholder to cover the cost of any unauthorized transaction relating to the breach; and the notification of cardholders affected by the breach.  Provides that a business that maintains procedures for responding to a breach of security pursuant to federal laws, rules, regulations, guidance, or guidelines, is deemed to be in compliance with this chapter if the person notifies affected Massachusetts residents in accordance with the maintained or required procedures when a breach occurs; the notice to be provided to customers is to include the consumers right to obtain a police report, how a consumer requests a security freeze, and any fees required to be paid to any of the consumer reporting agencies.

Adds a new GL Chapter 93L entitled "Bad Faith Assertions of Patent Infringement," intended to prohibit the assertion of bad faith patent infringement claims; defines facts relevant to whether patent infringement claims are in bad faith, including whether a demand letter contains the patent number and specific areas of infringement, whether or not a thorough comparative analysis between products is completed, whether the demand letter requires payment or response in a short amount of time, or whether the letter falsely states a lawsuit has been filed; defines facts relevant to whether a patent infringement claim was filed in good faith, including a substantial investment in the patent and a good faith effort to demonstrate the infringement and negotiate an appropriate remedy; authorizes damages of at least $50,000 and order reimbursement to the Commonwealth and restitution to the victim.

Adds new Sections 34I-34L to GL Chapter 71, regulating the privacy of student and educator information as it relates to a specific student, teacher, principal, or administrator that enable identification of that individual; prohibits operators of Internet websites, online services, online applications, or mobile applications used for K-12 school purposes from engaging in targeted advertising, using information from the site or platform to create user profiles, or selling or disclosing user information; requires such operators to implement and maintain security procedures and practices to protect user information; authorizes and regulates access to such information by law enforcement; establishes private rights of action for violation of such privacy rights; require contracts for such sites and platforms to include language pertaining to privacy protections; directs the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education to establish regulations pertaining to data security and privacy responsibilities of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and educational, including minimum required security standards for operators.

Establishes a commission to study the financial abuse of elders in the Commonwealth; and directs the commission to file a report with policy recommendations to prevent the financial abuse of elders by December 31, 2026. 

Adds new section 17 to GL Chapter 167E, requiring banks and lending institutions to issue monthly statements to their mortgage loan customers. 

Amends GL 184:17B½, exempting a first-time home loan that is a Qualified Mortgage from this section as of January 1, 2022. 

Adds a new section in GL c. 10 (Department of the State Treasurer) that establishes and regulates the Massachusetts Secure Choice Savings Program Act, with both a savings fund and an administrative fund. In particular: Requires the savings fund to be administered and controlled by a seven person board; Establishes and regulates the membership and operation of the board; Directs the board to ensure that the program focuses on participation, savings, sound investment practices, ease of use, efficient enrollment and portability; Regulates investment option under the program; Directs the board to evaluate different investment options and hire qualified parties, including investment managers, financial institutions and auditors, to run the program and fund; Requires the Board to distribute information about the program to eligible employers; Requires employers to establish a payroll system for employee contributions and to automatically enroll employees who do not opt out of the program; Regulates employee options for participation; Requires annual audited financial reports by the board; Imposes penalties on employers who fail to enroll employees in the program; and Details administrative requirements for implementation of the program. Please note that this substantive bill is substantially similar to but not identical to HB996.

Amends various provisions of the General Laws to direct insurers to provide coverage for cytological screenings and HPV screenings with no cost sharing to the member.

Adds a new Section 70 to GL Chapter 183, outlining unfair and deceptive acts in the solicitation of a consumer for a mortgage loan during which the solicitation is based on information contained in a mortgage trigger lead. 

Adds a new GL Chapter 183, regulating the issuance of flood insurance by private insurance companies; directs Commissioner of Insurance to track and report the participation of private flood insurers annually.

This highly technical bill makes various changes to the banking laws in the commonwealth, including those related to supervision of banks, electronic branches and fund transfers, bank locations, mortgages and loans, mutual holding companies, corporate bank transactions, mergers, consolidations and purchase of assets and conversions, corporate governance, and savings banks; in particular, this bill changes references to cooperative banks in stock form, savings banks in stock form, and modifies language referring to banks and banking to financial services; the bill additionally modifies the process for corporate bank mergers and consolidations.  

Adds a new Chapter 110I to the General Laws, entitled Financial Exploitation of Seniors and Adults with Disabilities. Under the chapter, “adult protective services agency” is any office, division, department, or unit in the Commonwealth that is charged with the investigation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of elder adults or a disabled person, as defined in GL c.19C; a “qualified individual” means any agent, investment adviser representative, bank employee, or person who serves in a supervisory, compliance, or legal capacity for a financial institution. The Secretary of State is to have supervisory power over the chapter. In particular the new chapter: Mandates that qualified individuals report suspected financial exploitation of eligible adults to the Secretary and relevant adult protective services agencies; Details the necessary information in the report, including the names and addresses of the eligible adult and caretaker, the nature of the injury or condition, and any other pertinent details; Allows qualified individuals to notify designated third parties if financial exploitation is suspected, except when the third party is suspected of exploitation; Permits financial institutions to delay disbursements or transactions when exploitation is suspected, requiring them to notify all authorized parties and conduct internal reviews; the delay authorization expires after a specified period unless extended by court order; Mandates that financial institutions provide relevant records related to financial exploitation to the Secretary, adult protective services, or law enforcement during investigations;  Confirms that the Secretary's authority to access and examine financial records of broker-dealers or investment advisers remains intact; Offers immunity to qualified individuals who, in good faith and exercising reasonable care, comply with the chapter's provisions, while clarifying that this immunity doesn't protect individuals involved in financial exploitation;  Allows eligible adults or their representatives to file civil claims for damages if financial exploitation occurs.

Establishes uniform confidentiality and enforcement provisions relative to certain licensees under the jurisdiction of the Division of Banks, including check cashers & money order agents, institutions engaging in foreign deposit transmissions, insurance premium finance agencies, mortgage lenders, institutions engaging in motor vehicle installment sales or retail installment sales and services, institutions engaging in small loans business, and third party loan servicers. For all of these kinds of institutions the bill enacts relatively parallel provisions, to establish, for example, that each day that a license violation occurs or continues will be deemed to be a separate offense; That the Commissioner of Banks has the power to investigate complaints, but that the Commissioner will be required to preserve a full record of each examination of a licensee, including a statement of its condition; That records of investigations and reports of examinations are to be confidential and privileged communications, not subject to subpoena, and not designated a public record; That the Commissioner has the power to issue summons as part of an investigation; That the refusal to appear, without justifiable cause, to cooperate with a summons may subject a person to a misdemeanor fine of up to $1,000 or by imprisonment for up to year; That the Commissioner of Banks to issue a cease and desist order when he or she concludes, after a hearing, that a licensee has engaged in or is about to engage in an unlawful act or practice; That the Commissioner is to suspend or revoke a license if the Commissioner finds violations of law or finds that any fact or condition exists which, if it had existed at the time of the original application for the license, would have warranted the Commissioner in refusing to issue the license; That no revocation, suspension or surrender of a license will impair the obligation of any pre-existing lawful contract. Also strikes certain parallel provisions, including those that require that a copy of a license be prominently displayed in the place of business; That a license is only valid for one year; That a license may not be transferred or assigned; That certain financial institutions must deposit a surety bond, cash or securities of $100,000 with the State Treasurer. Clarifies that certain types of financial institutions, such as a sales finance company, also includes a national banking association, federal savings bank, federal savings and loan association, federal credit union, or any bank, trust company, savings bank, savings and loan association or credit union organized under the laws of any other state of the United States, or any subsidiary of the above.

Raises from $50,000 to $75,000 the minimum first-party property insurance coverage insurers must offer for remediation of home heating oil releases and raises from $200,000 to $250,000 the minimum third-party liability coverage for such claims.

Strikes out  Chapter 40P, the Massachusetts Rent Control Prohibition Act, enacted by the voters as an initiative petition in 1994, and replaces it with a new GL c.40P, entitled Tenant Protection Act. The new chapter is intended to provide municipalities with local options for rent stabilization, just cause eviction protections, condominium conversion ordinances, and other tenant protections. In particular: Establishes that cities or towns may adopt these provisions at local option, and authorizes cities and towns to regulate the rent and eviction of tenants in multi-family housing and provide for reasonable exemptions; Establishes that may provide for “fair return standards” for the regulation of rent (not defined); Establishes that a city or town that accepts these provisions may provide “just cause” protections, and that will not be allowed to recover a leased unit within both multi-family housing and residential dwellings unless a court makes one of nine specific findings, including: The lessee has failed to pay the rent; The lessee has violated c.93A; The lessee is committing or permitting a nuisance to exist; The lessee has used or permitted a leased unit to be used for any illegal purposes; The lessee has refused an extension or renewal of a lease at a rate that exceeds the CPI; The lessee has refused the lessor reasonable access to make necessary repairs or improvements required by law; The person holding at the end of a lease term is a sublessee not approved by the lessor; The lessor seeks to recover possession of a leased unit for their own personal use or that of family members; The lessor seeks to recover possession for any other just cause. Enacts the following additional provisions: Allows municipalities to regulate the conversion of housing to condominium or cooperative forms; Specifies the maximum rent for regulated rental units based on the rent charged 12 months prior to acceptance of this section; Permits cities or towns to regulate deposits and non-refundable move-in fees; Specifies installment payment options for a tenant's last month's rent and security deposit; Allows cities or towns to implement or exempt provisions of the chapter in distinct anti-displacement zones; Permits community organizations to petition for the establishment of anti-displacement zones.

Adds a new Section 31 to GL Chapter 23B, codifying the program of Rental Assistance for Families in Transition in new section 31 of GL23B; specifies eligibility standards and funding priorities for program; establishes annual reporting requirements for DHCD; provides that records of assistance provided are public records with the exception of the identities of tenants and subtenants.

Adds a new Section 31 to GL Chapter 23B, codifying the program of Rental Assistance for Families in Transition in new section 31 of GL23B; specifies eligibility standards and funding priorities for program; establishes annual reporting requirements for DHCD; provides that records of assistance provided are public records with the exception of the identities of tenants and subtenants.

Requires any anyone entering into an agreement or facilitating an agreement for the sale or conveyance of residential real estate including, but not limited to a real estate agent, real estate broker or salesperson, to provide the prospective purchaser with a copy of the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency homebuyers’ guide; exempts sales that don’t include a real estate agent, broker or salesperson from such requirement; imposes a fine of up $100 for failure to provide the guide to prospective purchasers; additionally requires mortgage brokers to provide the guide to mortgage applicants prior to obtaining a credit report; directs the MHFA to create a homebuyers’ guide for residential homebuyers with basic information to consider when purchasing a home.

Submits the Uniform Trust Decanting Act for enactment in the commonwealth; the Uniform Trust Decanting Act, authored by the Uniform Law Commission, has been adopted in 8 states as of 9/5/19, and is under consideration in Massachusetts; the uniform law provides methods for reforming and modernizing an existing irrevocable trust; decanting is used to distribute assets from one trust to another, and allows greater flexibility to address unforeseen circumstances; the UTDA allows a trustee to modify irrevocable trusts within reasonable limits that are consistent with the settlors original intent; prohibits any decanting that defeat charitable or tax-related goals of the settlor; additionally modifies the Massachusetts uniform probate code (GL Chapter 203E) to harmonize definitions found in the UTDA; provides for implementation of the UTDA effective January 1, 2020. 

Amends GL 6:220 (Facial Recognition Searches) to implement the recommendations of the special commission on facial recognition technology. As rewritten the section now provides that it is unlawful — absent express authorization — for a law enforcement agency or officer to acquire, possess, access, use, assist with the use of or provide resources for the development or use of any biometric surveillance technology. No information obtained in violation of this section will be admissible in any criminal, civil, administrative or other proceeding. in addition, it will be unlawful for a law enforcement agency of officer to use a biometric surveillance system to infer a person’s emotions or affect, or to use a biometric surveillance system to analyze moving images or video data. However, the Registrar of Motor Vehicles may acquire, possess, or use facial recognition technology to verify an individual’s identity when issuing licenses, permits or other documents; in addition, the Department of State Police may perform a facial recognition search for four enumerated purposes. These exceptions include: to execute a warrant duly authorized by a judge based on probable cause that an unidentified or unconfirmed individual in an image has committed a felony; upon reasonable belief that an emergency involving immediate danger of death or serious physical injury to any individual or group of people requires the performance of a facial recognition search without delay; to identify a deceased person; or on behalf of another law enforcement agency or a federal agency All persons charged with a crime who were identified using a facial recognition search must be provided notice thereof; law enforcement agencies and district attorneys must make readily available to defendants and their attorneys in criminal prosecutions all records and information pertaining to any facial recognition searches performed or requested during the course of the investigation. Each non-law enforcement public agency shall document, as a public record, each facial recognition search requested and each facial recognition search performed by its public officials and report this information quarterly to the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security. 

Authorizes the Attorney General to file complaints against employers for failure to notify employees of negative information included in their personnel file, and for failing to provide the employee an opportunity to review and rebut the information.

Establishes a Climate Risk Investment Review Committee to study and recommend divestment of public pension funds from fossil fuels and actively managed investment funds with fossil fuel investments; prohibits the acquisition of such investments directly or indirectly through actively managed funds.

Amends GL 59:64 (Property Tax Abatement Appeals) and GL 59:69 (Reimbursements) to increase the rate of interest to be paid on successful abatements from eight per cent to a rate equal to the federal funds rate as published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on July 1 of the applicable fiscal year.

Rewrites the solar energy tax credit (as set forth in GL 59:5 ¶45th), first by requiring that the solar unit be capable of providing up to 125% of the electricity needs of the household in question, and second by requiring that solar or wind-powered systems are not to be exempt unless the owner has made payments to the municipality where the system is located in lieu of taxes in accordance with an executed agreement. Establishes the provisions under which a municipality may execute such an agreement; establishes that an exemption is to be for not more than 20 years from the date of installation; requires the house owner to make certain annual declarations under oath; and establishes certain exemptions.

Amends numerous sections of GL 156A (Business Corporations), making in many cases rather technical amendments, including substituting 'shares' for the term 'stocks,' adding 'series' to 'classes,' by establishing that the directors, president, treasurer and secretary named in the articles of organization are to be the initial directors, president, treasurer and secretary', and by making many other technical changes in what is permitted to be part of the Articles of Organization.

This bill is a complete rewrite of the 1961 session law that created the Massachusetts Credit Union Share Insurance Corporation (SL 1961:294). The bill amends the constitution of the Corporation, the purpose of which is to create and maintain a fund for the insurance of shares and deposits of members of the Central Credit Union Fund, Inc. and credit unions established under specific laws. In particular: Establishes that an "Excess member" as an inactive member, federally chartered credit union, or state-chartered credit union whose excess shares and deposits become insured by the corporation; Removes the requirement that the credit union should be located within the commonwealth; Specifies that an excess member can only have its excess shares and deposits insured up to the maximum limitations applicable to Massachusetts state-chartered credit unions; Specifies additional requirements and provisions for excess members, including the submission of examination reports and other information, supervision and examination by the commissioner, approval for mergers, consolidations, and branch office establishment, and the existence of agreements with primary insurers and other regulators; Mandates that the board of directors of the corporation must meet at least quarterly, and a majority of the directors present will constitute a quorum; Grants the corporation the authority, through a vote of the board of directors, to borrow money and pledge its assets as security from members and others; Declares that the corporation will be considered an organization member of credit unions within the meaning of GL c.171; Allows the corporation, with a 2/3 vote of its board of directors and proper risk management policies and procedures in place, to apply to the commissioner for permission to make investments not specifically mentioned in the section; Specifies the maximum percentage of assets the corporation can invest in such investments and allows the use of investment advisers; Gives the commissioner the authority to impose conditions, limitations, and modify the corporation's investment authority; States that one or more mutual banks or subsidiary banking institutions, along with one or more credit unions, can merge or consolidate into a single credit union upon approval by the boards and written approval from the commissioner; Makes additional changes to the existing law regulating the Massachusetts Credit Union Share Insurance Corporation.

Amends GL 149:148 relative to the bi-weekly payment of wages by adding provisions that establish that any employer paying wages by payroll card account must provide the employee with the ability to make at least one withdrawal from the payroll card account in each pay period, but not more frequently than once per week, without charge, for any amount up to the full wage. Any fees associated with usage of the card after the card's initial transaction must be disclosed in advance to the employee, except for 3rd party fees not within control of the employer. Employees who receive wages by credit to a payroll card account must be provided with a means of checking their payroll card account balances, either, through an automated telephone system, or online through the use of the Internet, without cost, irrespective of the number of inquiries made.

Inserts new Chapter 93M into the General Laws, to be known as the Massachusetts Data Privacy Protection Act — the new chapter would set out a variety of restrictions on the collection, storage, use, or transfer of personal data by businesses or certain other organizations, including by: Establishing a “duty of loyalty,” restricting entities from collecting, processing, or transferring personal data beyond what is reasonably necessary to provide a variety of services; Outlining more extensive protections for particularly sensitive data, including biometric or genetic information, social security numbers, financial information, or private communications; Prohibiting the transfer of said sensitive data without an individual’s consent, except to comply with certain legal obligations; Providing for a right to access, correct, or delete an individual’s personal data held by businesses or other organizations, pending a verified request; Outlining procedures for businesses or other organizations to make disclosures to individuals regarding the intended use of their personal data, and to seek consent; Prohibiting retaliation for exercising any rights relating to management of an individual’s personal data; Restricting the collection, processing, or transferring of data in such a way that discriminates, or creates a disparate impact regarding race, gender, religion, or other protected categories; Requiring businesses or other organizations to make available their data privacy policies, as well as a means of withdrawing consent regarding the processing or transfer of an individual’s data;  Setting out enforcement mechanisms, including by authorizing the Attorney General to bring a civil action relating to mismanagement of personal data; and, Providing for the registration and oversight of “data brokers” by the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation.

Amends GL 93H:1 to add biometric indicators to the types of personal information governed by the Department of Community Affairs and Business Regulation's regulations to safeguard against security breaches; defines biometric indicator as any unique biological attribute or measurement that can be used to authenticate the identity of an individual, including fingerprints, genetic information, iris or retina patterns, facial characteristics or hand geometry.

Updates provisions on consumer credit cost disclosure as found in GL c.140 (Licenses) by striking the provisions that prohibit a merchant from charging extra for credit card transactions, and replacing it with provisions that require to post a conspicuous sign about any surcharge on their premises. New draft of SB178. The new draft makes grammatical and technical corrections to the previous bill, including the previous erroneous reference to GL c.14D.

Updates provisions on consumer credit cost disclosure as found in GL c.140 (Licenses) by striking the provisions that prohibit a merchant from charging extra for credit card transactions, and replacing it with provisions that require to post a conspicuous sign about any surcharge on their premises.

Amends GL 71:3 (Physical Education) to add mental health as a required subject for all students; requires such instruction  to recognize multiple dimensions of health by including mental health, and the relationship of physical health and mental health to enhance student understanding, attitudes and behaviors that promote health, well-being and human dignity.

This bill, consisting of 89 printed pages and 194 sections, essentially comprise the 2022 updates to the Uniform Commercial Code. The sponsoring organizations of the UCC — the Uniform Law Commission and the  American Law Institute — adopted significant amendments in 2022 to deal with consensual transactions involving digital assets. Most significantly, the 2022 amendments add a new Article 12, which governs transactions in a subset of digital assets called “controllable electronic records” and they revised Article 9 by clarifying how a secured party perfects a security interest in digital assets and ensures that its security interest has priority. In addition, the Code provides new rules for mixed transactions involving both goods and services, updates the rules for electronic negotiable instruments, updates terminology to account for electronic signatures and documents, and makes many technical and grammatical changes, including adopting gender-neutral language.

Adds a new Chapter 93L, establishing a comprehensive framework for the collection of consumer debt, known as the Debt Collection Fairness Act; establishes formula ensuring protection of wages in collection efforts; exempts weekly wages that are less than ninety times the federal or state minimum wage from garnishment or attachment; in cases where weekly wages are more than such amount, prohibits collection of more than 10% of the excess under attachment or garnishment; requires prioritization of attachments in the order they are received; exempts attachments under orders for divorce, maintenance or child support from the limitations; prohibits employers from taking adverse actions against employees with garnishment orders; requires consumer debt collection efforts to begin within 4 years; requires use of a shorter statute of limitation for consumer debt collections when available in another jurisdiction; does not allow payments made to extend the statute of limitations; permits repayment agreements which are legally binding; regulates calculation of interest on successful consumer debt collection efforts; prohibits collection of costs and legal fees in excess of 15% of the amount of the debt; defines violations of laws pertaining to collection of consumer debt as unfair business practices; regulates the application of statutes of limitations to debts that accrued before January 1, 2021.

Enacts a new section in the GL c.175 (Insurance) to require the Commissioner of Insurance to promulgate regulations with the express purpose of increasing transparency, and in particular, by requiring a mutual or mutual holding company to provide full and accurate disclosure of all compensation to the named executive officers or directors, whether paid or accrued and of all conflicts of interest, whether direct or indirect; and requiring that, at least once every 3 years, a proxy or consent or authorization or solicitation or notice of an annual meeting include a separate resolution subject to a non-binding vote to approve or disapprove the compensation of the named executive officers or directors.

Amends GL 175:4D relative to coverage to be made available to residential owners for release of heating oil by raising from $50,000 to $75,000 the minimum first-party property insurance coverage that insurers must offer for remediation of home heating oil releases; raises from $200,000 to $250,000 the minimum third-party liability coverage for such claims. New draft of Raises from SB648. The new draft makes grammatical and technical corrections to the previous bill.

Amends sections of GL 167I (Bank mergers and acquisitions) and GL 171 (Credit unions) to permit 1 or more mutual banks or subsidiary banking institutions and any 1 or more credit unions to merge or consolidate into a single credit union, and also to permit 1 or more credit unions to merge or consolidate with 1 or more savings banks, co-operative banks or subsidiary banking institutions; sets out rules and procedures for such mergers or consolidations.

Amends GL 151B:4, the MCAD statute prohibiting various kinds of discrimination in housing and employment, by adding 'unemployed' as a protected class, thereby preventing the discrimination in employment against those who are currently unemployed. The bill also prevents discrimination in employment against those who refuse to disclose their passwords to social media accounts to the potential or actual employer.    

Authorizes any independent retirement system to, in accordance with the statutorily prescribed procurement process for that system, divest from any investment in fossil fuel companies; further authorizes the board of an independent retirement system to invest in index funds or other investment vehicles that may not include fossil fuel companies; defines fossil fuel companies and independent retirement systems.

Adds a new Section 44C to GL Chapter 44B allowing municipalities to impose an affordable housing surcharge on real estate in amounts up to 2 percent of the real estate tax levied; conditions implementation upon a two-thirds vote of the appropriating committee and acceptance by voters on the next ballot; exempts  taxpayers receiving real estate tax exemptions or abatements from payment of the surcharge; allows municipalities to adopt the listed exemptions specifically related to the surcharge; regulates application for the additional exemption, as well as assessment and collection of the surcharge. 

Amends GL 62:2 (governing taxable income) to exclude discharged educational loans to permanently disabled veterans from taxable income.

Adds a new Section 5E to GL Chapter 62, establishing a new income tax deduction for amounts deposited into a first-time home buyer savings account; limits the annual deduction amounts to $5,000 for individual returns and $10,000 for joint returns; allows aggregate exemptions up to $50,000 over 15 years; regulates the designation of accounts as first-time home buyer savings accounts by April 15 of the following year, and the determination of qualified beneficiaries; requires use of the funds for eligible costs related to the purchase of a single family home to qualify for the tax deduction; imposes both taxes on deposits and penalties for use of the funds for other purposes; directs the department of revenue to establish forms for both financial institutions and designation of beneficiaries under these accounts.

Amends GL 62:3, (taxable income - deductions and exemptions) to add a deduction for the discharge of valid debt on a qualified principal residence and mortgage debt forgiven in connection with a foreclosure; regulates eligibility for such deduction. 

Amends various provisions related to the application of the Internal Revenue Code to the Massachusetts income tax code (GL Chapter 62); requires application of the Internal Revenue Code as amended and in effect for the taxable year, instead of the 2005 Internal Revenue Code, for the listed sections, including those pertaining to ABLE accounts for the benefit of disabled children, Coverdell education savings accounts, and taxation of income related to income earned through foreign controlled corporations; prohibits application of IRC section 163(j) limiting deduction of business interest to Massachusetts tax law. Further amends application of the IRC to the Massachusetts corporate income tax laws (GL Chapter 63), by requiring application of the IRC as amended an in effect for tax years beginning before January 1, 2018 for provisions related to limiting deduction of business interest, limitations on carryovers in corporate acquisitions and limitations on net operating loss carryforwards.  Implements changes in tax treatment for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017. 

Enacts a new chapter 93M into the General Laws entitled Debt Collection Fairness Act, that modernizes Massachusetts debt collection law and greatly expands consumer protections. In particular: Protects at least 90% of a debtor’s weekly wages or 65× the higher of federal or state minimum wage, whichever is greater, from garnishment. Allows additional exemptions for financial hardship, determined by a court hearing. Establishes priority rules for multiple garnishments. Protects workers employed in Massachusetts, even if their employer is based elsewhere. Excludes family law debts (child support, alimony) from these limits. Pensions and child support income are exempt from collection. Establishes that employers cannot fire or refuse to hire someone due to garnishment; violations may lead to reinstatement, back pay, and fines up to $1,000. Establishes a five year Statute of Limitations under which lawsuits must be filed within5 years from when a consumer debt arises and establishes that payments made after expiration of that period do not restart the clock. Requires 30-day written notice before a post-judgment review or supplementary process. If the debtor files a financial affidavit showing all income and assets are exempt, the court must cancel the hearing unless the creditor shows evidence of non-exempt assets. Eliminates debtors’ prison for consumer debt, so that  Caps judgment interest on consumer debts capped at: 12% annually before January 1, 2026. 3% annually for judgments or renewals on or after January 1, 2026. Caps attorney fees limited to the lesser of 15% of the debt or reasonable hourly fees for time spent. Creditors must submit documentation supporting attorney-fee claims before enforcement. Establishes that violations of certain sections amount to unfair or deceptive acts under Chapter 93A, enabling civil remedies. Establishes that any contract clause violating these sections is void and unenforceable.  

Adds new Chapter 93M, establishing a comprehensive framework for the collection of consumer debt, known as the Debt Collection Fairness Act; establishes formula ensuring protection of wages in collection efforts; exempts 90% of weekly wages from garnishment or attachment, or alternatively 65 times the hourly minimum wage; requires prioritization of attachments in the order they are received; exempts attachments under orders for divorce, maintenance or child support from the limitations; prohibits employers from taking adverse actions against employees with garnishment orders; requires consumer debt collection efforts to begin within 5 years; does not allow payments made to extend the statute of limitations; regulates calculation of interest on successful consumer debt collection efforts; prohibits collection of costs and legal fees in excess of 15% of the amount of the debt; and defines violations of laws pertaining to collection of consumer debt as unfair business practices.

Adds new Chapter 93M, establishing a comprehensive framework for the collection of consumer debt, known as the Debt Collection Fairness Act; establishes formula ensuring protection of wages in collection efforts; exempts 90% of weekly wages from garnishment or attachment, or alternatively 65 times the hourly minimum wage; requires prioritization of attachments in the order they are received; exempts attachments under orders for divorce, maintenance or child support from the limitations; prohibits employers from taking adverse actions against employees with garnishment orders; requires consumer debt collection efforts to begin within 5 years; does not allow payments made to extend the statute of limitations; regulates calculation of interest on successful consumer debt collection efforts; prohibits collection of costs and legal fees in excess of 15% of the amount of the debt; and defines violations of laws pertaining to collection of consumer debt as unfair business practices.   Printed as amended version of SB2551, incorporating the text of a corrective amendment making several, mostly minor changes.