An Act to establish a local option municipal excise tax on unused utility corridors

This bill allows Massachusetts municipalities to impose a tax on railroad and utility companies for unused rights of way that have remained idle for over 10 years. Under the proposed law, towns that choose to adopt this measure can charge a fee of $0.10 per linear foot annually for each unused corridor within their borders. The tax would be paid directly to the state by the utility or railroad companies and then distributed quarterly back to the adopting municipalities based on the amount of unused land located in their jurisdiction.