allowing municipalities to adopt a requirement that property owners be given notice when the assessed value of their property changes by certain amounts.
What changed between versions
The bill changed from mandating that ALL municipalities must send assessment change notices to allowing municipalities to optionally vote to adopt the requirement. This shifts the burden from every municipality to only those that choose to participate.
A $1,000 minimum threshold was added: notice is only required when a property's assessed value changes by more than $1,000, meaning small adjustments no longer trigger a notice obligation.
New procedures were added for how municipalities adopt the option: by majority vote of the legislative body, or via official ballot at annual town meeting with specific ballot language provided. Cities and towns without town meetings use a legislative body majority vote.
An exception was added for years in which a full municipality-wide revaluation is conducted, during which the notice requirement does not apply.
If a municipality adopts the option, an annual question to rescind it must be placed on the official ballot at town meeting, giving residents ongoing control over whether the requirement continues.
The fiscal note changed from estimating an indeterminable increase of less than $10,000 per municipality in staff time, printing, and mailing costs to stating there is no fiscal impact, reflecting that the obligation is now optional rather than universal.
