WGBH article today says the Governor’s Municipal Empowerment bill that would have allowed towns to garner additional revenues has died in the legislature.
Healey’s bill to let cities, towns hike some taxes quietly dies on Beacon Hill
May 27, 2026
Gov. Maura Healey has tried twice to give cities and towns the ability to collect more revenue by raising some local taxes. State lawmakers have now rebuffed the idea for the second session in a row.
In January 2025, Healey filed legislation dubbed the Municipal Empowerment Act, intended to help local governments run more efficiently and tackle financial challenges. It was the second time she put forward a version of the bill, after the first version died the previous term without a vote in the Legislature.
The bill, among other measures, included sections that would let cities and towns adopt an extra surcharge on top of their existing motor vehicle excise taxes and increase local meals and lodging taxes in communities that have adopted those taxes. It wouldn’t require any municipality to raise taxes.
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