Massachusetts General Laws
Chapter 40x - Tourism Destination Marketing Districts
Section 9 - Amendment to Tourism Destination Marketing District Plan; Public Hearing and Notice; Amendment of District Boundaries

Section 9. (a) At any time after the establishment of a tourism destination marketing district pursuant to this chapter, the tourism destination marketing district plan upon which the establishment was based may, upon the recommendation of the management entity's tourism destination marketing district committee be amended by the municipal governing body of the lead jurisdiction after compliance with the procedures set forth in this section; provided, however, that a lead jurisdiction may not approve amendments to the boundaries of a tourism destination marketing district that include the territorial jurisdiction of a city or town not yet included in the tourism destination marketing district without the consent, by vote, from such other city or town's local municipal governing body.
  Amendments to the tourism destination marketing district plan shall be subject to the approval of the municipal governing body of the lead jurisdiction for the following: (i) providing for additional supplemental services that affect more than 25 per cent of the total annual budget; (ii) incurring indebtedness; (iii) changing the special assessment methodology, management entity or tourism destination marketing district committee; or (iv) change the tourism destination marketing district boundaries; provided, however, that said municipal governing body, after a public hearing, determines that it is in the public interest to adopt said amendments.
  (b) The municipal governing body shall give notice of the public hearing for the amendment to the district plan. Such notice shall be published for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the area, with the first date of publication beginning at least 14 days prior to such hearing, and shall specify the time and the place of such hearing and the amendments to be considered.
  (c) The local municipal governing body may, within 30 days of the public hearing and, in its sole discretion, declare the amendments approved or disapproved. If approved, such amendments shall be effective upon the date of such approval.
  (d) Upon the adoption of any amendment to the tourism destination marketing district boundaries that increases the size of the tourism destination marketing district, any assessed lodging business owner to be added to the tourism destination marketing district shall be notified of the new boundaries of the tourism destination marketing district in accordance with section 4.
[ Subsection (e) added by 2021, 29, Sec. 15 effective July 29, 2021.]
  (e) The municipal governing body of a lead jurisdiction shall notify the commissioner of the approval of any amendment to a tourism destination marketing district plan within 48 hours of the formal approval of such amendment. Any change in assessment rate shall take effect in the manner provided in subsection (a) of section 8.

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