"the 1986 law does spell out the two-year process for returning the money"

"THE BAKER ADMINISTRATION  is preparing to change the rules for returning roughly $3 billion in excess tax collections so the governor can send out checks to Massachusetts taxpayers before he leaves office in January.

But a legal expert, citing a 1987 Supreme Judicial Court decision, says the changes being proposed by Gov. Charlie Baker appear to violate the voter-approved law governing excess tax collections as well as the constitutional prohibition on appropriations in ballot questions.

The governor’s move to change the rules suggests he is eager to return the money to taxpayers as quickly as possible, perhaps to claim credit for returning the money or to return it before the Legislature can take any action to tinker with the law or prevent all of the funds from going out. "

Continue reading the CommonWealth Magazine article online ->

https://commonwealthmagazine.org/state-government/baker-changing-rules-on-tax-cap-giveback/

 

Gov. Charlie Baker at a State House press conference. (Pool file photo by Jessica Rinaldi/Boston Globe)