A plan by Gov. Maura Healey aimed at helping municipal governments reduce fiscal pressures and better serve communities at the local level is winning praise from mayors and town administrators in Hampshire County — athough like last year, the legislation is likely to face an uphill climb in the Legislature.

Healey two weeks ago refiled the so-called Municipal Empowerment Act, a sweeping bill that includes a package of local-option tax hikes and other policy changes that her administration claims will help communities alleviate some financial strains, attract a talented workforce and streamline operations.

Local leaders say they are excited that Healey has refiled the legislation, noting the potential it brings for more robust public conversations around municipal revenue streams and quality services. But the previous version of this legislation died without ever coming to a vote, and the bill faces uncertainty in the Legislature this time around as well.

Healey’s bill retains efficiency measures that were part of a version of the legislation filed last session, such as permanently enabling municipalities to conduct hybrid public meetings (the latest pandemic-era extension allowing hybrid meetings is set to expire on March 31), reforming procurement rules to make it easier for communities to collectively bid contracts, among other changes, and upping enforcement that requires utility companies to remove “double poles” faster.

New provisions have also been added with goals of aiding local public health outcomes and lowering local costs.

Easthampton Mayor Nicole LaChapelle said that municipal government is unique in that the work it does has a direct impact on the lives of residents, and the legislation will help officials do that.

“We must be nimble and flexible, but most importantly, we must be efficient because municipal budgets are small and tight,” she said in a statement. “The efforts here by the Healey-Driscoll administration help us enhance and balance the needs of our residents and the changing financial landscape municipalities experience.”

LaChapelle said that in particular, the bill’s proposed reforms to procurement law would be a “game-changer.” Those changes would clarify that groups of cities and towns can award multiple contracts through RFP processes and purchase both supplies and services through collectively bid contracts. 

“Updating it, modernizing it, is just very important for western Mass.,” LaChapelle said about procurement law in an interview. With the bill’s proposed changes, LaChapelle said that cities and towns could “get the word out” about their RFP processes faster, and also get their work done faster.

In Easthampton specifically, she sees potential for the opportunities the bill presents to introduce new revenue streams, which she sees as “opportunities to realign our priorities with the needs of our community.”

The bill would increase the maximum local option tax on hotels and rentals from 6% of the price of a room to 7%, and increase the maximum local option meals tax from 0.75% to 1%. It would also allow municipalities to add up to a 5% surcharge to motor vehicle excise tax bills.

These options, LaChapelle said, invite more opportunities for municipalities like Easthampton, where costs are on the rise, to reduce financial strains. Should the bill pass, LaChapelle looks forward to plentiful public discussions about potentially implementing such options.

But one piece of the legislation included in its previous version that LaChapelle was disappointed not to find in its refiling was a clause offering more local control over the number of liquor licenses available to give to businesses. LaChapelle noted that there are times when a new business approaches the city with interest in establishing a location there, but ultimately decides to settle elsewhere because there are no available liquor licenses.

This, she said, can be a hindrance to economic development — especially in a city like Easthampton, where the vibrant restaurant and brewery scene is a draw for many.

Other local officials see the act as a demonstration of the Healey administration’s commitment to local communities.

“It’s wonderful to have an administration that gets out into communities, hears directly from local leaders about what we need from the state to be able to deliver for the people we serve, and then acts on it,” South Hadley Town Administrator and former Fitchburg mayor Lisa Wong wrote in a statement of support. “The Municipal Empowerment Act is a comprehensive package that will make local government work more efficiently and effectively, providing municipalities with much needed resources to better serve our residents.”

In a similar statement, Mayor Joshua A. Garcia of Holyoke wrote that “with the Municipal Empowerment Act, local governments will be given the flexibility needed to create a brighter and more inclusive future for residents. It recognizes the challenges faced by municipalities and demonstrates a commitment to their well-being.”

Other provisions in the bill would:

■Expand municipalities’ ability to reduce school bus costs by repealing a law that limits districts’ ability to start in-house school bus services when private transportation companies are available.

■ Support the prevention of drug overdoses by ensuring that anyone, including local public safety officials, who administers fentanyl strips — used to test for the presence of fentanyl in street drugs — will not be subject to criminal or civil liability.

■Create new property tax exemptions for seniors to allow cities and towns to adopt a Senior Means Tested Property Tax Exemption for qualifying seniors and to increase existing senior property tax exemptions.

■Address long-term benefit funding pressures by establishing a new Other Post-Employment Benefits Commission to take a fresh look at opportunities to address unfunded liabilities from non-pension employee benefits.

■Allow the creation of Regional Boards of Assessors to allow municipalities to streamline duties and reduce significant staffing challenges.

■Update borrowing rules for school projects to increase from 30 years to 40 years the bond term to more closely reflect the life expectancy of the project.

Rough sailing ahead?

State Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, D-Northampton, said that when the bill was previously introduced, “at the end of the day, it was a bill that needed a little bit more time.” Sabadosa noted that parts of the bill were very popular, like making the exception for remote public meetings permanent, while other parts raised a lot of questions.

Since the bill’s filing this time around, she has been hearing some concerns from constituents about potential tax increases, which they already feel are high enough. As the bill moves through the Legislature this time, Sabadosa said it will be a “delicate balancing act” to ensure that municipalities have revenue streams to fund services, but taxpayers are not overburdened.

State Sen. Jo Comerford said it is too early to tell how the bill will be received by her colleagues this session, as it hasn’t yet been discussed in committee, but that she is hopeful for its success. Comerford said she is grateful to Healey for filing the bill, and that she has since been speaking with constituents about how the legislation could be refined or expanded to better serve their communities.

“My own hope is that this is … a significant opportunity to do a bill that I filed called the Municipal Building Bill,” said Comerford.

The senator explained that this bill would aid communities in building public infrastructure such as town halls, senior centers, public safety complexes and other spaces that are much needed but formidable projects for many municipalities to undertake. As she continues to work with constituents and her peers in the legislature to shape the Municipal Empowerment Act, she hopes also to use it as a “vehicle” for the Municipal Building Bill.

“I believe that municipalities need more tools … to make their budgets work,” said Comerford.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.