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H 3008

Convention of the States

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Sylleste Davis and 16 co-sponsors

Expands MA 61A tax breaks: owners with two+ noncontiguous parcels totaling 5+ acres qualify if within 10 miles or same municipality, treated as contiguous for benefits.

Roll call Ayes-29 Nays-14
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Bill Summary · H 3008

Summary — H 3008: “Convention of the States” (with related Chapter 61A amendment text)

This docketed item (H 3008) contains two distinct pieces of legislative text that appear together in the file: (1) a narrow amendment to Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 61A concerning non‑contiguous farmland, and (2) a concurrent resolution applying under Article V of the U.S. Constitution for a limited interstate convention to propose a congressional term‑limits amendment (the “Convention of the States” language). Both appear in the same bill file and share legislative action records through 2025.

Main purposes

  • Chapter 61A amendment (Massachusetts): Allow owners who hold two or more non‑contiguous parcels of land that total at least five acres to qualify for Chapter 61A (agricultural/open‑space preferential tax treatment) provided the parcels are either within a 10‑mile radius of one another or entirely within a single municipality; treat such acreage “as if the land was contiguous.”
  • Concurrent resolution (Article V): Instructs the state to apply to the U.S. Congress under Article V to call a convention limited to proposing a constitutional amendment establishing limits on the number of terms a person may serve in the U.S. House and Senate. It sets express reservations and constraints on any such convention.

Key provisions — Chapter 61A (land taxation)

  • Adds language to Section 4 of Chapter 61A: owners of two or more non‑contiguous parcels that total ≥5 acres may apply for Chapter 61A benefits if parcels are within a 10‑mile radius or within a single municipality.
  • Such non‑contiguous acreage must meet all other Chapter 61A eligibility requirements and is treated as contiguous for benefit purposes.

Key provisions — Article V concurrent resolution

  • The legislature applies to Congress to call a convention limited to proposing congressional term limits.
  • Directs the Secretary of State to transmit the application to federal leaders, the state’s U.S. delegation, and presiding officers in other state legislatures.
  • States the application is a “continuing application” and should be aggregated with other states’ applications that seek the same limited subject (term limits), but not with applications on other subjects.
  • Lists reservations: Congress has only ministerial duties (setting time/place); Congress may not set convention rules or delegates; states retain delegate appointment and recall authority; convention votes are by state (one state, one vote); explicitly prohibits consideration of amendments affecting the Bill of Rights or the 13th–15th Amendments; recommends ratification by state legislatures.

Who is affected

  • Chapter 61A change: Massachusetts farmland owners with multiple non‑contiguous parcels, local assessors, and municipal tax administration.
  • Article V resolution: primarily a policy/action by the state government—impacts national amendment process only if two‑thirds (34) of states make similar applications; no immediate change to federal law.

Procedural / timeline highlights

  • Prefiled/Introduced: December 2024–January 2025 (multiple entries in the file).
  • Chapter 61A amendment: appears in early Massachusetts docketing and referral to Revenue committee (filed 1/17/2025).
  • Article V concurrent resolution: introduced and reported by Judiciary committee (February–March 2025), amended 3/5/2025, adopted by the chamber and sent to Senate; Senate concurrence and final adoption recorded (Roll call Ayes 29, Nays 14 on 2025‑05‑07). Committee/house scheduling and hearings noted (hearing scheduled 07/15/2025; later procedural actions through 11/12/2025).
  • Fiscal impact: administrative/mail costs for Secretary of State transmission cited as minimal and absorbable within existing resources.

Notes

  • The bill file intermixes materials from two different tracks (state tax statute amendment and an Article V interstate‑convention application). Readers should treat them as separate substantive items that were processed together in the legislative docket.
  • The Article V resolution does not itself change the U.S. Constitution — it is an application to Congress requesting that Congress call a limited convention if the constitutional threshold of state applications is reached.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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