H5538 • 2025

An Act authorizing the city of Salem to increase the short-term rental community impact fee for the purpose of school and municipal facilities

Education Housing Taxes

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor: Manny Cruz
Last action: 2026-07-10
Official status: Referred to Joint Committee on Revenue
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act authorizing the city of Salem to increase the short-term rental community impact fee for the purpose of school and municipal facilities

An Act authorizing the city of Salem to increase the short-term rental community impact fee for the purpose of school and municipal facilities By Representative Cruz of Salem, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

An Act authorizing the city of Salem to increase the short-term rental community impact fee for the purpose of school and municipal facilities By Representative Cruz of Salem, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
5538) of Manny Cruz (with the approval of the mayor and city council) that the city of Salem be authorized to increase the short-term rental community impact fee in said city for the purpose of school and municipal facilities.
Revenue.
[Local Approval Received.] Status: Referred to Joint Committee on Revenue

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2026-07-10 Joint
Hearing scheduled for 07/20/2026 from 09:00 AM-05:00 PM in Written Testimony Only
2026-07-01 Senate
Senate concurred
2026-06-25 House
Referred to the committee on Revenue

Official Summary Text

An Act authorizing the city of Salem to increase the short-term rental community impact fee for the purpose of school and municipal facilities
By Representative Cruz of Salem, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 5538) of Manny Cruz (with the approval of the mayor and city council) that the city of Salem be authorized to increase the short-term rental community impact fee in said city for the purpose of school and municipal facilities. Revenue. [Local Approval Received.]
Status:
Referred to Joint Committee on Revenue

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

Bill H.5538

SECTION 1. Notwithstanding section 3D of chapter 64G of the General Laws or any other general or special law to the contrary, the City of Salem is hereby authorized to impose a community impact fee on professionally managed units and owner-adjacent units used for short-term rentals at a rate not to exceed 6 per cent of the total amount of rent for each occupancy.

SECTION 2. The additional revenue attributable to the 3 percentage point increase authorized by section 1, representing the difference between a community impact fee imposed at the rate of 3 per cent and a community impact fee imposed at a rate up to 6 per cent, shall be deposited into the special revenue fund established by the City of Salem.

Amounts deposited into said fund shall be used solely for the planning, design, acquisition, construction, reconstruction, renovation, repair, improvement, furnishing, equipping, maintenance, and extraordinary maintenance of school or municipal buildings and facilities of the City of Salem, including, but not limited to, the payment of debt service on bonds or notes issued for such purposes.

Nothing in this act shall be construed to limit, impair, or otherwise affect the eligibility or authority of the City of Salem to apply for, receive, or expend grants, reimbursements, or other financial assistance from the Massachusetts School Building Authority or any other federal, state, or local source for the purposes described in this section.

Any balance remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the general fund and shall remain available for expenditure for the purposes set forth in this section.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon its passage.

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