The House on Monday approved the City of Boston’s request to temporarily reconfigure the way it splits property taxes between commercial and residential taxpayers.
Norwell Rep. David DeCoste slowed the bill’s advancement on Thursday and Friday but was not in the House chamber when Democrats put the bill up for a vote at the immediate outset of their 11 a.m. session and moved the legislation on to the Senate.
The Senate met briefly Monday but adjourned until Wednesday without acting on the bill, which reflects compromise language reached in October between Boston Mayor Michelle Wu and leaders of four business groups.
Wu has pushed for the bill’s passage to mitigate the extent of coming increases in residential property taxes, while critics of the legislation say the city should pull back on its spending increases and be more mindful of potentially lasting commercial real estate struggles.
Democrats were able to advance the bill during an informal session where there’s no quorum and any legislator can stall a bill’s progress.
House Republican Leader Bradley Jones Jr. was briefly in the chamber during Monday’s session, which also featured Republican Reps. Steven Howitt and Donald Wong and Democrat Boston Reps. William MacGregor, Rob Consalvo, Jay Livingstone, and Dan Ryan.
