In his continued response to the coronavirus pandemic, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker ordered utility companies Tuesday to not shut off gas, electric or water for people who fail to pay their bills.

The declaration applies to all investor-owned business. The order will last until the governor’s state of emergency, announced on March 10, is lifted or the state Department of Public Utilities determines otherwise, according to a statement from Baker.

"This order will ensure the continued availability of gas, electric, and water service to all ratepayers during the state of emergency,” DPU Chairman Matthew Nelson said in the statement. “Today’s action will also protect residents and businesses from added economic pressure during these difficult and uncertain times.”

The announcement comes as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect businesses and people’s finances. To combat the impact, Baker launched a $10 million recovery loan fund for small businesses last week, and President Donald Trump has previously ordered a suspension on all foreclosures and evictions through the end of April.

Congressional and White House leaders Tuesday night also agreed on an emergency stimulus package to provide million of dollars in aid to businesses, workers and health care systems affected by the outbreak. The federal tax deadline has been pushed back as well, and local tax extensions are being considered.

Baker’s order also prohibits utility companies from sending messages to customers threatening to shut off services for failure to pay an entire or portion of a bill, the statement said. Any business that violates the declaration may be issued a penalty up to $1 million per violation.

The DPU issued a moratorium earlier this month requesting that utility companies stop shutting off gas and electric services to residents. The new order now includes any investor-owned companies, including industrial, commercial and small business customers, according to the governor’s statement.

from the Governor's Office. news conference on Tuesday, March 24, 2020

BOSTON — Today, the Baker-Polito Administration filed An Act to Further Address Challenges Faced by Municipalities and School Districts Resulting from COVID-19,which would provide administrative relief to state and local government entities impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, including modifying local permitting processes, enabling municipalities to extend tax and finance deadlines, and extending deadlines for certain education requirements.  

Full details on proposed changes in the legislation include:

• Suspending the cap on hours and compensation for retired employees collecting a pension for hours worked during the state of emergency, allowing municipalities to tap qualified workers when their workforces might be disrupted. 
• Permitting establishments licensed to sell alcohol for on-premises consumption to sell wine and beer by take-out and delivery, provided that the wine or beer is sold in the original sealed container, is sold in the same transaction as a purchase of food and is not over certain volume limitations.
• Modifying the local permitting process during the state of emergency by:
  • Providing that no permit is automatically granted, approved, or denied because a local permitting authority is unable to act within a time period required by law.
  • Providing that any permit that is currently valid will not lapse or expire during the state of emergency and suspends any time limitation on such permits during the emergency.
  • Allowing applications for permits to be filed electronically, to eliminate the need for in-person filing.
  • Suspending any requirement that a hearing on a permit application be held within a certain period until 45 days after the end of the state of emergency
• Extending municipal tax deadlines by allowing municipalities to waive late-payment penalties for 4th quarter tax bills, which are due May 1. In addition, municipalities could change their tax bill due date from April 1 to June 1.
• Allowing municipalities to extend the deadline for property tax exemptions and deferrals. The current statutory deadline is April 1, and this would allow municipalities to extend it to June 1.
• Permitting Regional School Districts to suspend the statutorily-required vote on the approval of their fiscal year 2021 budget and allowing the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to certify an amount sufficient for the operation of the district, until a budget can be adopted. 

50,000 + Sign Up For New COVID-19 Text Notification System 

 The Baker-Polito Administration today announced the launch of a new text-based notification system to deliver important information about the Commonwealth’s COVID-19 response to Massachusetts residents. More than 50,000 people have subscribed since the Governor made the announcement at noon.
The new messaging tool called “AlertsMA” will allow residents to subscribe to real-time notifications by texting the keyword COVIDMA to 888-777. After signing up, state and public health officials can send short messages and links to information directly to a resident’s cell phone or other mobile device.
 The Commonwealth’s Executive Office of Technology Services and Security partnered with Everbridge, a Mass-based company, whose platform powers AlertsMA, to bring the notification service online during the COVID-19 response.

To stay informed, please bookmark the DLS Covid-19 Resources and Guidance for Municipal Officials page.