BOSTON (WWLP) - All eyes are on Beacon Hill as lawmakers debate a Boston property tax bill that has the potential to be adopted by cities across the Commonwealth. This bill aims to reconfigure the way the city of Boston splits property taxes between commercial and residential taxpayers to avoid a major tax hike for residents. In the city, several decades of heavy reliance on property taxes have led to a situation where decreasing commercial values are threatening to destabilize the entirety of the city's tax base and increase residents' bills by up to 33%. Several Boston senators say they need information from a Wednesday annual tax classification hearing in order to accurately assess what to do. Most recently, Boston Senator Nick Collins used a procedural maneuver to table the bill until the next session, which is scheduled for Thursday. Some lawmakers have cautioned against making the policy change a law because of the precedent it could set in western Massachusetts and statewide. "It affects our constituents who own businesses and property in Boston and many municipalities are watching this to see how the Legislature acts with respect to changing the balance of the residential, and business tax balance," said Plymouth Senator Susan Moran. Another concern raised is that business owners are already struggling before this tax change, and the bill could be seen as "kicking them when they are down." If this bill were to pass, the Boston City Council would still need to vote to implement the new tax rates. Local News Headlines WEATHER ALERT: Snow Wednesday evening through Thursday morning Marcotte Ford donates $10K in gifts to families in need Local organizations participate in ‘Giving Tuesday’ in hopes of gaining community support & raise funds Lawmakers’ plan for closing the budget gap WWLP-22News, an NBC affiliate, began broadcasting in March 1953 to provide local news, network, syndicated, and local programming to western Massachusetts. Watch the 22News Digital Edition weekdays at 4 p.m. on WWLP.com.