Nov. 23--Low- and moderate-income Massachusetts families can take a personal income tax deduction of up to $800 for their winter heating costs, as well as a one-time $600 tax credit for the purchase of energy-efficient products, under a bill signed into law by Governor Mitt Romney yesterday.

The measure, which passed with broad bipartisan support, was part of a two-bill package forged by House Speaker Salvatore F. DiMasi and Senate President Robert E. Travaglini to address two problems: the short-term spike in heating costs stemming from Hurricane Katrina and the long-term need to reduce the state's energy consumption.

The tax credit and deduction bill was largely geared toward helping residents of modest means cope with the expected spike in heating costs this winter. The measure pumps $20 million into the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, which will boost the maximum benefit to participants to $840 -- or $35 more than last winter. Nearly 135,000 households in the Bay State took part in the program last year. Without the $20 million state infusion, the maximum energy assistance benefit this year was to have been $684 this winter.

The measure also will widen income eligibility levels to qualify for discounted rates on electricity and natural gas. Currently, a family of three is eligible for the discount utility rates if its annual income is $28,157 or less. Under the new guidelines, that income ceiling would rise to $32,180. Unlike the energy assistance program funding and tax portions of the new law, the discount eligibility provision is permanent. The average utility discount is about 20 percent off standard rates.

Charlie Harak, staff lawyer at the National Consumer Law Center - - which has fought hard for the discounts and energy assistance funding -- said the bill was "incredibly important, but sadly enough, not sufficient at the same time because heating bills could easily be $2,000 or $2,500 [this year.]

"So it's better, but probably not enough," he said.

The second bill in the package, which Romney also signed yesterday, will raise the minimum energy efficiency standard for residential boilers and furnaces, incandescent reflector lamps, and laptop computer power cords -- something Rhode Island, New York, and several other states have done. Such a measure could have a dramatic long-term effect in reducing energy consumption in Massachusetts, and even the country as a whole, Romney said.

"This is going to be paying dividends for the people of Massachusetts for a long, long time to come, and we're not finished," he said.

Under the tax-related bill, single taxpayers who earn less than $50,000 will qualify for the tax deduction of up to $800 for heating costs incurred between Nov. 1 and March 31. For those filing jointly, the income limit is $75,000. An $800 tax deduction results in a savings of $42.40 on a tax bill.

To obtain the tax credit, homeowners of any income bracket can purchase new windows, programmable thermostats, insulation, weather stripping, and efficient furnaces and boilers. The state will offer a credit on 30 percent of the purchase price, up to $600.

Unlike a deduction, a credit is a dollar-for-dollar reduction off a tax bill.