An Act To Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Homeowners
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1824
House Amendment HA_D_H978 (House)
Amends: 30-A MRSA §5721-A

HOUSE AMENDMENT .1).. to H.P. 1347, L.D. 1824, Bill, "An Act 
To Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Homeowners" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the title 
and before the summary and inserting in its place the following: 
. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. 30-A MRSA c. 3, sub-c. 3 is enacted to read: 
SUBCHAPTER 3 
COUBTX APPROPRIATIQIf LIMITATION 
§981. 
County ADPropriatioD limitatioDs 
Notwithstanding the other provisions of this chapter, the 
following limitations apply to a county services appropriation 
for county fiscal years that begin on or after January 1, 2005. 
1. 
Definitions. 
As 
used 
in this 
section, 
unless 
the 
context 
otherwise 
indicates, 
the 
following 
terms 
have 
the 
following meanings. 
A. 
"County budget authority" means a body with authority to 
adopt a county budget under this chapter. 
B. 
"County services appropriation" means the total amount 
of 
money 
raised 
and 
appropriated to 
pay 
for 
services, 
programs and public debt that is included in a county' s 
Page l-LR2194(7) 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT "0,, to H.P. 1347, L.D. 1824 
annual budget but does not include any grant or subsidy that 
the county receives from the Federal Goyernment. 
C. 
"Exceptional 
circumstances" 
means 
an 
unforeseen 
condition 
or 
conditions 
over 
which 
the 
county 
budget 
authority has little or no control and does not mean new 
programs 
or 
program expansions 
that go 
beyond existing 
program criteria and operations. 
2. 
ApprgpriatioD limitatioD. 
The total county services 
appropriation for each fiscal year of a county may not exceed the 
county 
services 
appropriation 
of 
the 
previous 
fiscal 
year 
multiplied 
by 
the 
limitation 
on 
the 
total 
General 
Fund 
appropriation described in Title 5. section 1664. 
3. 
Ez:cgptioDal circumstancgs. 
The 
amount derived under 
subsection 2 may be exceeded only by the amount of additional 
costs 
or 
the 
lost 
revenue 
from 
the 
following 
exceptional 
circumstances: 
A. 
Unfunded or underfunded new state or federal mandates: 
B. 
Losses in state or federal revenues or other revenue 
sources; 
C. 
Citizens' 
initiatives 
or 
referenda 
that 
require 
increased county spending: 
D. 
Court orders or decrees that require additional county 
resources to comply with the orders or decrees: or 
E. 
Sudden or significant increases in demand for existing 
county services that are not the result of county budget 
authority actions that increase eligibility or 
increase 
ben§fits. 
In 
addition. 
the 
county 
budget 
authority 
may 
designate 
exceptional circumstances that are not §xplicitly d§scribed in 
paragraphs A to E but m§§t the intent of this section. 
Sec. 2. 30·A MRSA §5721-A is enacted to read: 
§5721-A. 
Municipal appropriatioD limitatioDs 
The 
following 
limitations 
apply 
to 
a 
municipality's 
appropriations for fiscal y§ars that b§gin on or after January I. 
2005. 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
.,fO· 
A· , 
HOUSE AMENDMENT ,]C), to H.P. 1347, L.D. 1824 
1. 
Definitions. 
As 
used in this 
section, 
unless 
the 
context 
otherwise 
indicates, 
the 
following 
terms 
have 
the 
following meanings. 
A. 
"Exceptional 
circumstances" 
means 
an 
unforeseen 
condition or conditions over which the municipal legislative 
body has little or no control and does not mean new programs 
or 
program 
expansions 
that 
go 
beyond 
existing 
program 
criteria and operations. 
B. 
"Municipal 
services 
appropriation" 
means 
the 
total 
amount of money raised and appropriated to pay for services, 
programs 
and 
public 
debt 
that 
is 
included 
in 
a 
municipality's 
annual 
budget but does 
not include local 
costs for public education from kindergarten to grade 12, 
assessments made to support general municipal government and 
any grant or subsidy that the municipality receives from the 
Federal Government. 
2. 
Appropriation limitation. 
The total municipal services 
appropriation for each fiscal year of a municipality may not 
exceed 
the municipal 
services 
~propriation of 
the previous 
fiscal year multiplied by the limitation on the total General 
Fund appropriation described in Title 5, section 1664. 
3. 
Ezceptional circumstances. 
The 
amount derived under 
subsection 2 may be exceeded only b.y the amount of additional 
costs 
or 
the 
lost 
revenye 
from 
the 
following 
exceptional 
circumstAnces: 
A. 
Unfunded or underfunded new state or federal mandates; 
B. 
Losses in state or federAl revenues or other revenue 
sources, except losses in revenue under subsection 4; 
C. 
Citizens' 
initiatives 
or 
referenda 
that 
require 
increased municipal spending: 
D. 
Court 
orders 
or 
decrees 
that 
require 
additional 
municipal resources to comply with the orders or decrees;' or 
E. 
Sudden or significant increases in demand for existing 
municipal services that are not the result of municipal 
legislative 
body 
actions 
that 
increase 
eligibility 
or 
increase benefits. 
In 
addition, 
the 
municipal 
legislative 
body 
may 
designate 
exceptional circumstances that are not explicitly described in 
paragraphs A to E but meet the intent of this section. 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
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HOUSE AMENDMENT "]),, to H.P. 1347, L.D. 1824 
4. 
Revenue-sharing deduction. 
If a municipality's spending 
exceeds the amount derived under subsections 2 and 3 due to 
circumstances 
that 
are 
not 
exceptional 
as 
established 
in 
subsection 3, its share of distributions under section 5681, 
subsections 4-A and 4-B must be reduced in the following manner: 
A. 
The Department of Audit shall declare the amount by 
which the municipality has exceeded the amount derived under 
subsection 
and shall determine what the property tax 
burden of the municipality would be without the exceeding of 
the amount derived under subsections 2 and 3: 
B. The Department of Audit shall report the property tax 
burden determination under paragraph A to the Treasurer of 
State: and 
C. 
The Treasurer of State shall use the property tax burden 
amount reported under paragraph B to determine the amount to 
be 
disbursed 
to 
the 
municipality 
under 
section 
5681, 
sUbsections 4-A and 4-a. 
5. 
Procedures. 
The Department of Audit and the Treasurer 
of State shall establish procedures 
and may 
adopt· rules to 
implement the reguirements of this section. 
Rules adopted under 
this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 
5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
The Department of Audit and the 
Treasurer of State may present legislation to the First Regular 
Session 
of 
the 
l22nd 
Legislature 
by 
February 
1, 
2005 
if 
considered necessary to implement this section. 
Sec. 3. 30-A MRS A §5823, sub-§3, lIA, as amended by PL 2003, c. 
178, §5, is further amended to read: 
A. 
The report must contain the following items: 
(1) 
A management letter, if applicable; 
(2) 
A letter of transmittal; 
(3) 
The independent auditor's report on the financial 
statements; aBe. 
(4) 
All 
financial 
statements 
information required 
by governmental 
financial reporting standardsT: and 
(5) 
A statement of: 
and 
all 
other 
accounting 
and 
(a) 
Whether 
the municipality has 
exceeded 
the 
amount derived under section 572l-A, subsection 2 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
".,. 
~. 
HOUSE AMENDMENT ,1)" to H.P. 1347, L.D. 1824 
due to circumstances that are not exceptional as 
described 
in section 
5721-A, 
subsection 
3, 
if 
applicable: and 
(b) 
If the amount derived under section 572l-A, 
subsection 2 has been exceeded as described in 
division (a), a calculation of the amount by which 
the municipality has exceeded that amount. 
Sec. 4. 30-A MRSA §S823, sub-§3, 1[B, as amended by PL 1997, c. 
142, §2, is further amended to read: 
B. 
Within 30 days after the postaudit is completed, the 
auditor shall send to the State Auditor: 
(1) 
A 
certified 
copy 
of 
the 
postaudit 
report, 
excluding the management letter; aRe 
(2) 
A certified copy of 
prescribed 
by 
the 
State 
auditsT~ 
the audit procedural form 
Auditor 
for 
governmental 
(3) 
A copy of the municipality's or quasi-municipal 
corporation's approved official budget for 
the year 
audited. ' 
SUMMARY 
This 
amendment 
establishes 
limitations 
on 
county 
and 
municipal spending. 
SPONSORED BY: 
TOWN: 
HOUSE AMENDMENT 
Net Cost (Savings) 
General Fund 
Appropriations! Allocations 
General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Approved: 04128/04 Mae. 
l2lst Maine Legislature 
Office of Fiscal and Program Review 
LD 1824 
An Act To Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Homeowners 
LR2194(07) 
Fiscal Note for House Amendment" " 
Sponsor: Rep. Richardson 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Projections 
2003·04 
2004·05 
2005·06 
$0 
$0 
$40,000 
$0 
$0 
$40,000 
Projections 
2006·07 
$80,000 
$80,l 
This bill provides a cap on growth for municipal budgets and applies to municipalities' appropriations for fiscal year 
2005-06 and thereafter. The Department of Audit will require an additional Auditor III position beginning in fiscal 
year 2005-06 to handle this new responsibility of determining municipal compliance with the appropriation limitation 
process specified in 30-A MRSA §5721-A. The estimated cost in fiscal year 2005-06 is $40,000 and $80,000 in fiscal 
year 2006-07. The additional computer programming costs associated with the requirement to reduce a municipality's 
share of state revenue sharing when a municipality exceeds its budget cap can be absorbed by the Treasurer of the 
State utilizing the resources of the Local Government Fund. 
LR2194(7) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1