An Act To Encourage Economic Development in Piscataquis County (AFTER DEADLINE)
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1357
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: DAVIS, ANNIS, DUPREY, PEAVEY-HASKELL, RICHARDSON
Amends: 30-A MRSA §125

Legislative Document 
No. 1357 
S.P.445 
In Senate, March 13,2003 
An Act To Encourage Economic Development in Piscataquis County 
(AFTER DEADLINE) 
(EMERGENCY) 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
205. 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator DAVIS of Piscataquis. 
Cosponsored by Representative ANNIS of Dover-Foxcroft and 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Representatives: DUPREY of Medway, PEAVEY-HASKELL of Greenbush, RICHARDSON 
of Greenville. 
Printed 011 recyc led paper 
Emergency preamble. Whereas, Acts of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted 
as emergencies; and 
Whereas, recent Dexter Shoe and Great Northern Paper, Inc. 
plant closings in the Town of Dexter, the Town of Millinocket and 
the Town of East Millinocket have resulted in the loss of more 
than 1, 600 manufacturing jobs in Penobscot County and adjacent 
portions of Piscataquis County; and 
Whereas, prior to the recent plant closings, the rate of 
unemployment 
in 
Piscataquis 
County 
exceeded 
the 
statewide 
unemployment rate; and 
Whereas, there is a need to expand and diversify employment 
opportunities 
in Piscataquis 
County 
to mitigate 
the 
adverse 
economic effects of the Dexter Shoe and Great Northern Paper I 
Inc. plant closings; and 
Whereas, 
the 
organized 
towns 
of 
Piscataquis 
County 
individually 
lack 
the 
tax 
base 
and 
financial 
resources 
to 
effectively encourage new economic development; and 
Whereas, there is a 
need to encourage regional 
economic 
development efforts in Piscataquis County; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts 
create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of 
Maine 
and 
require 
the 
following 
legislation 
as 
immediately 
necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and 
safety; now, therefore, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §125 is enacted to read: 
§125. 
Economic deye1Qpment 
1. 
Budget authority. 
Subject to the provisions of chapter 
3, 
subchapter 
It 
article 
6, 
the 
county 
commissioners 
of 
Piscataguis County may 
raise, 
appropriate, 
borrow and expend 
money for the purposes of county economic development, subject to 
the following provisions and limitations. 
A. 
As used in this section, "county economic development" 
means assisting or encouraging the creation or preservation 
of new or existing employment opportunities for residents of 
Piscataguis County, or any of its municipalities, through 
one or more of the following activities: 
Page l-LR2013(1) 
(1) 
Development 
of 
new 
sites 
for 
the 
physical 
location, settlement or resettlement of new or expanded 
manufacturing, 
fishing, 
commercial or other business 
enterprises to be located within the county, including 
payment 
of 
related 
costs 
for 
surveying, 
land 
acquisition, 
land 
use 
and 
environmental 
permitting, 
engineering, 
legal 
services 
and 
infrastructure 
development: 
(2) 
Constructing or financing the development of new 
community industrial buildings, as defined in Title 5, 
section 
13120-B, 
to 
be 
located 
within 
Piscataquis 
County; 
(3) 
Redevelopment 
of 
existing 
structures 
located 
wi thin the county for commercial, industrial or mixed 
(4) 
Construction, financing or operating assistance to 
necessary 
publicly 
owned 
transportation 
facilities, 
including 
facilities 
for 
passenger 
and 
cargo 
transportation; 
(5) 
Provision of local matching funds for any state or 
federal transportation project, 
community development 
grant or rural development grant to the county or any 
of its municipalities, 
intended to 
achieve 
purposes 
substantially similar to those listed in subparagraphs 
(1) to (4): 
(6) 
Financial 
participation 
in 
any 
economic 
development project organized or funded on a regional 
basis by 2 or more political subdivisions or state or 
federal 
agencies. 
For 
this 
purpose, 
the 
county 
commissioners 
may 
provide 
assistance 
to 
a 
regional 
project to be located in whole or in part outside of 
Piscataquis 
County 
only 
upon 
a 
finding 
by 
the 
commissioners 
that 
the 
project 
will 
confer 
a 
substantial economic benefit on Piscataquis County; 
(7) 
Funding the annual salary and operating expenses 
of a county economic development officer, development 
agency or development office: and 
(8) 
Necessary contractual services for 
any of 
the 
purposes stated in this paragraph. 
B. 
All 
borrowing 
by 
the 
county 
commissioners 
for 
the 
purposes 
of 
this 
section 
is 
subject 
to 
the 
following 
limitations. 
(1) 
All bonds issued by the county commissioners for 
the purposes of this section must be approved prior to 
issuance 
by 
the 
voters 
of 
Piscataguis 
County 
by 
referendum vote in accordance with section 938, except 
that a referendum for this purpose may be conducted at 
any regular or special county election at which the 
total number of votes cast for and against the proposed 
bond issue is egual to 50% of the total number of votes 
cast 
in 
Piscataguis 
County 
for 
all 
gubernatorial 
candidates in the most recent gubernatorial election. 
(2) 
The aggregate unpaid principal amount of all bonds 
issued under this section may not exceed 2% of the most 
recent taxable valuation of 
Piscataguis 
County, 
as 
certified by the State Tax Assessor pursuant to Title 
36, section 381, adjusted to 100%. 
(3) 
Debt may not be incurred or bonds issued under 
this section if such debt or bonds, in combination with 
other 
county 
debt 
then 
outstanding, 
would 
cause 
Piscataguis 
County 
to 
exceed 
limitations 
on 
total 
county debt otherwise provided by law. 
(4) 
All bonds issued under this section must be for 
capital project costs only and may not be used to fund 
the annual operating or program expenses of any agency, 
facility, program or office. 
The commissioners shall 
deposit the proceeds of any bond issued under this 
section to a capital project account for the project 
concerned, established in accordance with section 921. 
Bond proceeds deposited to a capital project account 
may 
only 
be 
used 
for 
purposes 
of 
financing 
or 
completing 
the project 
concerned 
and 
for 
no 
other 
purposes. 
Any funds remaining in the capi tal pro j ec t 
account upon completion or termination of the project 
concerned must be used by the commissioners to prepay 
any debt incurred by the county for that project. 
If 
the 
terms 
of 
a 
particular 
bond 
issued 
under 
this 
section prohibit prepayment of the bond, 
any 
funds 
rema~n~ng 
in 
the 
capital 
project 
account 
upon 
completion or termination of the project concerned may 
be transferred to another capital project account or 
used to retire other county debt. 
Emergency clause. 
In view of the emergency cited in the 
preamble, this Act takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
This bill authorizes the county commissioners of Piscataquis 
County to raise, appropriate, borrow and spend money for the 
purposes of economic development in Piscataquis County.