An Act To Require State Reimbursement When Laws or Rules Devalue Private Property
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 0886
Committee: Judiciary
Sponsors: JOY, STANLEY, CARR, CLOUGH, FLETCHER, GLYNN, GOODWIN, JACKSON, JODREY, PEAVEY-HASKELL

Legislative Document 
No. 886 
H.P.663 
House of Representatives, February 20,2003 
An Act To Require State Reimbursement When Laws or Rules 
Devalue Private Property 
Reference to the Committee on Judiciary suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative JOY of Crystal. 
Cosponsored by Senator STANLEY of Penobscot and 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: CARR of Lincoln, CLOUGH of Scarborough, FLETCHER of Winslow, 
GLYNN of South Portland, GOODWIN of Pembroke, JACKSON of Fort Kent, JODREY of 
Bethel, PEAVEY-HASKELL of Greenbush. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. I. I MRSA c. 22 is enacted to read: 
CHAPTER 22 
PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION ACT 
§841. 
Short title 
This chapter may be known and cited as "the Private Property 
Protection Act." 
§842. 
Definitions 
As 
used 
in this 
chapter, 
unless 
the 
context 
otherwise 
indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. 
1. 
Implementation of regulation. 
"Implementation of 
a 
regulation" 
means 
the 
rendering 
of 
a 
final 
administrative 
decision on an application for decision under a regulation, the 
occurrence of the effective date of a regulation, or any other 
application of the regulation to a piece of property. 
2. 
Owner. 
"Owner" 
means 
the 
individual, 
business, 
corporation or other legal entity that holds legal title to the 
property. 
3. 
Preregulatory fair market value. 
"Preregulatory fair 
market value" means the fair market value of a piece of property 
on the day before the implementation of a regulation caused the 
property value to fall by at least 25%. 
4. 
Regulation. 
"Regulation" 
means 
any 
law, 
rule 
or 
ordinance 
that directly or 
indirectly affects 
the 
value 
of 
property, including a land use or zoning ordinance or law. 
§843. 
Regulato~ takings 
1. 
Regulatory takings. 
For purposes of this Act, whenever 
implementation of a 
regulation by the State reduces the fair 
market 
value 
of 
real 
property 
by 
at 
least 
25'l-o 
of 
its 
pre regulatory fair market value, the property is deemed to be 
taken for the use of the public. 
2. 
Purchase 
or 
compensation 
required. 
The 
owner 
of 
property deemed to be 
taken under 
subsection 
may file 
a 
petition in Superior Court in the district in which the property 
is located to require the State to purchase the property at the 
preregulatory fair market value or to pay compensation for the 
Page l-LR1456(1) 
reduction in value caused by the regulation. 
The property owner 
may elect to have the issue of compensation decided by a jury. 
3. 
Exemption for regulation of noxious or harmful uses. 
Purchase or compensation is not required under this Act if the 
regulation is an exercise of the police power to prevent property 
use that is noxious or poses demonstrable harm to the health and 
safety of the public. 
A use is considered a noxious use only if 
it amounts to a public nuisance in fact. 
Determination by the 
State that a 
use is noxious or poses a 
demonstrable harm to 
public health and safety is not binding on the court. 
Review of 
that determination must be de novo. 
§844. 
Statute of limitations 
The statute of limitations for actions brought pursuant to 
this Act is the statute of limitations for civil actions for 
injuries to real property. 
The statute of limitations begins to 
run when a final administrative decision is issued affecting that 
property, except that, if passage of the regulation alone reduces 
the fair market value of real property by at least 25% of its 
preregulatory fair 
market 
value 
without 
further 
governmental 
action and the regulation contains no provision for relief from 
the regulation' s operation, the statute of limitations begins to 
run on the date the regulation becomes effective. 
§S45. 
Waiver as condition to approval prohibited 
The State may not make waiver of the provisions of this Act 
a 
condition for approval of the use of real property or the 
issuance of any permit. 
An owner may accept an approval of use 
or 
a 
permit granted by the State without compromising rights 
under this Act if: 
1. 
Rights in writing. 
The owner reserves the rights in 
writing at the time of acceptance of an authorization or permit; 
or 
2. 
Oral 
statement. 
The 
owner 
makes 
an oral 
statement 
reserving the rights before the State at a public meeting at 
which the State renders its decision. 
§S46. 
Legal challenges 
This Act does 
not preclude an owner 
from challenging 
a 
regulation 
affected 
by 
this 
Act 
under 
any 
other 
law 
or 
constitutional provision. 
§S47. 
Review of laws and rules 
1. 
Review 
of 
Legislature. 
By 
January 
15, 
2004, 
the 
Legislature shall review all state laws currently in effect to 
identify laws that result in the devaluation of property. 
2. 
Review by departments; report. 
By Decembe r 
15, 
2003, 
each department and agency of the State shall review the laws and 
rules it administers to identify laws and rules that result in 
the 
devaluation 
of 
property. 
By 
January 
15, 
2004, 
each 
department 
and 
agency shall 
submit 
a 
written report 
to 
the 
Legislature of all the laws and rules identified that result in 
the devaluation of property. 
3. 
Notification. 
By March 1, 2004, the Legislature shall 
notify all owners of the laws and rules that have been identified 
as resulting in the devaluation of property. 
§848. 
Application 
1. 
Implementation of regulation. 
This Act applies to every 
devaluation of property that results from an implementation of a 
regulation that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. 
2. 
Regulation in effect prior to chapter. 
For purposes of 
determining the right to relief and the statute of limitations 
under this chapter, a regulation in effect on the effective date 
of this chapter is deemed to have been passed on the effective 
date of this chapter. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires the State to pay a property owner when 
state regulations lower the owner's property value by at least 
25"0. 
This bill also requires the Legislature and all departments 
and agencies to review and identify laws and rules that result in 
the devaluation of property. 
The Legislature must notify all 
property owners of such laws and rules.