An Act To Provide a Municipal Process for an Initiative To Impose a Property Tax Cap
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1304
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: LEMOINE

Legislative Document 
No. 1304 
H.P.958 
House of Representatives, March 11, 2003 
An Act To Provide a Municipal Process for an Initiative To Impose 
a Property Tax Cap 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
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MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative LEMOINE of Old Orchard Beach. 
Printed on recycled paper 
I 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec.t. 30-A MRS A §30t3 is enacted to read: 
§3013. 
Initiative to impose 1imit on property taxes 
1. 
Petition by voters. 
On the written petition of a number 
of voters in a municipality equal to at least 10~ of the number 
of votes cast in the municipality at the last gubernatorial 
election, the legislative body of the municipality shall consider 
an ordinance to impose a limit on property taxes as proposed in 
the petition. 
The date each signature on the petition was made 
must be written next to the signature on the petition, and no 
signature older than one year is valid. 
The ordinance thus 
proposed, unless enacted without change by the legislative body 
of the municipality, must be submitted to the voters in the 
municipality together 
with 
any 
amended 
form, 
substitute, 
or 
recommendation of the legislative body of the municipality, and 
in such manner that the voters can choose between the competing 
measures or reject both. 
When there are competing proposals and 
neither receives a majority of the votes given for or against 
both, 
the 
one 
receiving 
the 
most 
votes 
must, 
at 
the 
next 
municipal election to be held not less than 60 days after the 
first vote, be submitted by itself if it receives more than 1/3 
of the votes given for 
and against both. 
If the ordinance 
initiated is enacted by the legislative body of the municipality 
without change, it may not go to a referendum vote unless in 
pursuance of a demand made in accordance with this subsection. 
The 
municipal officers may order 
a 
special election on 
any 
measure that is subject to a vote of the people. 
2. 
Timing of elections. 
The municipal officers shall order 
any measure proposed to the legislative body of the municipality 
pursuant to subsection 1, and not enacted by that body without 
change, referred to the voters of the munici~ality at an election 
to be held in November of the year in which the petition is filed. 
3. 
Effective date of measures approved by voters. 
Any 
measure referred to the voters of the municipality and approved 
by a majority of the votes cast must, unless a later date is 
specified in the measure, take effect 30 days after the municipal 
officers declare the result of the vote. 
This section does not apply to a municipality that has a 
prov~s~on for an initiative by voters in that municipality in the 
laws of that municipality. 
Page l-LR0155(1) 
SUMMARY 
This bill provides a process for a municipal initiative by 
voters of a municipality to impose a limit on property taxes in 
that municipality. 
It does not apply to a municipality that has 
a 
prov~s~on for an initiative by voters in that municipality in 
the laws of the municipality.