An Act To Make Owners of Cooperative Housing Eligible for the Homestead Exemption
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 1552
Committee Amendment CA_A_H584 (House)
Amends: 36 MRSA §681, 36 MRSA §683

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
To 
Make 
Owners 
of "A to H.P. 1093, L.D. 1552, Bill, 
Cooperative Housing Eligible for 
Homestead Exemption" 
"An 
the 
Amend 
the bill by 
striking out all of 
section 
and 
inserting in its place the following: 
'Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §681, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 643, 
Pt. HHH, §3 and affected by §10, is amended to read: 
2. 
Homestead. 
"Homestead" means any residential propertY-L 
including cooperative property, 
in this State assessed as real 
property owned by an applicant or held in a 
revocable living 
trust for the benefit of the applicant and occupied by the 
applicant as the applicant's permanent residence or owned by a 
cooperative housing corporation 
and 
occupied 
as 
a 
permanent 
residence by 
a 
resident who is a 
qualifying shareholder. 
A 
"homestead" does not include any real property used solely for 
commercial purposes.' 
Further amend the bill by striking out all of section 4 and 
inserting in its place the following: 
'Sec. 4. 36 MRSA §683, sub-§5 is enacted to read: 
5. 
Determination of 
exemption for 
cooperative housing 
cONPQration. 
A cooperative housing corporation may apply for an 
exemption 
under 
this 
subchapter 
to 
be 
applied 
against 
the 
Page l-LR2205(2) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
r 
~ 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,Il, to H.P. 1093, L.D. 1552 
valuation of property of the corporation that is occupied by 
gualifying shareholders. 
The application must include a list of 
all gualifying shareholders 
and must be updated annually to 
reflect changes in the ownership and residency of gualifying 
shareholders. 
The exemption is egual to the amount specified in 
subsection 1 multiplied by the number of units in the cooperative 
property occupied by gualifying shareholders. 
A cooperative 
housing corporation that receives an exemption pursuant to this 
section sh9l1 9Pportion the property tax reduction resulting from 
the exemption sunong the gualifying sh9reholders on a per unit 
basis. 
Any 
supplement91 
assessment 
resulting 
from 
disgualification for exemption must be applied in the Same manner 
against the gualifying shareholders for whom the disgu9lification 
applies. ' 
Further sunend the bill in section 5 in the 2nd line (page 2, 
line 
in L.D.) 
by striking out the following: 
"2005" 
and 
inserting in its place the following: 
'2006' 
Further amend the bill by inserting after section 5 the 
following: 
, Sec. 
6. 
Appropriations 
and 
allocations. 
appropriations and allocations are made. 
ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, 
DEPARTMENT OF 
The 
Homestead Property Tax Exemption Reimbursement 
0886 
following 
Ini tiati ve: 
Provides funds to reimburse municipal i ties for 50°-0 
of 
the estimated property tax 
revenue 
loss 
associated with 
providing a homestead exemption for cooperative housing. 
GENERAL FOND 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
SUMMARY 
2005-06 
$0 
$0 
2006-07 
$290,000 
$290,000' 
This 
amendment 
clarifies 
the 
method 
of 
applying 
the 
exemption for cooperative housing and changes the application 
date from 2005 to 2006. 
FlseAL NOTE REQmRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 05/27/05 ~ac:.. 
LD 1552 
LR2205(02) 
An Act To Make Owners of Cooperative Housing Eligible for the Homestead Exemption 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ,A" 
Committee: Taxation 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Current Cost - State Mandate 
State Mandate 
New or Expanded Activity 
Administrative costs associated with the calculation of the 
exemption amount for cooperative housing corporation property 
2005-06 
Net Cost (Savings) 
General Fund 
Appropriations/Allocations 
General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
$0 
$0 
Unit Affected 
Municipality 
2006-07 
$290,000 
$290,000 
Costs 
Significant 
Projections 
2007-08 
$290,000 
$290,000 
Projections 
2008-09 
$290,000 
$290,000 
The additional cost to reimburse municipalities for 50% of the revenue loss associated with the increase in exempt 
property is estimated to be $290,000 annually, beginning in fiscal year 2006-07 based on an April 1,2006 application 
date. The 50% funding requirement is in addition to the state mandate described above. 
LR2205(2) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of I