An Act To Limit Property Acquired by Municipalities due to Tax Delinquency
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0320
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: McKANE, SNOWE-MELLO, CLOUGH, GLYNN, LINDELL, TRAHAN, TWOMEY
Amends: 36 MRSA §943-A, 36 MRSA §945-A

Legislative Document 
No. 320 
H.P.244 
House of Representatives, January 19,2005 
An Act To Limit Property Acquired by Municipalities due to Tax 
Delinquency 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
71/~ 
1J7.1ll~~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative McKANE of Newcastle. 
Cosponsored by Senator SNOWE-MELLO of Androscoggin and 
Representatives: CLOUGH of Scarborough, GLYNN of South Portland, LINDELL of 
Frankfort, TRAHAN of Waldoboro, TWOMEY of Biddeford. 
Printed on recyc led paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §943-A. as enacted by PL 1985, c. 364, §2, is 
repealed and the following e~acted in its place: 
§943-A. 
Notice of right to apply for abatement or payment plan 
1. 
Notice of ri~JLgpp.ly. Each notice under section 942 
or 1281 that is sent by a municipality or the State Tax Assessor 
to a person against whom taxes have been assessed must contain: 
A. 
A statement that the person may apply for an abatement 
of taxes or the establishment of 
a 
payment plan if the 
person cannot pay the taxes that have been assessed because 
of poverty or infirmity; 
B. 
A statement identifying property tax assistance programs 
for which the person may be eligible; and 
C. 
A statement of 
the 
availability of 
a 
payment 
plan 
developed by the taxing authority under subsection 2 and a 
statement that as long as the person is making a good faith 
effort to pay the delinquent taxes through a payment plan, 
the taxing authority will work with the person to prevent 
foreclosure. 
2. 
Payment 
plan. 
Each 
municipality 
shall 
develop 
a 
procedure for establishing a payment plan for delinquent taxes 
based upon ability to pay with a person against whom taxes are 
assessed and who is unable to pay those taxes. 
If a 
~I1 
against whom the taxes are assessed believes that the payment 
plan is unreasonable, that person may appeal to the municipal 
officers. 
The payment plan may set off against delinquent taxes 
amounts owed by the municipality to the person against whom taxes 
are assessed. 
A payment plan may be assumed by 
a 
surviving 
spouse and may be adjusted according to the surviving spouse's 
ability to pay. 
3. 
Notice to heirs. 
If a person against whom taxes have 
~n assessed dies while occupying residential property against 
which those taxes have been assessed, the municipality shall make 
reasonable efforts to notify the heirs wi thin 3 months of the 
death of the property owner of the right to develop a payment 
plan for repayment of delinquent taxes within a period not to 
exceed 2 years. 
Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §945-A is enacted to read: 
§945-A. 
Recoyery after foreclosure 
1. 
Notice. 
A municipality that acquires residential or 
commercial 
property 
by 
foreclosure 
under 
this article shall 
notify the former owner of the right to repurchase the property 
by establishing with the municipality a plan for repayment based 
upon the former owner I s ability to pay the taxes, interest and 
associated costs incurred by the municipality. 
2. 
Right 
of 
residence. 
If 
the 
former 
owner 
or 
the 
surv~v~ng spouse 
continues 
to 
reside on residential property 
acquired by foreclosure under this article and is making a good 
faith effort to repurchase the property through a payment plan 
arranged with the munici~y, the municipality may not sell the 
property to a 3rd party. 
A payment plan may be assumed by a 
surviving spouse and may be adjusted according to the surviving 
spouse I s ability to pay. 
The payment plan may set off against 
the delinquent taxes amounts owed by the municipality to the 
former owner. 
If the former owner or surviving spouse ceases 
residing on the residential property, the municipality may sell 
or otherwise dispose of the property. 
3. 
Right of occupation of cOJm!Jercial property. 
I f 
the 
commercial property acquired by the municipality by foreclosure 
under this article is occupied and the person occupying that 
property is making a good faith effort to repurchase the property 
through a payment plan arranged with the municipality pursuant to 
section 
943-A, 
the municipality may 
not sell 
the 
commercial 
property to a 3rd party. 
4. 
Right to 
repurchQ_~_e. 
At any time before sale to a 3rd 
f@.Lty 
of 
a 
property 
acquired 
under 
this 
article 
by 
a 
municipality, the former owner or the former owner I s surviving 
spouse or heirs may repurchase the property by payment of all 
delin<;Iuent taxes, interest and associated costs incurred by the 
municipality. 
5. 
Re~ry of excgj!s gains on sale. 
If a municipality 
sells property acquired under this article to a 3rd party, the 
municipality shall pay to the former owner, the former owner I S 
surviving spouse or the former owner I s heirs all funds received 
from the sale after deducting all taxes owed; interest: costs, 
including costs of sale: and any other charges related to the 
property. 
If the former owner dies and one year after the death 
of 
the 
former 
owner 
no 
surv~v~ng spouse or heirs have 
been 
identified, the municipality may keep all funds received from the 
sale of the property. 
SUMMARY 
This bill is intended to reduce the amount of residential 
and commercial property acquired by municipalities for nonpayment 
of 
taxes 
by 
establishing procedures 
for 
the 
development 
of 
payment plans both before and after the property is acquired by a 
municipality. 
Municipalities 
are 
required 
to 
establish 
procedures 
for 
payment 
plans 
and 
to notify persons 
who 
are 
delinquent of those procedures and the availability of property 
tax relief programs. 
The municipality is permitted to set off 
against delinquent taxes amounts owed by the municipality to the 
person who is delinquent. 
If the person who is delinquent in 
payment of taxes, or in the case of residential property, that 
person's surviving spouse, continues to reside on or occupy the 
property, then the municipality cannot sell the property to a 3rd 
party if the person residing on or occupying the residential or 
commercial property is making a good faith effort to repurchase 
the property. 
A former owner or the former owner's surviving 
spouse is permitted to buy back 
the property by payment of 
delinquent taxes, 
interest and costs at 
any 
time before the 
property is sold to a 3rd party. 
A municipality that sells a 
tax-acquired property is required to pay the funds received in 
excess of delinquent taxes, 
interest and costs to the former 
owner or the former owner's surviving spouse or heirs.