An Act To Amend the Applied Technology Development Centers Statutes
Maine Legislature, Session 122, LD 0226
Committee: Business, Research and Economic Development
Sponsors: BROMLEY, RECTOR, BRYANT, DOW, AUSTIN, BERUBE, FARRINGTON
Amends: 5 MRSA §12004-G, 5 MRSA §1532, 5 MRSA §15321

Legislative Document 
No. 226 
S.P.79 
In Senate, January 18,2005 
An Act To Amend the Applied Technology Development Centers 
Statutes 
Submitted by the Department of Economic and Community Development pursuant to Joint 
Rule 204. 
Reference to the Committee on Business, Research and Economic Development suggested 
and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator BROMLEY of Cumberland. 
Cosponsored by Representative RECTOR of Thomaston and 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Senators: BRYANT of Oxford, DOW of Lincoln, Representatives: AUSTIN of Gray, 
BERUBE of Lisbon, FARRINGTON of Gorham. 
Printed on recyc led paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §12004-G. sub-§33-E. as enac ted by PL 1999, c. 
731. Pt. UUU, @l, is amended to read: 
33-E. 
Technology 
ApplieEl 
Technology 
PeyelepRlea~ 
Center 
Sys~eRl 
Coordinating 
Board 
Not 
Authorized 
MRSA 
§1532l 
Sec. 2. 5 MRS A §13105, sub-§2, ~C. as enacted by PL 2003, c. 
673, Pt. M, §8, is amended to read: 
C. 
The 
development 
of 
new 
commercial 
products 
and 
the 
fabrication of such products in the State through the Maine 
Technology Institute under section 15302 
and the appliee 
technology EleyelepRlea~ centers under section 15321; and 
Sec. 3. 5 MRSA c. 407. sub-c. 2. is amended by repealing the 
subchapter headnote and enacting in its place the following: 
SUBCHAPTER 2 
TECHNOLOGY CENTERS 
Sec. 4. 5 MRSA §15321. as amended by PL 2001, c. 562, 1i;3 and 
PL 2003, c. 20, Pt. 00, §2 and affected by §4, is further amended 
to read: 
§1532l. Technology centers 
1. 
Establishment; 
purpose. 
The 
App*iee---~eeBBe*e~y 
PeyelepRlea~-~ea~eF-Sys~eRl technology centers, referred to in this 
section as the 
"sys~eRl centers," is are established. 
The purpose 
of the sys,"eRl centers is to permit early-stage development of 
technology-based 
businesses 
while 
m~n~mizing 
or 
eliminating 
debilitating 
overhead 
expenses. 
The 
sys,"eRl--is 
self-managed, 
state-coordinated centers, 
strategically placed throughout 
the 
State, are an integral component of the State's efforts to foster 
new technology-based businesses 
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sel~-Rlaaa~eElT--~~~~~~--eea,"eFs--~~~~~l~~--plaeee 
,"lH:el:l~Bel:l~--t.~-S,"at,e. 
The goals of the sys,"eRl centers include 
the following: 
A. 
The retention of successful start-up businesses in the 
State; 
Page l-LR0426(1) 
B. 
The improvement of opportunities for workers through the 
creation of technologically advanced jobs; 
C. 
The encouragement of private-sector initiatives: 
D. 
The renovation and utilization of vacant commercial real 
estate; and 
E. 
The generation of new sources of revenue for local and 
state tax bases. 
2. 
Administration. 
The 
following provisions govern the 
administration of the sys~em centers. 
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B. 
The Department of Economic 
and Community Development 
shall establish aB-A"f>"f>J-iee 
Q Technology 
geve±e~meB~ Center 
~ys~em 
Coordinating 
Board 
that 
consists 
of 
interested 
parties 
in 
the 
State 
to 
coordinate 
6ys~em 
center 
acti vi ties. 
The 
A~~±iee 
Technology 
geve±e~meB~ 
Center 
~ys~em Coordinating Board consists of at least the following 
members: 
(1) 
The 
Commissioner 
of 
Economic 
and 
Community 
Development or the commissioner's designee; 
(3) 
A 
representative 
from 
each 
a~~*iea technology 
aeye*e~mea~ center, chosen by that center; 
(4) 
A representative 
System, chosen by· the 
Maine System; 
from 
the University of 
Maine 
Chancellor of the University of 
(5) 
A 
System, 
College 
representative of the Maine Community College 
chosen by the President of the Maine Community 
System; 
(6) 
A representative of a nonprof i t organi zation that 
is 
funded 
by 
the 
State 
and 
promotes 
the 
State 
to 
business entities, chosen by that organization; 
(7) 
An 
attorney, 
chosen 
by 
the 
Commissioner 
of 
Economic and Community Development; 
(8) 
A financial expert, chosen by the Commissioner of 
Economic and Community Development; and 
(9) 
A representative of the institute. 
C. 
Each 
a~~*iea technology 
aeye*e~mea~ center is governed 
by its own board of directors. 
Each board of directors 
shall establish standards for the selection of tenants. 
O. 
The Department of 
Economic 
and Community Development 
shall determine where 
the 
a~~*iea technology 
aeye*e~meat 
centers are to be located. 
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3. 
Technology centers. 
The 
following provisions 
govern 
a~p*ieQ technology Qeye*e~meat centers. 
A. 
Aa--a~~*ieQ 
~ technology 
Qeye±epmeH~ center 
may 
be 
incorporated 
as 
a 
nonprofit organization, 
be part of 
a 
nonprofit 
organization, 
be 
incorporated 
as 
a 
for-profit 
organization or be part of a for-profit organization. 
The 
following provisions govern a for-profit 
a~~*ieQ technology 
Qeye*e~mea~ center. 
(1) 
Services made available to aa-a~~lieQ ~ technology 
aeve*e~meat center by the center director must be made 
available to all tenants of a for-profit center. 
(2) 
A for-profit center in a targeted technology may 
apply 
for 
available 
funding. 
A 
for-profit 
center 
selected for funding shall accept the funding as a loan 
that may be paid back in the form of cash, equity or 
royalties as agreed upon by the for-profit center and 
the Department of Economic and Community Development. 
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c. 
Each app*iea technology aeve*epmeB~ center shall provide 
shared, low-cost space to selected tenants and be designed 
1-_0 be self-sufficient with regard to operational costs and 
structural 
maintenance. 
Existing 
real 
estate 
must 
be 
considered 
where 
suitable. 
Specific 
business 
support 
tailored 
to 
each 
tenant 
must 
be 
provided 
by 
existina 
nraanizations such as the small business development centers 
and regional economic development districts. 
Each 
apF±~ea 
technology 
aeve*eFmeB~ 
center 
must 
have 
simultaneous-broadcast or interactive-television capability 
"I access to these capabilities nearby to facilitate common 
training for the system. 
D. 
The records and proceedings of the 
aeve±eFmeB~ centers 
are 
not 
considered 
purposes of Title 1, chapter 13. 
aFF*iea technology 
public 
for 
the 
4. 
Funding. 
The following provisions govern funding 
[01 
aFF±iea technology aeve*eFmeB~ centers. 
A. 
An applicant may not receive more than $750,000 
€tem-~Be 
sys~em in an initial funding for aB--awl-iea 
.Q 
technology 
aeve*eFmeB~ center. 
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5. 
Relationship with academic institution. 
AR---ap-F-1-~e9 A 
technology eevelepmeR~ center shall establish a relationship with 
at least one academic institution in this State. 
The Appliee 
Technology 
~evelepmeRt Center 
~ystem Coordinating 
Board shall 
establish 
guidelines 
for 
such 
a 
relationship 
and 
determine 
whether aR--aflflJ-iee 
Q technology eevelepmeRt center has met the 
requirements of this subsection. 
6. 
Rule-making authority. 
The Department of Economic and 
Communi ty Development may adopt rules to carry out the purposes 
of this section. 
Rules 
adopted pursuant to this section are 
routine technical rules as defined in chapter 375, 
subchapter 
U-A 2-A. 
SUMMARY 
This bill 
changes 
the 
names 
of 
the 
Applied 
Technology 
Development 
Centers 
and 
its 
coordinating 
board, 
removes 
the 
position of Applied Technology Development Center System Director 
and transfers the responsibilities of the Department of Economic 
and Community Development for marketinq and recruiting tenants to 
the centers. 
The bill also establishes a 
funding cap on the 
ini tial funding of a center and removes old references to named 
centers for the purpose of the initial funding allocations.