An Act Concerning Technical Changes to the Tax Laws II
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 2154
Committee Amendment CA_A_S508 (Senate)
Amends: 36 MRSA §1603, 36 MRSA §5219-C

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " to S.P. 823, L.D. 2154, Bill, "An Act 
Concerning Technical Changes to the Tax Laws" 
II 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 34 and 35 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 34. 36 MRSA §1603, suh-§l, as amended by PL 2005, c. 686, Pt. A, §65, is 
further amended to read: 
1. Definition. For the purposes of this chapter, "municipal cost component" means 
IS 
the cost of funding services in the Unorganized Territory Tax District that would not be 
borne by the State if the Unorganized Territory Tax District were a municipality, but does 
not include a state cost allocation charge, including, without limitation, reimbursement to 
the General Fund for departmental functions such as accounting, personnel administration 
and supervision. "Municipal cost component" also includes the cost of funding 
obligations of the unorganized territory under the terms of a tax increment financing 
district approved by the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development prior 
to January 1,2008 pursuant to Title 30-A, chapter 206. The "municipal cost component" 
includes, but is not limited to: 
A. The cost of education, as would be determined by the Essential Programs and 
Services Funding Act if the unorganized territory were a municipality; 
B. The cost of services the state funds in the unorganized territory that are funded 
locally by a municipality; the cost of forest fire protection to be included in the cost 
component must be determined in accordance with Title 12, section 9205-A and 
collected in the same manner as other portions of the municipal cost component; atl6 
C. The cost of reimbursement by the State for services a county provides to the 
unorganized territory in accordance with Title 30-A, chapter 305. A county may not 
be reimbursed for services provided on or after January I, 1979, unless a legislative 
allocation is obtained pursuant to this chapter. If a county receives, in addition to its 
budget, funds that are designated by the Legislature for a specific purpose and the 
county does not spend those funds for that specific purpose in that fiscal year, then 
the reimbursement under this chapter to that county for the next fiscal year must be 
Page J- 123LR3079(02)-1 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "4" to S.P. 823, L.D. 2154 
reduced by an amount equal to the amount of funds so designated that were not 
expended for that specific purpose~; and 
D. The cost for payments that the unorganized territory is required to make pursuant 
to the terms of a tax increment financing district approved by the Commissioner of 
Economic and Community Development pursuant to Title 30-A, chapter 206 prior to 
January 1, 2008 with respect to taxable property in the Unorganized Territory Tax 
District. 
Sec. 35. 36 MRSA § 1606, as amended by PL 1989, c. 373, § 1, is repealed and the 
following enacted in its place: 
§1606. Property taxes credited on assessments; quarterly payments for unorganized 
territory services and annually for county taxes 
1. Credit and appropriation of special funds or taxes for political subdivisions. 
Notwithstanding any other statute to the contrary, the gross amount of property taxes 
assessed upon real and personal property in the unorganized territory through the State 
Tax Assessor for the benefit of any special fund or political subdivision of the State may 
be credited on the books of the State to the special fund or to the proper fiscal officer of 
the political subdivision. The Treasurer of State shall pay to that fiscal officer the amount 
of the tax so assessed, in equal quarterly amounts for unorganized territory services, on or 
before the last day of July, October, January and April and an annual installment for 
county taxes on or before October 15th following the date of the assessment. The amount 
of the assessment is appropriated for the purposes of this subsection. 
2. Tax increment financing payments. With respect to a tax increment financing 
district located in the unorganized territory and approved by the Commissioner of 
Economic and Community Development pursuant to Title 30-A, chapter 206 prior to 
January 1, 2008, the Treasurer of State must deposit into the development program fund 
established by a county for the tax increment financing district pursuant to Title 30-A, 
section 5227, subsection 3 the tax increment revenues on the captured assessed value, as 
that term is defined in Title 30-A, section 5222. The payment must be made on or before 
October 15th following the date of assessment or within 30 days after the taxes 
constituting the tax increment are paid, whichever is later. The amount of the assessment 
is appropriated for the purposes of this subsection. 
3. 
Deposits, abatements, interest payments and supplemental assessments. 
Upon collection by the State Tax Assessor, taxes collected under subsection 1 must be 
deposited in the Unorganized Territory Education and Services Fund. All abatements of 
such taxes must be charged against the Unorganized Territory Education and Services 
Fund and all interest and supplemental assessments must be paid into the Unorganized 
Territory Education and Services Fund and neither may be charged against or credited to 
the special fund or political subdivision on account of which the tax was levied. Any 
excess of supplemental assessments over abatements accruing to the Unorganized 
Territory Education and Services Fund must be considered as reimbursement to the 
Unorganized Territory Education and Services Fund for administrative expenses 
connected with the assessment of those taxes. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
.~' 
II 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT .. A 
"to S.P. 823, L.D. 2154 
4. Intent. The intent of the Legislature is to permit the administration of all real and 
personal property taxes in the unorganized territory through the Unorganized Territory 
Education and Services Fund as a matter of convenience and economy.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 83. 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 90 the following: 
'Sec. 91. 36 MRSA §5219-C, as amended by PL 2007, c. 437, § 18 and affected 
by §22, is further amended to read: 
§5219-C. Forest management planning income credits 
Once every 10 years, an individual is allowed a credit against the tax otherwise due 
under this Part for the lesser of $200 or the individual's cost for having a forest 
management and harvest plan developed by a licensed professional forester for a parcel 
of forest land in this State greater than 10 acres. For purposes of this section, the The 
licensed professional forester may not be in the regular employ of the individual. This 
credit may not reduce the state income tax otherwise due under this Part to less than zero. 
An individual claiming this credit must attach a statement from the forester supporting 
the claim and swear that the credit has not been claimed by the individual in the previous 
years. An individual claiming this credit who deducts the cost of the forester forest 
management and harvest plan as an expense under the Internal Revenue Code must 
subtract the expense from increase federal adjusted gross income by the amount of that 
expense for purposes of the tax imposed by this Part. This credit may be used in any tax 
year beginning on or after January 1, 1989.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment amends provisions regarding tax increment financing districts in the 
unorganized territories. It also removes a provision resolving a statutory conflict in the 
real estate transfer tax because that conflict is resolved in other legislation. 
The 
amendment also adds a section to correct a provision in the forest management planning 
income tax credit to avoid double counting of certain expenses. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT