Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 2003
Committee: Business, Research and Economic Development
Sponsors: BOWMAN, GOULD, CHASE, HILL, WEAVER, WHEELER

Legislative Document . 
No. 2003 
S.P.797 
December 18, 2007 
(EMERGENCY) 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative COlmciI pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on December 18,2007. Referred to the Committee 
on Business, Research and Economic Development pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered 
printed . 
Presented by Senator BOWMAN of York. 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Cosponsored by Representative GOULD of South Berwick and Representatives: CHASE of 
Wells, HILL of York, WEAVER of York, WHEELER of Kittery. 
Printed on recycled paper 
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Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and 
Whereas, a regional development authority is vitally necessary at the earl iest 
possible time to serve the needs of the southern York County area; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an .emergency within 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
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Sec. 1. 
Southern York County Regional Development Authority 
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established; incorporation; purposes. 
The cities and towns of Berwick, Eliot, 
Kittery, South Berwick, North Berwick and Wells, or any combination of such cities and 
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towns, constitute a body politic and quasi-municipal corporation to be known as the 
Southern York-County Regional Development Authority, referred to in this Act as "the 
authority," for the benefit and welfare of the inhabitants thereof and to: 
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Strengthen the financial condition of local governments within the geographic 
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territory of the authority while combining resources and sharing costs for meeting 
regional economic development needs and challenges; 
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2. Promote and develop infrastructure and programs for employment and economic 
development opportunities and 
other conditions to 
positively affect regional 
development; 
3. Provide an organization to enable economic development among local 
governments and agencies .and to promote cooperative economic development and 
coordinated action among members; 
4. 
Serve as a forum to identify, discuss., study and focus on regional economic 
development challenges and opportunities; 
5. 
Provide a mechanism for the preparation, maintenance and distribution of 
economic development strategies of the region; 
6. 
Serve as a means for the collection nd exchange of economic development 
information; 
7. Actively promote and facilitate economic development throughout the region; 
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8. Speak on behalf of the membership of the authority; 
9. Coordinate with state and federal development programs; 
10. Make recommendations for review and action to its members and other public 
agencies that perform economic development and related functions within the region; 
Page I -123LR3003(Ol)-1 
11. Coordinate and co\1aborate with other public and quasi-governmental and private 
organizations in any manner that is intended to promote economic development; and 
12. Take a\1 actions necessary and appropriate to facilitate and develop affordable 
workforce housing within the region served by the authority. 
Sec. 2. General powers. In addition to the general powers possessed by such an 
entity, and the powers granted by other provisions of this Act. the authority may: 
1. Borrow money and issue negotiable notes having such tenns and provisions as the 
general assembly of the authority detennines necessary to accomplish the purposes set 
forth in this Act and for paying any indeotedness and any necessary expenses and 
liabilities incurred therefore; 
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2. Contract for the receipt of funds to accomplish any of the purposes set forth in this 
Act and to incur indebtedness in anticipation of the receipt of such funds by issuing 
negotiable notes payable in not more than 40 years. Those notes may be renewed from 
time to time by the issue of other notes. However, notes may not be issued or renewed in 
an amount that, at the time of issuance or renewal, exceeds the amount of funds 
remaining to be paid under any such contracts, unless otherwise allowed by law; 
3. Accept funds, grants, gifts and services from the Federal Government or federal 
agencies; from the State or its departments, agencies or instrumentalities; from any other 
governmental units whether or not a member of the authority; and from private and civic 
sources; and 
4. Exercise powers that are exercised separately or jointly by member governments 
or are authorized by law to deal with economic development needs or opportunities of 
local or regional concern, including the power to: 
A. Sue and be sued. complain and defend in its corporate name; 
B. Purchase; t~ receive; lease; take by gift. devise or bequest; acquire; own; hold; 
improve; use; and otherwise deal in and with real or personal property or any interest 
therein, wherever situated; 
C. Sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange, transfer and otherwise dispose of 
all or any part of its property and assets; 
D. Purchase, take, receive, subscribe for, acquire, own, hold, vote on, use, employ, 
sell, mortgage, loan, pledge or otherwise dispose of and use and deal in and with 
shares or other interest in or obligations of other domestic or foreign corporations, 
whether profit or nonprofit; associations; partnerships; joint ventures; or individuals, 
or direct or indirect obligations of the United States or of any other government, state, 
territory, governmental authority or municipality, or of any instrumentality thereof; 
E. Actively and lega\1y participate, either directly or indirectly, in any and all joint 
ventures, whether for-profit or nonprofit; 
F. 
Facilitate and participate in any tax increment financing district or program 
established pursuant to existing State law for the purpose of promoting economic 
development in the region; 
G. Make contracts and incur liabilities; borrow money; issue notes, bonds and other 
obligations; and secure any of its obligations by mortgage or pledge of all or any of 
its property, franchises and income; 
H. Issue assessments as provided for in section 11 of this Act; 
I. Lend money for its corporate purposes, invest and reinvest its funds and take and 
hold real and personal property as security for the payment of funds so loaned or 
invested; 
J. Spend money for its corporate purposes; 
K. Conduct its affairs, carry on its operations, hold property and have offices and 
exercise the powers granted by the laws of the State; 
L. Organize and operate subentities for the purpose of developing and operating any 
of its development projects; 
M. Elect or appoint officers, employees and agents of the authority and define their 
duties and fix their compensation; 
N. Cease its corporate activities and surrender its corporate franchise; and 
O. Have and exercise all powers necessary or convenient to effect any or all of the 
purposes for which the authority is organized. 
Sec. 3. 
Operational phases of the authority. 
Upon this Act becoming 
operationally effective pursuant to its provisions, the business of the authority must be 
separated into the following phases. 
1. 
Operational planning phase. 
Once this Act becomes operationally effective 
pursuant to section 15, the authority shall, for a period of time to be determined by the 
general assembly constituted under section 4, engage in an initial operational planning 
phase. During the operational planning phase, the authority shall, by whatever means 
determined appropriate by the genentl assembly, and with the assistance of such 3rd 
parties, consultants and other entities, both public and private, as the general assembly 
determines necessary and appropriate for the purposes for which the authority has been 
created, establish an operational development plan. The operational development plan 
must include, but is not limited to, one or more economic development and related 
projects within the region of the authority. 
Each city or town whose voters initially vote, pursuant to section 15 of this Act, to 
become a participating member community of the authority is deemed to be voting to be 
legally responsible for paying an equal share determined by dividing the total operating 
costs of the authority during the operational planning phase established by the general 
assembly from time to time by the number of member communities initially voting, 
pursuant to section 15 of this Act, to become a member of the authority, which costs must 
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be prorated accordingly and billed to each member community on a schedule that is 
determined from time to time by the general assembly. 
2. Developmental implementation phase. Upon the adoption and approval of an 
initial operational development plan by the governing body of the authority, the authority 
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shall establish an implementation plan that includes a proposal for any necessary 
financing or fund-raising in order to implement the development plan of the authority. 
The developmental implementation phase may consist of more than one development 
project with multiple locations within the region of the authority. Each such separate 
project's development plan must also contain its own plan of financing. 
Any developmental implementation plan must provide for a minimum number of 
communities with a minimum amount of state valuation of those communities, which 
must vote to financially support the cost of any such development project pursuant to the 
provisions of this Act. Any such vote by the voters of a member community or other 
community named in section I of this Act constitutes the legal and valid commitment of 
that community to pay its share of the costs of the implementation of the development 
plan that is the subject matter of the vote taken by each such community, with the costs of 
any such development project being apportioned to those cities and towns having voted to 
participate in such project in the same ratio that each participating city's or town's state 
valuation is to the total state valuation of all cities and towns participating in that 
particular development project of the authority. 
It is possible that not all of the cities and towns whose voters vote to become 
members of the authority and to participate in the initial operational planning phase may 
be participating cities and towns with respect to one or more of the development projects 
of the authority that may be part of the developmental implementatiolT phase of its 
operations. Any city or town that votes to participate in a development project of the 
authority that did not initially vote to become a member of the authority becomes a full 
voting member of the authority. 
Sec. 4. Governing body; general assembly; executive board. The governing 
body of the authority is a general assembly constituted in accordance with this section. 
I. Operational planning phase. During the operational planning phase described in 
section 3, each city or town that votes to accept the provisions of this Act to become a 
member of the authority is entitled to 3 representatives to the general assembly of the 
authority, one of whom must be an elected town official, one of whom must be a staff 
member of the city or town and one of whom must be a member of the public residing in 
the city or town. Each city or town shall determine the method for electing or appointing 
each of its voting representatives to the general assembly. 
2. Developmental implementation phase. Representation on the general assembly 
for each city or town that votes to participate and financially support a development 
project of the authority is determined as follows. 
A. Once a sufficient number of cities and towns with the specified minimum amount 
of combined state valuation have voted to financially support the cost of the first 
development project of the authority described in a developmental implementation 
plan, the operational planning phase of the authority ceases and the composition of 
the voting representatives to the general assembly of the authority must be modified 
from its composition in the operational planning phase so that each city and town 
voting to participate and support a developmental project of the authority is 
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represented by at least one voting representative to the general assembly of the 
authority. 
B. 
The secretary of the general assembly shall determine additional voting 
representation in the general assembly in the following manner. Additional 
representation on the general assembly must be based on the pro rata state valuation 
of each city and town. When any member city or town has a state valuation that is at 
least 5% of the total aggregate state valuation of all member cities and towns, it is 
entitled to one additional representative to the general assembly for each full 
additional 5% that the amount of its state valuation is in comparison to the total 
aggregate state valuation of all the member cities and towns. The number of voting 
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representatives to the general assembly to which each member city or town is entitled 
must be determined by the general assembly every 6 years after the initial or most 
recent determination using the most recent state valuation then available. The 
municipal officers of each member city or town shall select and appoint its 
representative to the general assembly in a manner determined by each city or town. 
Any city or town that votes to participate in a development project of the authority 
and did not vote to become a member during the authority's operational planning 
phase is entitled to representation on the general assembly based upon this same 
formula. 
3. Bylaws; executive board; officers. The general assembly shall adopt bylaws for 
the governance and operation of the authority. It shall meet at least quarterly and shall 
provide for an executive board from its membership. The minimum and maximum 
number of members of the executive board and the executive board's authority must be 
determined pursuant to the bylaws for the governance and operation of the authority 
adopted by the general assembly. A city or town may not have more than one voting 
representative serving on the executive board at any time. Any city or town in which the 
authority is developing or is operating a development project and that is a participating 
member of the authority has the right to have a voting representative on the executive 
board. The general assembly or the executive board may establish and appoint any 
committees that it considers appropriate and necessary to the accomplishment of the 
authority'S purposes. The members of those committees may be members of the general 
assembly and executive board and may also include other persons or other organizations 
that share an interest with the authority in promoting its purposes and mission. 
Each year the general assembly shall elect a president, a vice president, a treasurer and a 
secretary and any other officers it considers appropriate. 
Sec. 5. How imanced. To procure funds to carry out the purpose of this Act, the 
authority may, through a majority vote of its general assembly, borrow money and issue 
general obligation bonds and notes in anticipation of bond issue to an indebtedness not to 
exceed I % of the total state valuation of all the cities and towns that vote to become 
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participating members of the authority during its initial operational planning phase or that 
subsequently vote to financially support a development project of the authority. 
Each bond or note must bear interest at rates as the general assembly may determine, 
payable annually or semiannually and subject to other provisions as determined by the 
general assembly. These bonds and notes may be issued to mature serially or to run for 
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such periods as the general assembly determines but in no event may the maturity of any 
term bond exceed 40 years. 
All bonds may, at the discretion of the general assembly, be made callable, and the 
amount of premium to be paid on call and the period for which these callable bonds may 
not be redeemable must be left to the discretion of the general assembly. This discretion 
may be manifested by a vote of the majority of the general assembly. 
All bonds and notes issued by the authority must be signed by the treasurer and 
countersigned by the president of the authority. If coupon bonds are issued, each coupon 
must be attested by the facsimile signatures of the president and treasurer printed on the 
coupons. These bonds and notes are legal obiigations of the authority, which is a quasi-
municipal corporation within the meaning of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 30-A, 
section 5701, and all the provisions of that section apply to the authority. These bonds 
and notes are legal investments in which all public officers and public bodies of the State 
and its political subdivisions; all municipalities and municipal subdivisions; all insurance 
companies and associations and other persons carrying on an insurance business; all 
banks, bankers, banking associatio~ trust companies, savings banks and savings 
associations, including savings and loan associations, building and loan associations, 
investment companies and other persons carrying on a banking business; all 
administrators, guardians, executor~ trustees and other fiduciaries; and all other persons 
who are, on or after the effective date of this A~ authorized to invest in bonds or other 
obligations of the State may property and legally invest funds, including capital, in their 
control or belonging to them. The securities are also, by this Act, made securities that 
may properly and legally be deposited with and received by all public officers and bodies 
of the State or any agency or political subdivision of the State and all municipalities and 
public corporations for any purpose for which the deposit of securities of bonds or other 
obligations of the State may be authorized by law. 
Sec.6. Sinking fund; refunding bonds. In case any bonds or notes at any time 
issued are made to run for a period of years, as distinguished from serial maturity, the 
general assembly may establish a sinking fund for such bonds or notes for the purpose of 
redeeming the bonds or notes when they become due. If a sinking fund is established, the 
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amount to be paid annually into this sinking fund may not be less than the debt service on 
the bonds and notes to become due in that year. In addition to this annual sinking fund 
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payment, the general assembly may, from time to time, add to any sinking fund any funds 
of the authority not required for other purposes. Funds in any sinking fund may be 
deposited in any national bank, savings bank or trust company organized under the laws 
of any state or may be invested in whole or in part in any bonds of the United States or 
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any agency of the United States, of the State or of any political subdivision of the State or 
in any investment in which a municipality is permitted to invest as the general assembly 
may determine. Interest received on any funds so invested must be added to the sinking 
fund. If the amount accumulated in any sinking fund, together with interest received or to 
be received on that amount, is sufficient to pay at maturity or, at the option of the general 
assembly, to redeem the bonds or notes for the benefit of which the sinking f~d was 
established, all further payments to that sinking fund must cease. 
Whenever any bonds or notes issued by the authority become due or can be 
purchased or called for redemption by the authority on favorable terms, the general 
assembly, if sufficient funds have accumulated in the sinking fund provided for the bonds 
or notes, may pay, purchase or redeem those bonds or notes from the sinking fund and 
cancel them. Bonds or notes so paid, purchased or redeemed and canceled may not be 
reissued. 
In case the amount in any sinking fund is not sufficient to pay the total amount, when 
due, ofthe bonds and notes for which the sinking fund was provided or in case it becomes 
desirable in the opinion of the general assembly to call for the redemption of any 
outstanding bonds or notes and to issue new bonds or notes in their stead, authority is 
granted to repay so many of the original bonds or notes as cannot be paid or redeemed 
from the sinking fund provided for the bonds or notes, if any. New bonds or notes may 
not mature more than 40 years from the original date of issue of the original bonds or 
notes so refunded. 
Sec. 7. Referendum on bond issues. When the general assembly has authorized 
the issue of any bonds or notes, an attested copy of the vote of the general assembly must 
be filed with the municipal offLCers of each of the cities and towns that are members of 
the authority and published in a newspaper or newspapers having a generd circulation in 
the geographic territory of the authority not later than 10 days following the day on which 
the vote was adopted by the general assembly, together with a statement indicating that 
the vote will become effective, unless before the expiration of 15 days from the date on 
which a copy of the vote was first published the president or the secretary of the general 
assembly has received a petition, signed by at least 10% in the aggregate of the residents 
of the cities and towns that are members of the authority el igible to vote on the date the 
vote was adopted, requesting that the question of whether the bonds or notes be issued by 
the authority be submitted to the voters of those member cities and towns. The statement 
must also state the name and address of the president and secretary of the general 
assembly. A vote of the general assembly authorizing an issue of bonds or notes under 
this Act does not become effective before the expiration of 15 days from the date upon 
which the vote and statement are published. If within that period a petition, signed by at 
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least 10% of the residents of the cities and towns that are members of the authority 
eligible to vote on the date that the issuance of bonds or notes by the general assembly 
was adopted as shown by the authority's voting list under section 8, is filed with the 
president or the seCTetary of the general assembly, asking that the question of whether the 
bonds or notes are to be issued be submitted to the voters, the vote of the general 
assembly is suspended from becoming effective and the general assembly shall 
immedia.tely reconsider the vote. If that vote is not rescinded by the general assembly, the 
question of whether such bonds or notes may be issued must be submitted by the general 
assembly to the voters of the cities and towns that are members of the authority at a 
special meeting of those qualified voters to be held at a place within the geographic 
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territory of the authority within 60 days of the receipt of the petition. The special meeting 
must be called and held as provided in section 12 of this Act, except that the notice must 
set forth the vote of the general assembly authorizing those bonds, together with the 
proposed form of the ballot to be used at that special meeting. At the special meeting, a 
vote on the question of whether the bonds may be issued must be voted on by ballot, the 
form of which must be substantially as follows: 
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"OFFICIAL BALLOT SOUTHERN YORK COUNTY REGIONAL 
DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY 
Do you favor issuing bonds or notes of the Southern York County 
Regional Development Authority in the amount of $ ............................ , 
bearing interest not to eKceed .. ............. percent for the purpose of 
procuring funds for the following purposes: (Insert brief description of 
purpose for which bonds or notes are to be issued)? 
Ifin favor of the bond issue, so indicate on this ballot. 
If opposed to the bond issue, so indicate on this ballot." 
If a majority of the qualified voters voting at the meeting approve the issue of the 
bonds, the vote of the general assembly authorizing the bonds becomes effective; if not 
approved, the vote of the general assembly authorizing the bonds is void. The voters 
qualified to vote at the special meeting must be determined by use of the authority voting 
I ist under section 8. 
Sec. 8. Authority voting list. The general assembly shall appoint a resident of a 
member city or town to make and keep a voting list of all residents of the member cities 
and towns eligible to vote. This person is the registration clerk. The registration clerk 
shall compile the voting list from the voting lists of all of the member cities and towns. 
At least 2 days before any meeting at which the voters of the member cities and towns are 
called upon to vote, the registration clerk shall bring this voting list up to date by 
comparing the registration clerk's list with those voting lists found in the cities and towns 
that are members of the authority and by making such additions and deletions as the 
registration clerk finds necessary. Additions or deletions may not be made in the 2-day 
period prior to that meeting. 
Sec. 9. Authority to issue temporary notes. In any fiscal year, in anticipation 
of assessments for that year, the general assembly may, by a vote of a majority of its 
members, authorize the borrowing of money by the issuance and sale ofremporary notes 
of the authority. If the authority's budget has not been approved in that year, the amount 
of borrowing may not exceed 50% of the approved budget of the preceding year. 
Temporary notes of the authority may be issued for a period of not more than one year 
and may be renewed from time to time by the issue of other temporary notes, as long as 
the period from the date of issue of the original note to date of maturity or last renewal of 
the note is not more than one year. Notes that are not paid at the end of a fiscal year may 
be included in the following year's budget as an expenditure, and an amount sufficient to 
pay the notes may be assessed and collected as provided in section 11 of this Act. 
Notwithstanding any provision in section 11 to the contrary, this amount may not be 
reduced. 
Sec. 10. Agreements for financial assistance authorized. The authority is 
authorized, by vote of a majority of the general assembly, to enter into an agreement with 
the State or the Federal Government or any agency of either government or with any 
corporation or board authorized by the Federal Government or the State to loan money to 
or to otherwise assist in the financing of projects that the authority is authorized to 
finance by the issue of bonds or notes as may be necessary or desirable to accomplish 
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those purposes. The right to enter into an agreement is subject to the right of referendum 
reserved to the voters in section 7 of this Act if the authority incurs liability under any 
such agreement, and the provisions of sections 7 and 12 apply so far as they apply to a 
special meeting called and held for the purpose of a referendum. 
Sec. 11. Annual reports and budget; assessments. The fiscal year of the 
authority is July I st to June 30th. At the close of the fiscal year and not later than 
December 31 st of each year, the general assembly shall annually make a report of its 
doings, showing the financial condition of the authority and other matters pertaining to 
the authority, and shall show the inhabitants of the cities and towns of the authority how 
the members of the general assembly are fulfilling the duties and obligations of their 
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respective trusts. The report also must include the amount of income earned during the 
fiscal year and the sum required each year to meet the bonds or notes falling due and 
what further sum is necessary to meet the interest on these bonds or notes or other 
obligations of the authority and all other expenses necessary for the operation of the 
authority, including temporary loans. Copies of the report must be filed with the 
municipal officers of each city or town that is a member of the authority and may be 
distributed to the voters of those cities and towns by the respective cities and towns in the 
same manner as is provided for town reports. The cost of printing these reports must be 
included in the operating budget of the authority. 
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If the sum to be raised with respect to a given fiscal year exceeds the total specified in 
subsections 1 and 2, the general assembly shall hold an authority budget meeting before 
the first day of September of that year. At this meeting the budget must be explained and 
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the VoU:rs of the member cities and towns must be given an opportunity to be heard. If a 
budget is presented in any given year, it is deemed approved unless disapproved by the 
voters of the authority by a majority vote at the authority budget meeting. The voters of 
the authority have the right to disapprove all or any part of the budget presented by the 
general assembly except that part that provides for the payment of interest on or the 
principal of nates or bonds or other obligations ofthe authority. 
To the extent that the general assembly may decide that the authority cannot operate 
within its projected revenues for the current fiscal year, the general assembly shall 
determine what sum of money should be raised by assessment for. 
I. Payment of principal payable in that year on outstanding bonds or nates or other 
obligations of the authority; 
2. Payment of interest on the indebtedness incurred or assumed by the authority; and 
3. Other specified expenses of the authority. 
The amount over the estimated income of the authority that is required to meet the 
expenses in the approved budget and the sums included in any budget for the payment of 
interest on or the principal of notes or bonds or other obligations of the authority are the 
obligation of the member cities and towns and must be apportioned to the participating 
cities and towns in the same ratio that each participating city's or town's latest state 
valuation is to the total state valuation of all participating cities and towns, if provided. 
However, the obligation may be determined as a joint obligation by an authorizing vote 
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of the legislative body of any member city or town. The general assembly shall issue its 
assessment warrants in substantially the same form as the warrants of the Treasurer of 
State to the assessors of each participating city or town. The warrants must require the 
assessors to assess upon the taxable polls and estates in each city or town the amount as 
approved at the authority budget meeting and to commit the assessment to the constable 
or collector of that city or town who is vested by law to collect state, county and 
municipal taxes. In the year in which the tax is iO levied, the treasurer of each city or 
town shall pay the amount of the assessment to the treasurer of the authority in a number 
of installments as established and determined by the general assembly of the authority 
from time to time. If the treasurer of any participating city or town fails to pay any 
installment or part of an installment by the date set for the payment in the year in which 
the assessment is levied, the treasurer of the authority shall issue a warrant for the amount 
of the unpaid balance to the county sheriff. The warrant must require the county sheriff to 
levy by distress and sale on the real and personal property of any resident of the member 
city or town where the default takes place, and the sheriff or any of the sheriffs deputies 
shall execute the warrant. The same authority as is vested in county officials for the 
collection of county taxes under the Maine Revised Statutes is lIested in the general 
assembly of the authority for the collection of assessments within participating cities and 
towns. 
Since it is possible that the authority, at any given point in time, may be developing 
and operating more than one development project and that the cost of the development 
and operation of each such project may be allocated to different combinations of cities 
and towns that are participating members of the authority, if such circumstances do occur, 
the authority shall develop and propose to its budget meetings a multi-part budget for 
both debt service and operations for its general operations and for each existing 
development project. 
Sec. 12. Authority budget meeting. The general assembly shall notify members 
of budget meeting as described in this section: 
1. 
Warrant required. 
Each authority meeting must be called by a warrant. The 
warrant must be prepared by the secretary and signed by the president of the general 
assembly. 
2. Form and procedure for warrant. The procedure and form of the warrant calling 
for the authority meeting is as follows. 
A. It must specify the time and place of the meeting. 
B. It must set forth the proposed authority budget in a manner to be decided by the 
general assembly. No other business may be acted upon. 
C. 
It must be directed to any resident of the member cities and towns by name, 
ordering that resident to notify the voters within that resident's city or town to 
assemble at the time and place appointed. 
D. 
An attested copy of the warrant must be posted by the resident described in 
paragraph C in some conspicuous public place in the resident's city or town at least 7 
days before the meeting, and the resident who has so posted the warrant shall 
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forthwith make and send a return on a copy of said warrant to the secretary of the 
general assembly. 
E. The secretary of the general assembly shall collect warrants returned pursuant to 
paragraph D and record the manner of notice in each city and town and the time when 
it was given. 
3. Meeting provisions. The following provisions apply to the budget meeting. 
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A. Each person whose name appears on the voting list in a member city or town may 
attend and vote at an authority budget meeting. 
B. The president of the general assembly shall open the meeting by calling for the 
election of a moderator, receiving votes for a moderator and swearing in the 
moderator. 
C. As soon as the moderator has been elected and sworn, the moderator shall preside 
at the meeting and has all the powers granted to the moderator of a town meeting 
under the Maine Revised Statutes. 
. D. The secretary of the general assembly shall record all the votes of the authority 
meeting. 
E. A majority vote of the legal voters present and voting is determinative of any vote 
or motion placed before the authority meeting. 
F. 
In the event that the operational and debt service budget of the authority has 
multiple parts that relate to the general operations of the authority and the 
development and operation of more than one development project of the authority, 
only those registered voters who are residents of a town or city that has initially voted 
to be a participating town or city in a particular development project of the authority 
may vote on the portion of the authority's budget relating to any such development 
project. 
Sec. 13. Dissolution. The authority may be dissolved only if all member cities and 
towns vote to dissolve it at legally constituted meetings in those cities and towns. If the 
authority has any outstanding indebtedness, it may not be dissolved. 
In the event of dissolution of the authority, all property, real, personal or mixed, must 
be marshaled and converted into cash in a manner to be determined by a majority vote of 
the general assembly, and distribution must then be made among the respective cities and 
towns in proportion to their state valuations as set forth in this Act. 
Sec. 14. Other cities and towns may join; procedure for withdrawing 
from the authority. Any city or town located within York County that is not a city or 
town listed in section 1 of this Act may vote to become a member of the authority on a 
date later than the date specified in section 15 of this Act for the initial vote for authority 
membership among the communities listed in section I of this Act if that vote to become 
a member of the authority by the voters of such other cities and towns located in York 
County is approved by at least a majority of the sitting representatives of the communities 
that are currently participating communities in the authority with representation on the 
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general assembly. 
Such a vote by the currently participating communities must also 
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specify the terms and conditions that must be satisfied by a subsequently joining city or 
town, including, but not limited to, the share of any existing indebtedness of the authority, 
as well as any future operational budgets and indebtedness of the authority, that a 
subsequently joining city or town is legally obligated to pay. 
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A city or town that is already a participating member of the authority and is also a 
participating community in anyone or more development projects of the authority may 
vote to withdraw its membership and its financial support, except that any such 
community continues to be legally obligated on any then-existing indebtedness of the 
authority until such time as the indebtedness is paid in full. Any such withdrawal 
becomes legally effective only on a date that marks the end of the fiscal year in which a 
withdrawal vote is taken by a community, after which that community is no longer 
legally liable or responsible for its share of the operational budget of the authority or any 
future indebtedness incurred by the authority after the effective date of the withdrawal. 
The city or town that withdraws pursuant to this paragraph also ceases to be eligible to 
receive distributions under any applicable interlocal revenue-sharing agreement. 
Sec. 15. 
Subsequent votes of cities and towns' to participate in 
development projects of authority. Any development plan of the authority must 
also contain provisions that specify the manner in which cities and towns that are already 
participating members of the authority, pursuant to votes taken as described in section 16 
of this Act, and other cities and towns named in section 1 of this Act that did not vote to 
initially become members of the authority or other cities and towns permitted to join the 
authority as participating members pursuant to section 14 of this Act may vote to 
participate in that specific development project of the authority. Such development plan 
must also specify a formula for determining the minimum commitment necessary through 
such votes in order for a development project to become operationally effective and must 
also include the terms of a proposed interlocal revenue-sharing agreement among the 
cities and towns that vote to participate in that particular development project of the 
authority. 
Sec. 16. Emergency clause; referendum; effective date. 
In view of the 
emergency cited in the preamble, this Act takes effect when approved only for the 
purpose of permitting its submission to the legal voters of the cities and towns described 
in section I of this Act at regular or special town meetings and city elections called and 
held for that purpose before December 31, 2008. Such city elections and town meetings 
must be called, advertised and conducted according to the law relating to municipal 
elections and meetings. The registrars of voters are not required to prepare, nor the clerks 
to post. new lists of voters. For the purpose of registration of voters, the registrars of 
voters must be in session on the secular day next preceding these regular or special 
meetiTtgs. The votes taken at town meetings must be by written ballot. 
The municipal clerks shall reduce the subject matter of this Act to the following 
question: 
"Do you favor approving the Act creating the Southern York County 
Regional Development Authority passed by the 123rd Legislature, and 
(insert name of city or town) becoming a participating member of that 
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authority for the purpose of partIcIpating In the initial operational 
planning phase of the authority?" 
The voters must indicate by a cross or check mark placed against the word "Yes" or 
"No" their opinion of the same. 
This Act becomes operationally effective immediately upon acceptance by at least 3 
of the 6 cities and towns listed in section I of this Act. The result of the vote must be 
declared by the municipal officers of the cities or towns, and due certification of the 
voting results must be filed by the city or town clerks with the Secretary of State. 
SUMMARY 
This bill creates a regional development authority in southern York County. Initially, 
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named communities in southern York County are eligible to be part of the authority and 
have the opportunity to vote on whether to become participating members of that 
authority. The submission of this proposed legislation resulted from the regional effort of 
s.everal communities located in southern York County and has been developed as a result 
of a regional development grant awarded to the Town of South Berwick by the Executive 
Department, State Planning Office. 
The Southern York County Regional Development Authority would have broad legal 
authority to engage in activities to promote, facilitate and conduct economic development 
through the creation of jobs, educational programs and workforce housing and other 
related activities, which would all take place through a coordinated, cooperative regional 
effort among the communities that vote to become members of the regional development 
authority.