An Act To Establish the Maine Local Land Trust Fund
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1075
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: ADAMS, BRYANT, CANAVAN, CARTER, CONNOR, GROSE, WALCOTT
Amends: 5 MRSA §6201, 5 MRSA §6203-B, 32 MRSA §1866-E

Legislative Document 
No.t07S 
H.P.793 
House of Representatives, March 6, 2007 
An Act To Establish the Maine Local Land Trust Fund 
Reference to the Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry suggested and 
ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative ADAMS of Portland. 
7iJ~/h.1iI~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Cosponsored by Representatives: BRYANT of Windham, CANAVAN of Waterville, 
CARTER of Bethel, CONNOR of Kennebunk, GROSE of Woolwich, WALCOTT of 
Lewiston. 
Prin.cd on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §6201, sub-§2-A is enacted to read: 
2-A. Local land trust. "Local land trust" means a nonprofit organization under 26 
United States code, Section 501(c)(3) that, as provided for in its mission statement, 
acquires land or interest in land within a defined region of the State to promote 
stewardship or conservation of land with natural features of value to the people of that 
region. 
Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §6203-B is enacted to read: 
§6203-B. Maine Local Land Trust Fund 
1. 
Fund established. 
The Maine Local Land Trust Fund is established as a 
nonlapsing fund administered by the board. The fund consists of 5% of abandoned 
beverage deposit amounts in accordance with Title 32, section 1 866-E, subsection 4 and 
funds received as contributions from private and public sources for the purposes set forth 
in this section. The fund must be held separate and apart from all other money, funds and 
accounts. Eligible investment earnings credited to the assets of the fund become part of 
the assets ofthe fund. 
2. Awarding of grants; match required. The board shall award grants from the 
Maine Local Land Trust Fund to local land trusts for the purpose of acquiring land or 
interest in land for public use. A grant may not exceed 60% of the appraised value of the 
land or interest in the land. 
The local land trust submitting an application shall 
demonstrate that matching funds sufficient to complete the acquisition have been secured 
prior to distribution of an award from the fund. 
3. Eligibility. To be eligible for a grant from the Maine Local Land Trust Fund, the 
property proposed for acquisition must: 
A. Fail to meet the guidelines for property of statewide significance as determined by 
the board; and 
B. Be of local significance for public outdoor recreation. 
4. Rulemaking. The board shall establish a process for receiving, reviewing and 
evaluating applications for grants from the Maine Local Land Trust Fund through 
rulemaking. The rules must include criteria by which applications are evaluated and may 
include limitations on the size of parcels eligible for awards and the maximum amount of 
an award. Rules adopted in accordance with this subsection are routine technical rules as 
defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
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Sec. 3. 32 MRSA §1866-E, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2003, c. 700, §2 and 
affected by §6, is further amended to read: 
4. Transfer of abandoned deposit amounts. By the 20th day of each month, an 
initiator shall turn over to the State Tax Assessor the initiator's abandoned deposit 
amounts determined pursuant to subsection 3. Those amounts may be paid from the 
deposit transaction fund. 
Afft91:lAtS Ninety-five percent of the amounts collected by the 
assessor pursuant to this subsection must be treated by the assessor as a tax, as that term 
is defined by Title 36, section 111, subsection 5, and must be deposited in the General 
Fund. The remaining 5% must be deposited in the Maine Local Land Trust Fund 
established in Title 5, section 6203-B. 
SUMMARY 
This bill establishes the Maine Local Land Trust Fund to be administered by the Land 
for Maine's Future Board. Five percent of abandoned beverage container deposits are the 
source of funding for this grant program. Local land trusts may receive up to 60% in 
matching funds for eligible land acquisition projects . 
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