An Act To Make Circuitbreaker Program Benefits Proportional If a Resident Moves
Maine Legislature, Session 123, LD 1096
Committee Amendment CA_A_H373 (House)
Amends: 36 MRSA §6201

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A " to H.P. 814, L.D. 1096, Bill, "An Act To 
Make Circuitbreaker Program Benefits Proportional If a Resident Moves" 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §6201, sub-§10, as amended by PL 1997, c. 504, §20, is 
further amended to read: 
10. 
Property taxes accrued. "Property taxes accrued" means property taxes 
exclusive of special assessment, delinquent interest and charges for service levied on a 
claimant's homestead in this State as of April 1, 1972, or any tax year thereafter. If a 
homestead is owned by 2 or more persons or entities as joint tenants or tenants in 
common, and one or more persons or entities are not members of the claimant's 
household, "property taxes accrued" is that part of property taxes levied on the homestead 
that reflects the ownership percentage of the claimant and the claimant's household. If a 
claimant and spouse own their homestead for part ofthe year for which relief is requested 
and rent it or a different homestead for part of the same tax year, "property taxes accrued" 
means taxes levied on the homestead on April 1 st, multiplied by the percentage of 12 
months that the property was owned and occupied by the household as its homestead 
during the year for which relief is requested. When a household owns and occupies 2 or 
more different homesteads in this State in the same twt calendar year, property taxes 
accrued relate only to the total of the property taxes owed for the time that each property 
was occupied by the household as a homestead OR April 1st. To calculate the amount 
attributable to each property, the April 1st assessment on each homestead is multiplied by 
the percentage of 12 months that each property was owned and occupied by the claimant 
as the claimant's homestead during the year for which relief is requested. If a homestead 
is an integral part of a larger unit such as a farm, or a mUltipurpose or multidwelling 
building, property taxes accrued are that percentage of the total property taxes accrued 
that the value of the homestead is of the total value, except that property taxes accrued do 
not include any portion of taxes claimed as a business expense for federal income tax 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A 
"to H.P. 814, L.D. 1096 
purposes. For purposes of this chapter, "unit" refers to the parcel of property separately 
assessed of which the homestead is a part. ' 
SUMMARY 
( 
This amendment deletes the provision of the bill that permitted an individual to 
qualify for circuitbreaker benefits if the resident occupied the homestead for at least 6 
months. It also specifies the manner in which the circuitbreaker benefit is calculated for 
residents who move from one homestead to another during the year in which relief is 
requested. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 05/29/07 
~ac:. 
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LD 1096 
LR 1252(02) 
An Act To Make Circuitbreaker Program Benefits Proportional If a Resident Moves 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment "ft " 
Committee: Taxation 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Minor cost increase - General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Providing a proportionate circuitbreaker benefit when a resident moves from one homestead to another is expected to 
have no net impact on the General Fund cost of the program. The additional costs associated with this change can be 
absorbed by Maine Revenue Services utilizing existing budgeted resources. 
LR1252(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1