An Act To Create Jobs and Stimulate Economic Development by Making Captive Insurers Eligible for Pine Tree Development Zone Benefits for 10 Years
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 1679
Committee Amendment CA_A_S400 (Senate)
Amends: 30-A MRSA §5223, 36 MRSA §1760, 36 MRSA §2016, 36 MRSA §2529

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "'A " to S.P. 651, L.D. 1679, Bill, "An Act To 
Create Jobs and Stimulate Economic Development by Making Captive Insurers Eligible 
for Pine Tree Development Zone Benefits for 10 Years" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Create Jobs and Stimulate Economic Development by Making Captive 
Insurers Eligible for Pine Tree Development Zone Benefits' 
Amend the bill by inseliing after the enacting clause and before section 1 the 
following: . 
'Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §5223, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2009, c. 314,§8, is 
fUliher amended to read: 
3. Conditions for approval. Designation of a development district is subject to the 
following conditions. 
A. At least 25%, by area, of the real property within a development district must 
meet at least one of the following criteria: 
(I) Must be a blighted area; 
(2) Must be in need of rehabilitation, redevelopment or conservation work; or 
0) Must be suitable for commercial or arts district uses. 
B. The total area of a single development district may not exceed 2% of the total 
acreage of the municipality. The total area of all development districts may not 
exceed 5% of the total acreage of the municipality. 
C. The original assessed value of a proposed tax increment financing district plus the 
original assessed value of all existing tax increment fiilancing districts within the 
municipality may not exceed 5% of the total value of taxable propeliy within the 
municipality as of April 1 st preceding the date of the commissioner's approval of the 
designation of the proposed tax increment financing district. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMlTIEE AMENDMENT" A 
"Lo S.P. 651, L.D. 1679 
Excluded from the calculation in this paragraph is any district excluded from the 
calculation under former section 5253, subsection I, paragraph C and any district 
designated on or after the effective date of this chapter that meets the following 
criteria: 
(I) The development program contains project costs, authorized by section 5225, 
subsection I, paragraph A, that exceed $10,000,000; 
(2) The geographic area consists entirely of contiguous property owned by a 
single taxpayer; 
(3) The assessed value exceeds 10% of the total value of taxable property within 
the municipality; and 
(4) 
The development program does not contain project· costs authorized by 
section 5225, subsection I, paragraph C. 
For the purpose of this paragraph, "contiguous property" includes a parcel or parcels 
of land divided by a road, power line or right-of-way. 
D. The aggregate value of municipal general obligation indebtedness financed by the 
proceeds from tax increment financing districts within any county may not exceed 
$50,000,000 adjusted by a factor equal to the percentage change in the United States 
Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index, United States City Average from 
January 1, 1996 to the date of calculation. 
(I) The commissioner may adopt rules necessary to allocate or apportion the 
designation of captured assessed value of property within proposed tax increment 
financing districts to permit compliance with the condition in this paragraph. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this paragraph are routine technical rules as defined in 
Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A. 
(2) The acquisition, constmction and installment of all real and personal property 
improvements, buildings, structures, fixtures and equipment included within the 
development program and financed through municipal bonded indebtedness must 
be completed within 5 years of the commissioner's approval ofthe designation of 
the tax increment financing district. 
The conditions in paragraphs A to D do not apply to approved downtown tax increment 
financing districts, tax increment financing districts included within Pine Tree 
Development Zones designated and approved under subchapter 3, tax increment 
financing districts that consist solely of one or more community wind power generation 
facilities owned by a community. wind power generator that has been certified by the 
Public Utilities Commission pursuant to Title 35-A, section 3403, subsection 3 or transit-
oriented development districts.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 2 to 4 and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §S2S0-I, sub-§14,~, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 351, §3, 
is amended to read: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMIHEE AMENDMENT "A "to S.P. 651, L.D. 1679 
E. Discounted rates approved by the Public Utilities Commission, if applicable, and 
offered by transmission and distribution utilities as authorized under Title 35-A, 
section 3210 g 3210-E, subsection 1; and 
Sec. 3. 30-A MRSA §S2S0-I, sub-§14, ~, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 351, §3, is 
amended to read: 
F. Line extensions and conservation programs approved or authorized by the Publio 
Utilities Commission under Title 35-A, section 3210 g, subseotions 2 and 3321 O-E. 
Sec. 4. 3S-A MRSA §3210-E is enacted to read: 
§3210-E. Electric utility and conservation benefits 
1. Discount rates. Transmission and distribution utilities may offer discounted rates 
to qualified Pine Tree Development Zone businesses established under Title 30-A. If a 
transmission and distribution utility requires approval prior to offering any such rate, the 
transmission and distribution utility shall apply to the commission in accordance with 
applicable provisions of this Title, and the comm ission may approve the rate if it finds it 
to be in accord with applicable requirements of this Title, except that the commission 
may-take-into-account-the-uverall-benefits-to-ratepayers resulting from· state- efforts-to 
promote economic development within Pine Tree Development Zones. 
2. 
Line extensions. 
When approving or authorizing line extension terms and 
conditions for qualified Pine Tree Development Zone businesses established under Title 
30-A, the commission may take into account the overall benefits to ratepayers resulting 
from state efforts to promote economic development within Pine Tree Development 
Zones established pursuant to Title 30-A. 
3. Conservation programs. In designing and implementing conservation programs 
pursuant to section 3211-A, the commission may make available to qualified Pine Tree 
Development Zone businesses established under Title 30-A special programs of enhanced 
value to aid state effOlis to promote economic development . within Pine Tree 
Development Zones. A program made available pursuant to this subsection must be cost-
effective as defined by the commission by rule or order pursuant to section 3211-A. This 
subsection is repealed July 1,2010. 
4. Conservation pmgrams. Beginning July 1,20 10, in designing and implementing 
conservation programs pursuant to section 10110, the Efficiency Maine Trust may make 
available to qualified Pine Tree Development Zone businesses established under Title 
30-A special programs of enhanced value to aid state efforts to promote economic 
development within Pine Tree Development Zones. A program made available pursuant 
to this subsection must be cost-effective as defined by the Efficiency Maine Trust by rule 
or order pursuant to section 10110. 
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5. 
Electricity sales. Notwithstanding section 3210, the sale of electricity by a 
competitive electricity provider to a qualified Pine Tree Development Zone business 
established under Title 30-A is exempt from the requirements of that section and, at the 
request of the competitive electricity provider, sales to qualified Pine Tree Development 
Zone businesses must be excluded from any calculation by the commission to determine 
compliance with that section. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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. COMMITIEE AMENDMENT "A "to S.P. 651, L.D. 1679 
6. Repeal. This section is repealed December 31, 2028. 
Sec. 5. 36 MRSA §1760, sub-§87, as amended by PL 2005, c. 351, §8 and 
affected by §26, is mended to read: 
87. 
Sales of tangible personal property to qualified development zone 
businesses. Beginning July 1, 2005, sales of tangible personal property to a qualified 
Pine Tree Development Zone business, as defined in Title 30-A, section 5250-1, 
subsection 17, for use directly and primarily in one or more qualified business activities, 
as defined in Title 30-A, section 5250-1, subsection 16. The exemption provided by this 
subsection is limited for each qualified Pine Tree Development Zone business to sales 
occurring within a period of 10 years in the case of a business located in a tier 1 location, 
as defined in Title 30-A, section 5250-1, subsection 21-A, and 5 years in the case of a 
business located in a tier 2 location, as defined in Title 30-A, section 5250-1, subsection 
21-B, from the date the business is certified pursuant to Title 30-A, section 5250-0 or 
until December 31, W+8 2028, whichever occurs first. 
As used in this subsection, 
"primarily" means more than 50% of the time during the period that begins on the date on 
which the property is first placed in service by the purchaser and ends 2 years from that 
date or at the time the property is sold, scrapped, destroyed or otherwise permanently 
removeCl from service by tI1e purchaser, wftichiveroccufs'firsf: 
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Sec. 6. 36 MRSA §2016, sub-§4, errA, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 351, §9 and 
affected by §26, is amended to read: 
A. Reimbursements made by the assessor pursuant to this section are limited to taxes 
paid in connection with sales of tangible personal property that occur within a period 
of 10 years in the case of a qualified Pine Tree Development Zone business located in 
a tier 1 location, as defined in Title 30-A, section 5250-1,. subsection 21-A, and 5 
years in the case of a qualified Pine Tree Development Zone business located in a tier 
location, as defined in Title 30-A, section 5250-1, subsection 21-B, from the date 
the qualified Pine Tree Development Zone business receiving the property is certified 
pursuant to Title 30-A, section 5250-0 or by December 31, W+8 2028, whichever 
occurs first. 
Sec. 7. 36 MRSA §2529, sub-§l, errB, as repealed and replaced by PL 2005, c. 
351, § 1 0 and affected by §26, is amended to read: 
B. Fifty percent For a business located in a tier 1 location, as defined in Title 30-A, 
section 5250-1, subsection 21-A, 50% of the tax that would otherwise be due under 
this chapter upon premiums that are attributable to a qualified business activity as 
defined in Title 30-A, section 5250-1, subsection 16 for each of the 5 tax years 
following the time period in paragraph A. 
Sec. 8. 36 MRSA §2529, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 451, Pt. NNN, §4 
and affected by §8, is amended to read: 
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3. Limitation. The credit provided by this section may not be claimed for calendar 
years beginning on or after January 1, ;w.w 2029. 
Sec. 9. 36 MRS A §5219-W, sub-§l, errB, as repealed and replaced by PL 2005, 
c. 351, § 13 and affected by §26, is amended to read: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 651, L.D. 1679 
B. Fifty percent For a business located in a tier I location, as defined in Title 30-A, 
section 5250-1, subsection 21-A, 50% of the tax that would otherwise be due under 
this Part for each of the 5 tax years following the time period in paragraph A.' 
Amend the bill by inserting after section 5 thefollowing: 
'Sec. 6. Retroactivity. That section of this Act that enacts the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 35-A, section 3210-E applies retroactively to December 31, 2009. Those. 
sections of this Act that amend Title 36, section 1760, subsection 87; section 2016, 
subsection 4, paragraph A; section 2529, subsection I, paragraph B; and section 5219-W, 
subsection I, paragraph B apply retroactively to September 12,2009.; 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
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section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment strikes sections of the bill that designate all captive insurance 
companies anywhere in the State as being in a tier I location for purposes of Pine Tree 
Deve]oprnentZone benefits but leaves the ar!1~nded c!efinition~f "financial services" 
within the Pine Tree Development Zone laws to clarify that captive insurance companies 
are pal1 of the financial services sector and therefore eligible to apply for Pine Tree 
Development Zone benefits. It retroactively restores electricity rate benefits for qualified 
Pine Tree Development Zone businesses. The amendment also makes several technical 
corrections to the Pine Tree Development Zone laws in order to ensure that the tax 
benefits in the bill as amend.ed expire on the same date. This amendment also makes 
those technical corrections retroactive to September 12, 2009, the date the law 
establishing tier I and tier 2 locations took effect. It makes a correction to the tax 
increment financing laws to reflect the changes made to the Pine Tree Development Zone 
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laws. 
FISCAL :\()H: HE(jU RED 
(~ee attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 02/2611 0 Mac:.. 
LD 1679 
LR 2277(02) 
An Act To Create Jobs and Stimulate Economic Development by Malting Captive Insurers Eligible for 
Pine Tree Development Zone Benefits for 10 Years 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment" A" :7.-L.)OC 
Committee: Business, Research and Economic Development 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Potential future biennium revenue decrease - General Fund 
Expansion of Pine Tree Zone credit eligibility to captive insurance. companies may result in future reductions to 
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General Fund revenues. Neither the amounts nor the timing o(the revenue reductions are determinable at this time. 
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Any additional costs to the Department of Economic and Community Development associated with determining and 
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certifying eligibility, to Maine Revenue Services for extended processing of the state income tax credit, as well as to 
the Public Utilities Commission for processing rate applications and adjustments can be absorbed within existing 
budgeted resources. 
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LR2277(02) - Fiscal Note - Page I of I