An Act To Exempt Persons 65 Years of Age or Older with Income below the Poverty Line from Property Taxes on Their Homes
Maine Legislature, Session 124, LD 0166
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: BEAUDOIN, CRAVEN, BOLAND, HOGAN, JONES, LAJOIE, LEGG, MORRISON
Amends: 36 MRSA §6

FIRST REGULAR SESSIOt~-2009 
Legislative Document 
No. 166 
H.P.145 
House of Representatives, January 20, 2009 
An Act To Exempt Persons 65 Years of Age or Older with Income 
below the Poverty Line from Property Taxes on Their Homes 
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative BEAUDOIN of Biddeford. 
Cosponsored by Senator CRAVEN of Androscoggin and 
~i£wd 1n.17!I!£~{ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BOLAND of Sanford, HOGAN of Old Orchard Beach, JONES of Mount 
Vemon, LAJOIE of Lewiston, LEGG of Kelmebunk, MORRISON of South Portland, SIROIS 
ofTumer,.WRIGHT of Berwick. 
Printed l)1l recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §6S4, sub-§l, ~, as amended by PL 2003, c. 686; § I, IS 
further amended to read: 
E. 
The residential real estate up to the just value of $4,000 of inhabitants of Maine 
who are legally blind as determined by a properly licensed Doctor of Medicine, 
Doctor of Osteopathy or Doctor of Optometry. The exemption provided by this 
paragraph also applies to residential real estate held ina revocable living trust for the 
benefit of and occupied as a permanent residence by such a person; aR4 
Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §6S4, sub-§l, enF, as amended by PL 1975, c. 770, §202, is 
further amended to read: 
II 
F. 
No property Property conveyed to any person for the purpose of obtaining 
exemption from taxation under paragraph E shall be so is not exempt, and the 
obtaining of such an exemption by means of fraudulent conveyance s-fla.I-l must be 
punished by a fine of not less than $100 and not more than 2 times the amount of the 
IS 
taxes evaded by 5tI-Sfl. the fraudulent conveyance, whichever amount is greater. In 
case any person entitled to such an exemption has property taxable in more than one 
place in the State, 5tI-Sfl. the proportion of 5tI-Sfl. the total exemption s-fla.I-l must be made 
in each place as the value of the property taxable in 5tI-Sfl. each place bears to the value 
of the whole of the property of 5tI-Sfl. the person taxable in the State,:,; and 
Sec. 3. 36 MRSA §6S4, sub-§l, ~G is enacted to read: 
G. The homestead, as defined in section 681, subsection 2, of a person who is 65 
years of age or older who occupies that homestead for at least 8 months each year and 
whose annual income is below the poverty thresholds for persons 65 years of age or 
older most recently established by the United States Department of Commerce, 
Bureau of the Census. 
Sec. 4. Rulemaking. The Department of Administrative and Financial Services, 
Bureau of Revenue Services shall adopt major substantive rules pursuant to the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A to implement the provisions of this 
Act. In developing rules, the bureau must use the provisions of the homestead property 
tax exemption, as set out in Title 36, chapter 105, subchapter 4-B, for guidance regarding 
the application, reimbursement and reporting process. 
SUMMARY 
This bill provides an exemption from residential property taxes for the home and 
accompanying residential real property of a person who is 65 years of age or older and 
whose annual income is below poverty thresholds as long as the person occupies that 
home at least 8 months each year. This bill requires the Department of Administrative 
and Financial Services, Bureau of Revenue Services to adopt major substantive rules to 
administer the program based on the Maine resident homestead property tax exemption 
program. 
) 
) 
)