An Act To Make Fisheries and Wildlife Projects Eligible for Tax Increment Financing
Maine Legislature, Session 125, LD 1653
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: RAYE, CRAFTS, HASTINGS, MARTIN, PATRICK, WOODBURY, BURNS, HARMON, TURNER
Amends: 30-A MRSA §5222, 30-A MRSA §5223, 30-A MRSA §5225

Legislative Document 
No. 1653 
S.P. 552 
In Senate, December 21, 2011 
An Act To Make Fisheries and Wildlife Projects Eligible for Tax 
Increment Financing 
Approved for introduction by a majority of the Legislative Council pursuant to Joint Rule 
203. 
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on December 19, 2011.  Referred to the Committee 
on Taxation pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 218. 
JOSEPH G. CARLETON, JR. 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by President RAYE of Washington. 
Cosponsored by Representative CRAFTS of Lisbon and 
Senators: HASTINGS of Oxford, MARTIN of Kennebec, PATRICK of Oxford, 
WOODBURY of Cumberland, Representatives: BURNS of Whiting, HARMON of Palermo, 
TURNER of Burlington. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §5222, sub-§10-A is enacted to read: 
10-A.  Fisheries and wildlife project.  "Fisheries and wildlife project" means a 
project approved by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife undertaken for the 
purpose of improving public access to fisheries and wildlife resources of the State for 
fishing, hunting, research or observation or for conservation or improvement of the 
fisheries and wildlife resources of the State. 
Sec. 2.  30-A MRSA §5223, sub-§3, ¶A, as amended by PL 2007, c. 413, §3, is 
further amended to read: 
A.  At least 25%, by area, of the real property within a development district must 
meet at least one of the following criteria: 
(1)  Must be a blighted area; 
(2)  Must be in need of rehabilitation, redevelopment or conservation work 
including fisheries and wildlife projects; or 
(3)  Must be suitable for commercial or arts district uses. 
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§1, ¶C, as amended by PL 2011, c. 101, §14 
and c. 102, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
C.  Costs related to economic development, environmental improvements, fisheries 
and wildlife projects, recreational trails or employment training within the 
municipality or plantation, including, but not limited to: 
(1)  Costs of funding economic development programs or events developed by 
the municipality or plantation or funding the marketing of the municipality or 
plantation as a business or arts location; 
(2)  Costs of funding environmental improvement projects developed by the 
municipality or plantation for commercial or arts district use or related to such 
activities; 
(3)  Funding to establish permanent economic development revolving loan funds 
or investment funds; 
(4)  Costs of services to provide skills development and training for residents of 
the municipality or plantation.  These costs may not exceed 20% of the total 
project costs and must be designated as training funds in the development 
program;  
(5) Quality child care costs, including finance costs and construction, staffing, 
training, certification and accreditation costs related to child care;  
(6)  Costs associated with new or existing recreational trails determined by the 
department to have significant potential to promote economic development, 
including, but not limited to, costs for multiple projects and project phases that 
may include planning, design, construction, maintenance, grooming and 
improvements with respect to new or existing recreational trails, which may 
include bridges that are part of the trail corridor, used all or in part for all-terrain 
vehicles, snowmobiles, hiking, bicycling, cross-country skiing or other related 
multiple uses; 
(7) Costs associated with a new or expanded transit service, limited to: 
(a) Transit service capital costs, including but not limited to:  transit vehicles 
such as buses, ferries, vans, rail conveyances and related equipment; bus 
shelters and other transit-related structures; and benches, signs and other 
transit-related infrastructure; and 
(b) In the case of transit-oriented development districts, ongoing costs of 
adding to an existing transit system or creating a new transit service and 
limited strictly to transit operator salaries, transit vehicle fuel and transit 
vehicle parts replacements; and 
(8)  Costs associated with the development of fisheries and wildlife projects; and 
Sec. 4.  Fisheries and wildlife projects; rules.  The Department of Inland 
Fisheries and Wildlife, in consultation with the Department of Economic and Community 
Development, shall adopt rules establishing standards and a process for approval of 
fisheries and wildlife projects eligible for tax increment financing under the Maine 
Revised Statutes, Title 30-A, chapter 206. 
SUMMARY 
This bill authorizes the use of tax increment financing for fisheries and wildlife 
projects approved by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.  Projects must be 
undertaken for the purpose of improving public access to fisheries and wildlife resources 
of the State for fishing, hunting, research or observation or for conservation or 
improvement of the fisheries and wildlife resources of the State.