An Act To Return Local Revenue Sharing to Full Funding
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0713
Committee: Appropriations and Financial Affairs
Sponsors: KATZ, BLACK, LANGLEY, SAVIELLO, CROCKETT, DILL, EVES, KRUGER, MAKER
Amends: 30-A MRSA §5681

Legislative Document 
No. 713 
S.P. 262 
In Senate, February 26, 2013 
An Act To Return Local Revenue Sharing to Full Funding 
(EMERGENCY) 
Reference to the Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
DAREK M. GRANT 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator KATZ of Kennebec. 
Cosponsored by Representative BLACK of Wilton and 
Senators: LANGLEY of Hancock, SAVIELLO of Franklin, Representatives: CROCKETT of 
Bethel, DILL of Old Town, Speaker EVES of North Berwick, KRUGER of Thomaston, 
MAKER of Calais. 
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and 
Whereas, it is crucial that the State provide some certainty for the revenue 
distributions to local governments for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2013 and the fiscal 
years thereafter before the start of fiscal year 2013-14 and before local governments 
finish their budget decisions; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §5681, sub-§2, ¶G is enacted to read: 
G.  "Revenue-sharing tax revenue" means the revenue collected from the taxes 
imposed under Title 36, Parts 3 and 8 and Title 36, section 2552, subsection 1, 
paragraphs A to F and L and credited to the General Fund. 
Sec. 2.  30-A MRSA §5681, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2009, c. 213, Pt. S, §4 
and affected by §16, is repealed and the following enacted in its place: 
5.  Transfers to Local Government Fund.  No later than the 10th day of each 
month, the State Controller shall transfer to the Local Government Fund a percentage of 
the revenue-sharing tax revenue credited to the General Fund in the previous month 
without any reduction, except that the postage, state cost allocation program and 
programming costs of administering state-municipal revenue sharing may be paid by the 
Local Government Fund.  The percentage of the revenue-sharing tax revenue to be 
transferred is established as follows: 
A.  Five percent of the revenue-sharing tax revenue collected in months beginning 
before June 30, 2013; 
B.  Three and one-half percent of the revenue-sharing tax revenue collected in 
months beginning on or after July 1, 2013 but before June 30, 2014; 
C.  Four percent of the revenue-sharing tax revenue collected in months beginning on 
or after July 1, 2014 but before June 30, 2015; and 
D.  Five percent of the revenue-sharing tax revenue collected in months beginning on 
or after July 1, 2015. 
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §5681, sub-§5-D is enacted to read: 
5-D.  Transfers to Disproportionate Tax Burden Fund.  A percentage share of the 
amounts transferred to the Local Government Fund from the General Fund each month 
after deducting the transfers pursuant to subsection 5-C must be transferred to the 
Disproportionate Tax Burden Fund and distributed pursuant to subsection 4-B as follows: 
A.  For months beginning on or after July 1, 2012 but before July 1, 2013, 18%; 
B.  For months beginning on or after July 1, 2013 but before July 1, 2014, 19%; and 
C.  For months beginning on or after July 1, 2014, 20%. 
Emergency clause.  In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
This bill establishes a plan to return the state-municipal revenue-sharing program to 
full funding over a 3-year period and replace the arbitrary fixed-dollar reductions used to 
reduce funding for local governments and balance the General Fund budget. This plan is 
intended to replace fixed-dollar reductions to this program and provide some long-term 
certainty in this revenue source for local governments. 
The phased-in return to full 5% funding of the state-municipal revenue sharing starts 
with a transfer to the Local Government Fund of 3.5% of the revenue-sharing tax revenue 
collected during fiscal year 2013-14 and increases to 4% of revenue collected in fiscal 
year 2014-15 and finally to 5% of the revenue collected in fiscal year 2015-16 and 
thereafter. A portion of the transfers to the Local Government Fund are transferred each 
month to the Disproportionate Tax Burden Fund according to a scheduled phased-in 
increase to the percentage share. The Disproportionate Tax Burden Fund's share of total 
state-municipal revenue-sharing program distribution is unchanged from the current law.