An Act To Expand Eligible Project Costs in Development Districts
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0413
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: GATTINE, BERRY, VILLA, HASKELL
Amends: 30-A MRSA §5225

Legislative Document 
No. 413 
H.P. 289 
House of Representatives, February 12, 2013 
An Act To Expand Eligible Project Costs in Development Districts 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative GATTINE of Westbrook. 
Cosponsored by Representatives: BERRY of Bowdoinham, VILLA of Harrison, Senator: 
HASKELL of Cumberland. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§1, ¶C, as repealed and replaced by PL 2011, c. 
675, §3, is amended to read: 
C.  Costs related to economic development, environmental improvements, fisheries 
and wildlife or marine resources 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 or marine 
resources projects; and 
Sec. 2.  30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§1, ¶D, as amended by PL 2011, c. 101, §15, is 
further amended to read: 
D.  Costs of constructing or improving facilities or buildings leased by State 
Government or a municipal or plantation government that are located in approved 
downtown tax increment financing districts.; and 
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§1, ¶E is enacted to read: 
E.  Costs of projects jointly approved by more than one municipality pursuant to an 
interlocal agreement under chapter 115. 
Sec. 4.  30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 669, §1, is 
amended to read: 
2.  Unauthorized project costs.  Except as provided in subsection 1, paragraph 
paragraphs D and E, the commissioner may not approve as a project cost the cost of 
facilities, buildings or portions of buildings used predominantly for the general conduct 
of government or for public recreational purposes, including, but not limited to, city halls 
and other headquarters of government where the governing body meets regularly, 
courthouses, jails, police stations and other state and local government office buildings, 
recreation centers, athletic fields and swimming pools. 
SUMMARY 
This bill permits tax increment financing funds to be used to fund projects approved 
by more than one municipality under an interlocal agreement.