An Act To Require Legislative Approval for the Issuance of Bonds by the Maine Turnpike Authority
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0957
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: WERTS, CLEVELAND, BOLDUC, FOWLE, LAJOIE, LIBBY, LONGSTAFF, NADEAU, ROTUNDO, TURNER
Amends: 23 MRSA §1961, 23 MRSA §1968

Legislative Document 
No. 957 
H.P. 670 
House of Representatives, March 12, 2013 
An Act To Require Legislative Approval for the Issuance of Bonds 
by the Maine Turnpike Authority 
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative WERTS of Auburn. 
Cosponsored by Senator CLEVELAND of Androscoggin and 
Representatives: BOLDUC of Auburn, FOWLE of Vassalboro, LAJOIE of Lewiston, LIBBY 
of Lewiston, LONGSTAFF of Waterville, NADEAU of Winslow, ROTUNDO of Lewiston, 
TURNER of Burlington. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  23 MRSA §1961, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2011, c. 302, §2, is further 
amended to read: 
2.  Cooperation with the Department of Transportation.   The Subject to approval 
by the Legislature in accordance with subsection 6, the authority may issue bonds or 
other obligations to pay for department projects.  These amounts are considered necessary 
for use by the department for construction, reconstruction, operation and maintenance of 
all roads on the state highway system, which serve and benefit users of the turnpike by 
providing direct and indirect access to and from the turnpike as part of the integrated 
highway system.  Due to the utilization of the state highway system by users of the 
turnpike, the turnpike and its users have received and will continue to receive a benefit 
from, or have caused and will continue to cause, or both, the State acting by and through 
the department to incur costs for the construction, operation and maintenance of the state 
highway system, which provides direct and indirect access to and from the turnpike to 
areas in the State for which the State may properly be and should be compensated from 
the tolls to be collected.  The authority must be maintained to carry out the purposes of 
this chapter in cooperation with the department. 
Sec. 2.  23 MRSA §1961, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2011, c. 302, §3, is further 
amended to read: 
6.  Appropriation.  On or before January 31st of each year, the authority shall 
present to each regular session of the Legislature for its approval the authority's revenue 
fund budget and the authority's proposed issuance of bonds for the calendar year that 
begins after the adjournment of that regular session and shall present to each regular 
session of the Legislature for informational purposes a statement of the revenues 
necessary during the next calendar year to fund capital expenditures and reserves and to 
meet the requirements of any resolution authorizing bonds of the authority, including debt 
service and the maintenance of reserves for debt service and reserve maintenance.  The 
authority shall present a detailed budget of expenditures from the authority's reserve 
maintenance fund for the next calendar year and shall include cross-references to show 
the total of similar expense categories that are paid from both the revenue and reserve 
maintenance funds.  The authority may only pay revenue fund operating expenses in 
accordance with allocations approved by the Legislature or as necessary to satisfy the 
requirements of any resolution authorizing bonds of the authority.   If alterations to the 
authority's revenue fund budget are needed, they must be reported by financial order to 
the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over transportation 
matters. 
Sec. 3.  23 MRSA §1968, first ¶, as repealed and replaced by PL 1995, c. 138, §1, 
is amended to read: 
The Subject to approval by the Legislature in accordance with section 1961, 
subsection 6, the authority may issue bonds as follows. 
SUMMARY 
This bill requires that the Maine Turnpike Authority receive legislative approval prior 
to its issuance of bonds.