An Act To Encourage Municipal Infrastructure Improvement
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0787
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: CASAVANT, BEAUDOIN, EVANGELOS, RUSSELL, DUTREMBLE
Amends: 20-A MRSA §1301, 20-A MRSA §1704, 30-A MRSA §5281, 30-A MRSA §5282, 30-A MRSA §5283, 30-A MRSA §5285

Legislative Document 
No. 787 
H.P. 538 
House of Representatives, February 28, 2013 
An Act To Encourage Municipal Infrastructure Improvement 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative CASAVANT of Biddeford. 
Cosponsored by Representatives: BEAUDOIN of Biddeford, DeCHANT of Bath, 
EVANGELOS of Friendship, RUSSELL of Portland, Senator: DUTREMBLE of York. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  20-A MRSA §1301, sub-§1, ¶D, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 696, §1, is 
repealed. 
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §1704, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2005, c. 2, Pt. D, §15 and 
affected by §§72 and 74 and c. 12, Pt. WW, §18, is further amended to read: 
1.  Formula.  A community school district shall share its costs among the member 
municipalities on the basis of: 
A.  The number of resident pupils in each municipality; 
B.  The fiscal capacity of each member municipality as defined in section 15672, 
subsection 23; 
C.  Any combination of paragraphs A and B; 
D.  Any other formula authorized by the Legislature; or 
E.  Any other factor or combination of factors that may, but need not, include 
paragraphs A and B. 
Notwithstanding paragraphs A to D, Title 30-A, chapter 208-A or any other provision of 
law, the state valuation used to calculate the shared cost for each municipality in a 
community school district with a municipal incentive development zone must include the 
increase in equalized just value of all industrial and commercial property located in the 
zone over the assessed value. 
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §5281, sub-§§1-A to 1-C are enacted to read: 
1-A.  Infrastructure improvement plan.  "Infrastructure improvement plan" means 
a plan to make improvements in infrastructure, including municipal infrastructure, in a 
municipal incentive development zone developed by a municipality under section 5283 
for the purpose of providing an incentive for investment in commercial and industrial 
property in a municipality. 
1-B.  Municipal infrastructure.  "Municipal infrastructure" means land and 
improvements to land that provide facilities for the provision of municipal services, 
including, but not limited to, general government, education, recreation, waste 
management and public safety, or that facilitate the provision of municipal services 
through improvements such as transportation, utilities and lighting. 
1-C.  Municipal tax-exempt property.  "Municipal tax-exempt property" means 
property owned by a municipality and used for governmental purposes that is exempt 
from taxation under Title 36, section 651, including, but not limited to, municipal 
buildings, schools, recreation centers, athletic fields, swimming pools and public safety 
facilities. 
Sec. 4.  30-A MRSA §5282, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 696, §3, is amended to 
read: 
§5282.  Municipal incentive development zones 
Municipal incentive development zones may be established to assist municipalities in 
encouraging private and public investment in industrial and commercial projects through 
the provision of public municipal infrastructure necessary for improvements. 
Improvements and investments must provide new employment opportunities, improve 
and broaden the tax base, improve municipal infrastructure and improve the general 
economy of the State. 
Sec. 5.  30-A MRSA §5283, sub-§1, ¶¶A and C, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 696, 
§3, are amended to read: 
A.  The municipal legislative body may establish a municipal incentive development 
zones zone within the boundaries of the municipality by majority vote at a duly called 
meeting: 
(1)  To establish the zone; 
(2)  To adopt a description of the physical boundaries of the zone; 
(3)  To adopt an infrastructure improvement plan for the zone.  The infrastructure 
improvement plan must describe the 
public 
municipal infrastructure 
improvements to be constructed by the municipality in the municipal incentive 
development zone, including the nature of the improvements, the time, place and 
manner of installation of improvements, the plans for operation of improvements 
and a description of how the proposed improvements are expected to encourage 
private and public sector capital investment in commercial and industrial property 
or municipal tax-exempt property in the zone and otherwise benefit the public; 
and 
(4)  To authorize the infrastructure improvements described in the plan.  
Evidence of authorization must be included in the plan. 
C.  Prior to final approval of a municipal incentive development zone, the 
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development must certify that the 
public municipal infrastructure improvements proposed by the municipality are likely 
to result in private or public sector capital investment in commercial and industrial 
property or municipal tax-exempt property within the zone.  The Commissioner of 
Economic and Community Development may develop a nonexclusive list of 
qualifying improvements by rule. 
Sec. 6.  30-A MRSA §5283, sub-§3, ¶¶C and D, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 696, 
§3, are amended to read: 
C.  The area within any municipal incentive development zone must be directly 
benefitted by the public municipal infrastructure improvements proposed to be made 
by the municipality according to the infrastructure improvement plan; and 
D.  The municipal infrastructure improvements proposed to be made by the 
municipality in the municipal incentive development zone and described in the 
infrastructure improvement plan must primarily benefit or encourage private or 
public investment in commercial and industrial property or municipal tax-exempt 
property. 
Sec. 7.  30-A MRSA §5285, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 696, §3, is amended to 
read: 
§5285.  Agreements between municipalities 
Municipalities may jointly create municipal incentive development zones that 
encompass property located within the boundaries of the municipalities.  The 
municipalities may enter into agreements with each other allocating the economic or 
public benefit resulting from the creation of the zones. 
SUMMARY 
This bill expands the permissible uses for municipal incentive development zones to 
include municipal infrastructure improvements, including improvements to municipal 
tax-exempt property.  The bill also provides that increases in the equalized just value of 
industrial and commercial property within a municipal incentive development zone will 
not be included in the just value of the municipality for the purposes of education 
funding.