An Act To Ensure Access to Information in the Property Tax Abatement and Appeals Process
Maine Legislature, Session 126, LD 0719
Committee Amendment CA_A_H190 (House)
Amends: 36 MRSA §842

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "II" to H.P. 491, L.D. 719, Bill, "An Act To 
Ensure Access to Information in the Property Tax Abatement and Appeals Process" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Ensure Access to Information in the Property Tax Abatement Process' 
Amend the bill by inserting before the enacting clause the following: 
'Mandate preamble. This measure requires one or more local units of government 
to expand or modify activities so as to necessitate additional expenditures from local 
revenues but does not provide funding for at least 90% of those expenditures. Pursuant to 
the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, Section 21, 2/3 of all of the members elected to 
each House have determined it necessary to enact this measure.' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and before the 
summary and inserting the following: 
'Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §842, as amended by PL 2001, c. 396, § 16, is further amended 
to read: 
§842. Notice of decision 
The assessors or municipal officers shall give to any person applying to them for an 
abatement of taxes notice in writing of their decision upon the application within 10 days 
after they take final action thereon. The notice of decision must include the reason or 
reasons supporting the decision to approve or deny the abatement request and state that 
the applicant has 60 days from the date the notice is received to appeal the decision. It 
must also identify the board or agency designated by law to hear the appeal. If the 
assessors or municipal officers, before whom an application in writing for the abatement 
of a tax is pending, fail to give written notice of their decision within 60 days from the 
date of filing of the application, the application is deemed to have been denied, and the 
applicant may appeal as provided in sections 843 and 844, unless the applicant has in 
writing consented to further delay. Denial in this manner is final action for the purposes 
of notification under this section but failure to send notice of decision does not affect the 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
~~ 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A "to H.P. 491, L.D. 719 
applicant's right of appeal. This section does not apply to applications for abatement 
made under section 841, subsection 2.' 
SUMMARY 
This amendment removes from the bill language establishing that if a decision on a 
request for abatement is not made within the required time period the request is deemed 
to be approved. It requires that the notice of decision regarding an abatement request 
include the reason or reasons supporting the decision to approve or deny the abatement 
request. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Revised: 05/09/13 frac.. 
LD 719 
LR 743(02) 
An Act To Ensure Access to Information in the Property Tax Abatement and Appeals Process 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment '4" (II ... /~() ) 
Committee: Taxation 
State Mandates 
Required Activity 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
State Mandate - Exempted 
Requires the notice of decision in all denials of applications for property tax 
abatements state the specific reason for the denial. 
Unit Affected 
Municipality 
County 
Local Cost 
Insignificant 
statewide 
Pursuant to the Mandate Preamble, the two-thirds vote of all members elected to each House exempts the state from 
the constitutional requirement to fund 90% of the additional costs. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Any additional costs to the State Board of Property Tax Review incurred when providing written notice of the specific 
reasons for the denial of an abatment request can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LR0743(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1