An Act To Expand the Use of Tax Increment Financing Revenue
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 0116
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: CYRWAY, LUCHINI, BAKER, BRAKEY, BURNS, SAVIELLO, WOODSOME, HUBBELL, LONGSTAFF, SANDERSON
Amends: 30-A MRSA §5225

Legislative Document 
No. 116 
S.P. 49 
In Senate, January 22, 2015 
An Act To Expand the Use of Tax Increment Financing Revenue 
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed. 
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST 
Secretary of the Senate 
Presented by Senator CYRWAY of Kennebec. 
Cosponsored by Representative LUCHINI of Ellsworth and 
Senators: BAKER of Sagadahoc, BRAKEY of Androscoggin, BURNS of Washington, 
SAVIELLO of Franklin, WOODSOME of York, Representatives: HUBBELL of Bar Harbor, 
LONGSTAFF of Waterville, SANDERSON of Chelsea. 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§1, ¶C, as amended by PL 2013, c. 184, §4, is 
further amended to read: 
C.  Costs related to economic development, environmental improvements, fisheries 
and wildlife or marine resources projects, recreational trails, vital public services 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, 
investment funds and grants; 
(4)  Costs of services and equipment to provide skills development and training, 
including scholarships to in-state educational institutions or to online learning 
entities when in-state options are not available, for jobs created or retained in the 
municipality or plantation.  These costs 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 
(9)  Costs of vital public services as long as: 
(a)  Not more than 50% of the tax increment revenue is used to pay the costs 
of providing vital public services; and 
(b)  The costs of vital public services are paid for during no more than 2 
fiscal years of the municipality or plantation during the duration of the tax 
increment financing district and its development program. 
For purposes of this paragraph, "vital public services" means fire and rescue, law 
enforcement and waste disposal services and local road improvements; and 
SUMMARY 
This bill allows a municipality or plantation that forms a tax increment financing 
district to use the revenue generated by that district to pay for the costs of vital public 
services, as long as the costs of the services do not exceed 50% of the tax increment 
revenue and the costs are not paid for more than 2 fiscal years during the life of the tax 
increment financing district and its development program.  Vital public services are fire 
and rescue, law enforcement and waste disposal services and local road improvements.