An Act To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue for the Land for Maine's Future Fund
Maine Legislature, Session 127, LD 1248
Committee: Appropriations and Financial Affairs
Sponsors: McCABE, KATZ, HICKMAN, MAREAN, MARTIN, SAUCIER, TIMBERLAKE, DILL, JOHNSON

Legislative Document 
No. 1248 
H.P. 848 
House of Representatives, April 7, 2015 
An Act To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue for the Land for 
Maine's Future Fund 
Reference to the Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed. 
ROBERT B. HUNT 
Clerk 
Presented by Representative McCABE of Skowhegan. 
Cosponsored by Senator KATZ of Kennebec and 
Representatives: HICKMAN of Winthrop, MAREAN of Hollis, MARTIN of Eagle Lake, 
SAUCIER of Presque Isle, TIMBERLAKE of Turner, Senators: DILL of Penobscot, 
JOHNSON of Lincoln, McCORMICK of Kennebec. 
Preamble.  Two thirds of both Houses of the Legislature deeming it necessary in 
accordance with the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, Section 14 to authorize the 
issuance of bonds on behalf of the State of Maine to provide funds as described in this 
Act, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  Authorization of bonds.  The Treasurer of State is authorized, under the 
direction of the Governor, to issue bonds in the name and on behalf of the State in an 
amount not exceeding $20,000,000 for the purposes described in section 5 of this Act.  
The bonds are a pledge of the full faith and credit of the State.  The bonds may not run for 
a period longer than 10 years from the date of the original issue of the bonds. 
Sec. 2.  Records of bonds issued; Treasurer of State. The Treasurer of State 
shall ensure that an account of each bond is kept showing the number of the bond, the 
name of the successful bidder to whom sold, the amount received for the bond, the date of 
sale and the date when payable. 
Sec. 3.  Sale; how negotiated; proceeds appropriated.  The Treasurer of State 
may negotiate the sale of the bonds by direction of the Governor, but no bond may be 
loaned, pledged or hypothecated on behalf of the State.  The proceeds of the sale of the 
bonds, which must be held by the Treasurer of State and paid by the Treasurer of State 
upon warrants drawn by the State Controller, are appropriated solely for the purposes set 
forth in this Act.  Any unencumbered balances remaining at the completion of the project 
in this Act lapse to the Office of the Treasurer of State to be used for the retirement of 
general obligation bonds. 
Sec. 4.  Interest and debt retirement.  The Treasurer of State shall pay interest 
due or accruing on any bonds issued under this Act and all sums coming due for payment 
of bonds at maturity. 
Sec. 5.  Disbursement of bond proceeds.    The proceeds of the bonds must be 
expended as set out in this Act under the direction and supervision of the Department of 
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. 
1. The proceeds of the bonds for the Land for Maine's Future Board as set out in 
section 6 must be expended by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry 
for acquisition of land and interest in land for conservation, water access, outdoor 
recreation, wildlife or fish habitat, farmland preservation in accordance with the 
provisions for such acquisitions under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 353 
and working waterfront preservation in accordance with the terms of Public Law 2005, 
chapter 462, Part B, section 6, including all costs associated with such acquisitions, 
except that use of the proceeds of these bonds is subject to the following conditions and 
requirements. 
A. Hunting, fishing, trapping and public access may not be prohibited on land 
acquired with bond proceeds, except to the extent of applicable state, local or federal 
laws, rules and regulations and except for working waterfront projects and farmland 
protection projects. 
B. Payment from bond proceeds for acquisitions of local or regional significance, as 
determined by the Land for Maine's Future Board, may be made directly to 
cooperating entities as defined in Title 5, section 6201, subsection 2 for acquisition of 
land and interest in land by cooperating entities, subject to terms and conditions 
enforceable by the State to ensure its use for the purposes of this Act. In addition to 
the considerations required under Title 5, chapter 353, the board shall give a 
preference to acquisitions under this paragraph that achieve benefits for multiple 
towns and that address regional conservation needs including public recreational 
access, wildlife, open space and farmland. 
C. The bond funds expended for conservation, recreation, working waterfront, 
farmland and water access must be matched with at least $20,000,000 in public and 
private contributions. Seventy percent of that amount must be in the form of cash or 
other tangible assets, including the value of land and real property interest acquired 
by or contributed to cooperating entities, as defined in Title 5, section 6201, 
subsection 2, when property interests have a direct relationship to the property 
proposed for protection, as determined by the Land for Maine's Future Board. The 
remaining 30% may be matching contributions and may include the value of project-
related, in-kind contributions of goods and services to and by cooperating entities. 
D. Because portions of the State have deer populations that are struggling and deer 
wintering habitat protection is vital to the survival and enhancement of these 
populations, projects that conserve and protect deer wintering areas are considered to 
have special value and must receive preferential consideration during scoring of new 
applications for support under Title 5, chapter 353. 
E. Of the bond proceeds allocated to the Land for Maine’s Future Board, $2,000,000 
must be made available to protect working waterfront properties in accordance with 
Public Law 2005, chapter 462, Part B, section 6. 
F. Of the bond proceeds allocated to the Land for Maine’s Future Board, $1,000,000 
must be made available to acquire public access to water in accordance with Title 5, 
section 6203-A. 
G. Of the bond proceeds allocated to the Land for Maine’s Future Board, $1,000,000 
must be made available to protect farmland in accordance with Title 5, section 6207. 
H. To the extent the purposes are consistent with the disbursement provisions in this 
Act, 100% of the bond proceeds may be considered as state match for any federal 
funding to be made available to the State. 
2. The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife shall take a proactive approach to 
pursuing land conservation projects that include significant wildlife habitat conservation, 
including conservation of priority deer wintering areas. Priority deer wintering areas are 
of at least 500 acres or contiguous with existing conservation land so that the combined 
acreage constitutes at least 500 acres, have been historically used by deer at some point 
since 1950 and are capable of providing shelter for deer on the effective date of this Act 
or within 20 years. The Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife shall include in 
conservation negotiations under this section provisions for the appropriate management 
of priority deer wintering areas. Land and interest in land purchased by the State that 
contains wildlife or fish habitat must be managed using protocol provided by the 
Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and land and interest in land that is subject 
to a conservation easement and that contains wildlife or fish habitat must be managed 
using protocol provided by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. 
Sec. 6.  Disbursement of bond proceeds from General Fund bond issue.  
The proceeds of the sale of the bonds authorized under this Act must be expended as 
designated in the following schedule. 
Provides funds in order to leverage $20,000,000 in other funds to be used for the 
acquisition of land and interest in land for conservation; water access, wildlife or fish 
habitat including deer wintering areas; outdoor recreation, including hunting and 
fishing; and working farmland preservation and working waterfront preservation. 
Sec. 7.  Contingent upon ratification of bond issue.  Sections 1 to 6 do not 
become effective unless the people of the State ratify the issuance of the bonds as set 
forth in this Act. 
Sec. 8.  Appropriation balances at year-end.  At the end of each fiscal year, all 
unencumbered appropriation balances representing state money carry forward.  Bond 
proceeds that have not been expended within 10 years after the date of the sale of the 
bonds lapse to the Office of the Treasurer of State to be used for the retirement of general 
obligation bonds. 
Sec. 9.  Bonds authorized but not issued.  Any bonds authorized but not issued 
within 5 years of ratification of this Act are deauthorized and may not be issued, except 
that the Legislature may, within 2 years after the expiration of that 5-year period, extend 
the period for issuing any remaining unissued bonds for an additional amount of time not 
to exceed 5 years. 
Sec. 10.  Referendum for ratification; submission at election; form of 
question; effective date.  This Act must be submitted to the legal voters of the State at 
a statewide election held in the month of November following passage of this Act.  The 
municipal officers of this State shall notify the inhabitants of their respective cities, towns 
and plantations to meet, in the manner prescribed by law for holding a statewide election, 
to vote on the acceptance or rejection of this Act by voting on the following question: 
"Do you favor a $20,000,000 bond issue to purchase land and 
conservation easements statewide from willing sellers for public land and 
AGRICULTURE, CONSERVATION 
AND FORESTRY, DEPARTMENT OF 
Land for Maine's Future Board 
Total 
$20,000,000
water access, conservation, wildlife or fish habitat and outdoor 
recreation, including hunting and fishing and deer wintering areas, and to 
preserve state parks, working farmland and working waterfronts to be 
matched by at least $20,000,000 in private and public contributions?" 
The legal voters of each city, town and plantation shall vote by ballot on this question 
and designate their choice by a cross or check mark placed within a corresponding square 
below the word "Yes" or "No."  The ballots must be received, sorted, counted and 
declared in open ward, town and plantation meetings and returns made to the Secretary of 
State in the same manner as votes for members of the Legislature.  The Governor shall 
review the returns.  If a majority of the legal votes are cast in favor of this Act, the 
Governor shall proclaim the result without delay and this Act becomes effective 30 days 
after the date of the proclamation. 
The Secretary of State shall prepare and furnish to each city, town and plantation all 
ballots, returns and copies of this Act necessary to carry out the purposes of this 
referendum. 
SUMMARY 
The funds provided by this bond issue, in the amount of $20,000,000, will be used to 
provide funds for the Land for Maine's Future Fund.