An Act To Implement Recommendations of the Government Oversight Committee To Improve the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Legislative Reviews of Tax Expenditures
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1572
Committee: Taxation
Amends: 3 MRSA §998, 3 MRSA §999

Legislative Document
No. 1572
H.P. 1083
House of Representatives, May 4, 2017
An Act To Implement Recommendations of the Government 
Oversight Committee To Improve the Efficiency and Effectiveness 
of Legislative Reviews of Tax Expenditures
Reported by Representative MASTRACCIO of Sanford for the Government Oversight 
Committee pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 3, section 1001, subsection 2.
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed pursuant to Joint 
Rule 218.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  3 MRSA §998, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 344, §4, is amended to 
read: 
2.  Schedule.  By October 1, 2015, the The committee, in consultation with the policy 
committee, shall establish a prioritized schedule of ongoing review of the tax 
expenditures assigned to the full evaluation and expedited review categories pursuant to 
subsection 1, paragraphs A and B.  To the extent practicable, the committee shall 
schedule group the review of tax expenditures with similar goals during the same year 
together. 
Sec. 2.  3 MRSA §999, sub-§1, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 344, §4, is 
amended to read: 
A.  By January 31st of each year Prior to the beginning of each evaluation, the 
committee, after consideration of recommendations from the office, shall approve the 
following for each tax expenditure subject to full evaluation review in that year: 
(1)  The purposes, intent or goals of the tax expenditure, as informed by original 
legislative intent as well as subsequent legislative and policy developments and 
changes in the state economy and fiscal condition; 
(2)  The intended beneficiaries of the tax expenditure; 
(3)  The evaluation objectives, which may include an assessment of: 
(a)  The fiscal impact of the tax expenditure, including past and estimated 
future impacts; 
(b)  The extent to which the design of the tax expenditure is effective in 
accomplishing the tax expenditure's purposes, intent or goals and consistent 
with best practices; 
(c)  The extent to which the tax expenditure is achieving its purposes, intent 
or goals, taking into consideration the economic context, market conditions 
and indirect benefits; 
(d)  The extent to which those actually benefiting from the tax expenditure 
are the intended beneficiaries; 
(e)  The extent to which it is likely that the desired behavior might have 
occurred without the tax expenditure, taking into consideration similar tax 
expenditures offered by other states; 
(f)  The extent to which the State's administration of the tax expenditure, 
including enforcement efforts, is efficient and effective; 
(g)  The extent to which there are other state or federal tax expenditures, 
direct expenditures or other programs that have similar purposes, intent or 
goals as the tax expenditure, and the extent to which such similar initiatives 
are coordinated, complementary or duplicative; 
(h)  The extent to which the tax expenditure is a cost-effective use of 
resources compared to other options for using the same resources or 
addressing the same purposes, intent or goals; and 
(i)  Any opportunities to improve the effectiveness of the tax expenditure in 
meeting its purposes, intent or goals; and 
(4)  The performance measures appropriate for analyzing the evaluation 
objectives. Performance measures must be clear and relevant to the specific tax 
expenditure and the approved evaluation objectives. 
Sec. 3.  3 MRSA §999, sub-§§2 and 3, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 344, §4, are 
amended to read: 
2.  Action by office; report.  By December 31st of each year, beginning in 2016, the 
The office shall complete the tax expenditure evaluations pursuant to subsection 1 
scheduled for that year and submit a report on the results of each evaluation to the 
committee and the policy committee.  The office shall seek stakeholder input as part of 
the report.  For each tax expenditure evaluated, the report must include conclusions 
regarding the extent to which the tax expenditure is meeting its purposes, intent or goals 
and may include recommendations for continuation or repeal of the tax expenditure or 
modification of the tax expenditure to improve its performance. 
3.  Action by committee.  The committee shall review the report submitted by the 
office under subsection 2, assess the report's objectivity and credibility and vote whether 
to endorse the report.  By June 1st of each year, beginning in 2017, the The committee 
shall submit a record of the vote on the report any reports submitted by the office and any 
comments of or actions recommended by the committee to the policy committee for its 
review and consideration. 
SUMMARY 
This bill is submitted pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 3, section 1001, 
subsection 2.  The purpose of this bill is to make changes to the law to improve the 
efficiency and effectiveness of tax expenditure evaluations conducted by the Office of 
Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, or OPEGA, for the Legislature. The 
bill removes statutory deadlines to provide more flexibility in scheduling, completion and 
reporting on full evaluations to allow for a better fit with legislative schedules and to 
ensure OPEGA can complete a comprehensive and quality review of each program, 
within OPEGA's available capacity.