An Act To Carry Out the Will of the People of the State of Maine by Ensuring the Issuance of Bonds To Support the Independence of Maine's Seniors
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 0832
Committee: Appropriations and Financial Affairs
Sponsors: KATZ, GIDEON, BREEN, DIAMOND, HILL, JACKSON, LIBBY, McELWEE, TUELL, VACHON

Legislative Document
No. 832
S.P. 278
In Senate, March 7, 2017
An Act To Carry Out the Will of the People of the State of Maine by 
Ensuring the Issuance of Bonds To Support the Independence of 
Maine's Seniors
(EMERGENCY)
Reference to the Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed.
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator KATZ of Kennebec.
Cosponsored by Speaker GIDEON of Freeport and
Senators: BREEN of Cumberland, DIAMOND of Cumberland, HILL of York, JACKSON of 
Aroostook, LIBBY of Androscoggin, Representatives: McELWEE of Caribou, TUELL of East 
Machias, VACHON of Scarborough.
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and 
Whereas, in June 2015, the Legislature overwhelmingly approved a $15,000,000 
bond issue for senior affordable housing with $14,500,000 for new energy-efficient 
affordable homes and the adaptive reuse of structures or homes and $500,000 for home 
repair and weatherization programs; and 
Whereas, on November 3, 2015, the people of Maine overwhelmingly approved the 
bond issue, with more than 69% of voters in favor; and 
Whereas, the funds from the bond issue will be used to leverage an estimated 
$22,600,000 in private and other funds for low-income households headed by a person 55 
years of age or older; and 
Whereas, state officials and bond counsel have confirmed that the sale of the senior 
affordable housing bonds will not affect the State's credit rating; and 
Whereas, the bond proceeds will be administered by the Maine State Housing 
Authority, which already has provisions in place to ensure that bond proceeds are used 
efficiently, that rent levels remain affordable over the long term, that developer fees will 
be capped at a reasonable level and that telemedicine rooms will be made available within 
newly constructed properties; and 
Whereas, over a year has passed and no action has been taken to implement the 
voter-approved senior affordable housing bond issue; and 
Whereas, there is an urgent need for this new housing, with a current shortage of 
more than 9,000 affordable homes available for Maine seniors and an expected shortage 
of 15,000 homes by 2022 if action is not taken; and 
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore, 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  PL 2015, c. 337, §1 is amended to read: 
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 $15,000,000 for the purposes described in section 5 of this Act.  
Notwithstanding the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 145 and section 145-B, 
subsection 2, the bonds issued pursuant to this Act do not require the signature of the 
Governor or the attestation of the Commissioner of Administrative and Financial 
Services.  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.  PL 2015, c. 337, §1-A is enacted to read: 
Sec. 1-A.  Treasurer of State shall facilitate and expedite issuance of 
bonds ratified by voters.  The Treasurer of State shall facilitate and expedite the 
issuance of bonds pursuant to this Act, as ratified by the voters of the State, unless: 
1.  Debt service greater.  The Treasurer of State determines that the debt service on 
the bonds would be greater than the amount budgeted; 
2.  Adverse impact on credit rating.  The Treasurer of State determines that the 
issuance of the bonds will adversely affect the credit rating of the State; 
3.  Advantageous interest rate.  The Treasurer of State determines that a delay in 
the issuance of the bonds will likely result in a more financially advantageous interest 
rate; 
4.  Project not proceeding.  The Treasurer of State receives written notification that 
a project for which the bonds were authorized is not going forward and the funding to be 
provided by the bonds is not required; or 
5.  Alternative funding available.  The Treasurer of State receives written 
notification that alternative funding sources are available to implement, within a 
comparable time frame, a project and the purposes for which those bonds were authorized 
and ratified. 
Upon the occurrence of any of the circumstances set out in subsections 1 to 5, the 
Treasurer of State shall immediately notify the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives and the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and the 
House of Representatives of those circumstances. 
Sec. 3.  PL 2015, c. 337, §3 is amended to read: 
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 to the Maine State Housing Authority, 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.  Annual report.  Beginning March 1, 2018, and annually thereafter, the 
director of the Maine State Housing Authority shall report to the joint standing committee 
of the Legislature having jurisdiction over affordable housing matters on the status of the 
bond funds authorized by Public Law 2015, chapter 337.  The report must include, but is 
not limited to, both for the immediately preceding year and in the aggregate, the amount 
of bond proceeds made available for the purposes specified in Public Law 2015, chapter 
337, the type, location and cost of projects receiving bond proceeds, the number of 
housing units created by each project, the number of direct construction jobs created or 
maintained by each project, the amount of direct construction wages paid in creating or 
maintaining those jobs and the total amount of building materials purchased in the 
development of each project. This section is repealed on March 2nd of the year following 
the year in which all bond proceeds have been expended. 
Emergency clause.  In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this 
legislation takes effect when approved. 
SUMMARY 
In November 2015, the voters approved Public Law 2015, chapter 337, a bond 
authorization to provide for the issuance of bonds to provide funding for the construction 
of new energy-efficient affordable homes and the adaptive reuse of structures or homes 
for low-income households headed by a person 55 years of age or older. 
This bill makes the following changes to that law in order to ensure the issuance of 
the approved bonds: 
1.  It removes the requirement that the Treasurer of State operate at the direction of 
the Governor in issuing and selling the bonds; 
2.  It exempts the bonds from the requirements in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, 
sections 145 and 145-B regarding the need for the signature of the Governor and the 
attestation of the Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services on bonds issued 
and sold by the Treasurer of State; 
3.  It places a number of safeguards on the sale of the bonds, including allowing the 
Treasurer of State to not sell the bonds if debt service would exceed the amount budgeted 
or the issuance of the bonds would have an adverse impact on the State's credit rating; 
and 
4.  It requires the Treasurer of State to transfer the proceeds of the sale of the bonds 
directly to the Maine State Housing Authority, without the requirement of a warrant 
drawn by the State Controller. 
The bill also requires the director of the Maine State Housing Authority to report 
annually to the Legislature regarding certain aspects of the bond proceeds and the 
projects using bond proceeds.