An Act To Restore to Five Percent the State-Municipal Revenue Sharing Distribution and Create a Matching Fund for Local Road and Bridge Construction, Maintenance and Reconstruction
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1227
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: DIAMOND, CYRWAY, DESCHAMBAULT, DION, HILL, MILLETT, VITELLI
Amends: 30-A MRSA §5681

Legislative Document
No. 1227
S.P. 418
In Senate, March 30, 2017
An Act To Restore to Five Percent the State-Municipal Revenue 
Sharing Distribution and Create a Matching Fund for Local Road 
and Bridge Construction, Maintenance and Reconstruction
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed.
HEATHER J.R. PRIEST
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator DIAMOND of Cumberland.
Cosponsored by Senators: CYRWAY of Kennebec, DESCHAMBAULT of York, DION of 
Cumberland, HILL of York, MILLETT of Cumberland, VITELLI of Sagadahoc.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §5681, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2009, c. 213, Pt. S, §3 
and affected by §16, is further amended to read: 
3.  Revenue-sharing funds.  To strengthen the state-municipal fiscal relationship 
pursuant to the findings and objectives of subsection 1, there is established the Local 
Government Fund.  To provide additional support for municipalities experiencing a 
higher-than-average property tax burden, there is established the Disproportionate Tax 
Burden Fund.  To provide funding to municipalities for roads and bridge improvement 
projects, there is established the Local Infrastructure Fund. 
Sec. 2.  30-A MRSA §5681, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. K, §1, is 
further amended to read: 
5.  Transfers to funds.  No later than the 10th day of each month, the State 
Controller shall transfer to the Local Government Fund 5% 2% of the receipts during the 
previous month from the taxes imposed under Title 36, Parts 3 and 8, and Title 36, 
section 2552, subsection 1, paragraphs A to F and L, and credited to the General Fund 
without any reduction, except that for fiscal years 2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-
the amount transferred is 2% and to the Local Infrastructure Fund 3% of the receipts 
during the previous month from the taxes imposed under Title 36, Parts 3 and 8, and Title 
36, section 2552, subsection 1, paragraphs A to F and L, and credited to the General Fund 
without any reduction, and except that the postage, state cost allocation program and 
programming costs of administering state-municipal revenue sharing may be paid by the 
Local Government Fund.  A percentage share of the amounts transferred to the Local 
Government Fund each month must be transferred to the Disproportionate Tax Burden 
Fund and distributed pursuant to subsection 4-B as follows: 
C.  For months beginning on or after July 1, 2009 but before July 1, 2010, 15%; 
D.  For months beginning on or after July 1, 2010 but before July 1, 2011, 16%; 
E.  For months beginning on or after July 1, 2011 but before July 1, 2012, 17%; 
F.  For months beginning on or after July 1, 2012 but before July 1, 2013, 18%; 
G.  For months beginning on or after July 1, 2013 but before July 1, 2014, 19%; and 
H.  For months beginning on or after July 1, 2014, 20%. 
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §5681, sub-§9 is enacted to read: 
9.  Local Infrastructure Matching Grant Program established.  There is 
established in the Department of Transportation the Local Infrastructure Matching Grant 
Program, referred to in this subsection as "the program."  The Department of 
Transportation shall administer the program to provide matching grants from the Local 
Infrastructure Fund to a municipality that undertakes projects for the maintenance, 
improvement or construction of roads or bridges in that municipality.  The amount of a 
grant to a municipality may not exceed an amount that is in proportion to the product of 
the population of the municipality multiplied by the property tax burden of the 
municipality. 
Sec. 4.  Rulemaking.  The Department of Transportation shall adopt routine 
technical rules as described in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 375, 
subchapter 2-A to implement the Local Infrastructure Matching Grant Program 
established in Title 30-A, section 5681, subsection 9.  The rules must specify the methods 
of applying for a grant and the standards that apply for qualifying infrastructure projects. 
SUMMARY 
This bill establishes the Local Infrastructure Fund and the Local Infrastructure 
Matching Grant Program, which is administered by the Department of Transportation to 
provide matching grants to a municipality that undertakes a project in that municipality to 
maintain, improve or construct roads or bridges.  The fund is funded by continuing the 
temporary reduction of transfers to the Local Government Fund, so-called state-municipal 
revenue sharing, at 2% instead of 5% and requiring the other 3% of the revenue from 
taxes imposed on sales and income to be deposited in the Local Infrastructure Fund.  The 
formula for determining the limit of a grant to a municipality is the same as the formula 
used to determine the distribution to a municipality from the Local Government Fund. 
The effect of this is to allow a municipality to receive 5% in revenue sharing, depending 
on the size of the infrastructure project undertaken by that municipality.