An Act To Authorize a Local Option Sales Tax on Meals and Lodging and Provide Funding To Treat Opioid Use Disorder
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1254
Committee Amendment CA_A_H536 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 915, L.D. 1254, Bill, "An Act To 
Authorize a Local Option Sales Tax on Meals and Lodging and Provide Funding To Treat 
Opioid Use Disorder" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Authorize a Local Option Sales Tax on Meals and Lodging and Provide 
Funding for Maine Rural Development' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in §1819 in the headnote in the first 2 lines (page 1, lines 
and 4 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "treatment of opioid use disorder" and 
inserting the following: 'rural development' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in §1819 by striking out all of subsection 2 (page 1, lines 
to 16 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'2. Authorization to impose local option sales tax. A municipality by referendum 
conducted pursuant to subsection 8 may impose a local option sales tax of 1 % on 
prepared food and the value of rental of living quarters in any hotel. rooming house or 
tourist or trailer camp.' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in § 1819 by striking out all of subsection 6 (page 1, lines 
to 37 and page 2, lines 1 to 3 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
16. Distribution of revenue. Quarterly. the assessor shall identify the amount of 
revenue attributable to each participating municipality under this section, subtract the 
costs of administering this section and certify the net amount for that municipality to the 
Treasurer of State for distribution pursuant to this subsection. From the net amount 
certified for a municipality under this subsection, the Treasurer of State shall make 
monthly payments as follows: 
A. Seventy-five percent to the participating municipality: and 
B. Twenty-five percent to the Maine Rural Development Authority established under 
Title 5. chapter 383, subchapter 9. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT ,,/J,, to H.P. 915, L.D. 1254 
For the purposes of this subsection, the unorganized territory must receive reimbursement 
as ifit is one municipality. 
For purposes of this subsection, "costs of administering this section" means the lesser of 
the actual cost to the assessor of administering this section and 2% of the total revenue 
generated by a local option sales tax.' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in § 1819 by striking out all of subsection 7 (page 2, lines 
to 6 in L.D.). 
Amend the bill in section 1 in § 1819 by striking out all of subsections 9 and 10 (page 
2, lines 14 to 31 in L.D.) and inserting the following: 
'9. Referendum. The question of whether to impose a local option sales tax must be 
submitted to the legal voters of a municipality that seeks to impose the local option sales 
tax. The referendum question must indicate the rate of the local option sales tax. 
The petition process and voting must be held and conducted in accordance with Title 
30-A. sections 2528. 2529 and 2532 even if the municipality has not accepted the 
provisions of Title 30-A. section 2528. 
The voting at elections must be held and 
conducted in accordance with Title 21-A. 
The municipal clerk shall make a return of the results, certify the results and send them to 
the Secretary of State. The Secretary of State shall forward the results to the assessor. 
The local option sales tax may be discontinued by referendum conducted in the same 
manner as the referendum adopting the tax under this subsection. 
10. Effective date of tax; acceptance by voters. A local option sales tax authorized 
by this section takes effect 120 days after the municipal referendum vote under 
subsection 8 if it is accepted by a majority of the legal voters voting at the election and 
the total number of votes cast equals or exceeds 20% of the total number of votes cast in 
the municipality in the most recent gubernatorial election, except that no local option 
sales tax may take effect before July 1, 2021.' 
Amend the bill in section 1 in §1819 by renumbering the subsections to read 
consecutively. 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment provides that a municipality adopting a local option sales tax on 
meals and lodging is limited to a tax rate of 1 % and provides that the tax must be assessed 
year-round. The amendment changes the distribution of local sales tax net revenue to 
75% for the municipality imposing the tax and 25% to be distributed to the Maine Rural 
Development Authority. A local option sales tax may not take effect before July 1, 2021. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Revised: 06/04/19 feaC!. 
LD 1254 
LR231(03) 
An Act To Authorize a Local Option Sales Tax on Meals and Lodging and Provide Funding To Treat 
Opioid Use Disorder 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ;4( J/, SJ 0 
Committee: Taxation 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Contingent current biennium cost increase - General Fund 
Contingent current biennium revenue decrease - General Fund 
Contingent current biennium revenue increase - Municipalities 
Contingent current biennium revenue increase - Maine Rural Development Authority 
)Fiscal Detail and Notes 
All of the impacts described below are contigent on at least one municipality voting to impose a local sales tax. 
This bill creates a local option sales tax of 1 % on prepared food and lodging. Municipalities can opt to create this tax 
through a municipal referendum. Revenues would be distributed 75% to participating municipalities and 25% to the 
Maine Rural Development Authority. If all municipalities were to opt for and approve this tax, annual revenues to 
municipalities and the Maine Rural Development Authority would be approximately $30 million and $10 million, 
respectively. The Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS) has indicated it would require a 
General Fund appropriation of $850,000 in each of the first two years for computer programming, data cleansing, 
forms design, etc. to establish a local option sales tax system. DAFS would also require $109,000 annually for one 
Revenue Agent position. 
Although it is not possible to predict how many municipalities would implement a local 1 % tax, for comparison 
purposes Maine Revenue Services has estimated that if all municipalities voted to do so, General Fund revenue could 
be reduced by an estimated $2 million annually based upon a decrease in consumption because of an increase in the 
overall sales tax rate. There is no expectation that every municipality would implement a local tax. 
LR023 l (03) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1