An Act To Protect the Maine Budget Stabilization Fund
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1496
Committee: Appropriations and Financial Affairs
Sponsors: GATTINE, BREEN, DUNPHY, HUBBELL, JORGENSEN, PIERCE

Legislative Document
No. 1496
H.P. 1095
House of Representatives, April 4, 2019
An Act To Protect the Maine Budget Stabilization Fund
Reference to the Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative GATTINE of Westbrook.
Cosponsored by Senator BREEN of Cumberland and
Representatives: DUNPHY of Old Town, HUBBELL of Bar Harbor, JORGENSEN of 
Portland, PIERCE of Falmouth.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  PL 2017, c. 284, Pt. EEEEEEE, §§1 and 2 are amended to read:
Sec. EEEEEEE-1.  Reserve for Riverview Psychiatric Center established. 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the State Controller shall 
transfer up to $65,000,000 $54,475,183 from the Maine Budget Stabilization Fund within 
the Department of Administrative and Financial Services Tax Relief Fund for Maine 
Residents to a General Fund reserve account established by the State Controller for the 
purpose of providing General Fund resources for the amounts in federal financial 
participation for Medicaid services and disproportionate share hospital payments related 
to the Riverview Psychiatric Center. Transfers from the reserve account may be made to 
the Department of Health and Human Services pending a notice and reconsideration of 
disallowance from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, dated June 7, 
2017.  If there are insufficient funds in the Tax Relief Fund for Maine Residents to 
provide the amounts needed, the State Controller shall transfer the amount of the shortage 
from the Maine Budget Stabilization Fund.  Any amount transferred from the Maine 
Budget Stabilization Fund to make up for the shortage in the Tax Relief Fund for Maine 
Residents pursuant to this section must be repaid from the Tax Relief Fund for Maine 
Residents as soon as funds in that fund are available.
Sec. EEEEEEE-2.  Excess funds. Any remaining balance in the reserve account, 
established under section 1, upon closure of the pending disallowance must be transferred 
by the State Controller to the Maine Budget Stabilization Fund Tax Relief Fund for 
Maine Residents.
Sec. 2.  Transfer.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the State 
Controller shall transfer $10,524,817 from the Tax Relief Fund for Maine Residents to 
the Maine Budget Stabilization Fund within the Department of Administrative and 
Financial Services no later than 30 days following the effective date of this section.
SUMMARY
Under Public Law 2017, chapter 284, Part EEEEEEE, the State Controller is required 
to transfer up to $65,000,000 from the Maine Budget Stabilization Fund, also known as 
the Rainy Day Fund, to provide General Fund resources to cover any federal 
disallowance in federal financial participation for Medicaid services and disproportionate 
share hospital payments related to the Riverview Psychiatric Center.  A payment of 
$10,524,817 was made in early 2019.
This bill requires instead that the transfer be made from the Tax Relief Fund for 
Maine Residents and requires the State Controller to reimburse the Rainy Day Fund for 
the amount transferred for the federal disallowance related to Riverview Psychiatric 
Center earlier this year.  In the event that sufficient funds do not exist in the Tax Relief 
Fund for Maine Residents to cover future payments, the funds must come from the Rainy 
Day Fund, and the Tax Relief Fund for Maine Residents must be used to reimburse the 
Rainy Day Fund as soon as funds become available.