An Act To Fix Maine's Roads and Bridges by Establishing a Seasonal Gasoline Tax Adjustment
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1157
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: McLEAN
Amends: 36 MRSA §2903

Legislative Document
No. 1157
H.P. 846
House of Representatives, March 7, 2019
An Act To Fix Maine's Roads and Bridges by Establishing a 
Seasonal Gasoline Tax Adjustment
Reference to the Committee on Transportation suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative McLEAN of Gorham.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  36 MRSA §2903, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2011, c. 240, §24, is further 
amended to read:
1.  Excise tax imposed.  Beginning July 1, 2008 and ending June 30, 2009, an excise 
tax is imposed on internal combustion engine fuel used or sold in this State, including 
sales to the State or a political subdivision of the State, at the rate of 28.4¢ per gallon, 
except that the rate is 3.4¢ per gallon on internal combustion engine fuel bought or used 
for the purpose of propelling jet or turbojet engine aircraft.  Beginning July 1, 2009 and 
ending October 31, 2019, an excise tax is imposed on internal combustion engine fuel 
used or sold in this State, including sales to the State or a political subdivision of the 
State, at the rate of 29.5¢ per gallon, except that the rate is 3.4¢ per gallon on internal 
combustion engine fuel bought or used for the purpose of propelling jet engine aircraft.  
The tax rate provided by this subsection except the rate of tax imposed on fuel bought or 
used for the purpose of propelling jet engine aircraft is subject to an annual inflation 
adjustment pursuant to section 3321.  Any fuel containing at least 10% internal 
combustion engine fuel is subject to the tax imposed by this section.
Sec. 2.  36 MRSA §2903, sub-§1-C, as amended by PL 2009, c. 434, §38, is 
repealed.
Sec. 3.  36 MRSA §2903, sub-§1-D is enacted to read:
1-D.  Seasonal excise tax imposed.  Beginning November 1, 2019, an excise tax is 
imposed on internal combustion engine fuel used or sold in this State, including sales to 
the State or a political subdivision of the State, at the rate of:
A.  From November 1st to May 31st annually, 27¢ per gallon; and
B.  From June 1st to October 31st annually, 37¢ per gallon.
Notwithstanding paragraphs A and B, for internal combustion engine fuel bought or used 
for the purpose of propelling jet engine aircraft, the rate is 3.4¢ per gallon.
Any fuel containing at least 10% internal combustion engine fuel is subject to the tax 
imposed by this section.
Sec. 4.  36 MRSA §2903, sub-§6, as reallocated by RR 2007, c. 2, §21, is 
amended to read:
6.  Deposit to trust fund.  Beginning July 1, 2009 the Treasurer of State shall deposit 
monthly into the TransCap Trust Fund established in Title 30-A, section 6006-G 7.5% of 
the excise tax after the distribution of taxes pursuant to section 2903-D imposed under 
subsection subsections 1 and 1-D.
SUMMARY
This bill adjusts the tax imposed on gasoline on a seasonal basis, so that the tax is 27¢ 
per gallon from November 1st to May 31st and 37¢ per gallon from June 1st to October 
31st annually.  The current tax rate on gasoline is 30¢ per gallon.  This bill also repeals 
the requirement that an inventory tax be paid on gasoline on hand whenever there is an 
increase in the tax.