An Act To Support the Role of Municipalities in Expanding Broadband Infrastructure
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1063
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: McCREIGHT, FOLEY, CAIAZZO, DOUDERA, FAY, GROHOSKI, HANLEY, HIGGINS, MARTIN, WOODSOME
Amends: 30-A MRSA §5401, 30-A MRSA §5402, 30-A MRSA §5403, 30-A MRSA §5413

Legislative Document
No. 1063
H.P. 786
House of Representatives, March 5, 2019
An Act To Support the Role of Municipalities in Expanding 
Broadband Infrastructure
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative McCREIGHT of Harpswell.
Cosponsored by Senator FOLEY of York and
Representatives: CAIAZZO of Scarborough, DOUDERA of Camden, FAY of Raymond, 
GROHOSKI of Ellsworth, HANLEY of Pittston, HIGGINS of Dover-Foxcroft, MARTIN of 
Sinclair, Senator: WOODSOME of York.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §5401, sub-§7, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 
and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is 
further amended to read:
B.  Any of the following within or outside, or partly within and partly outside the 
corporate limits of the municipality:
(1)  A water system or part of that system;
(2)  A sewer system or part of that system;
(3)  An airport or part of an airport;
(4)  A telecommunications system or part of that system; or
(5)  An energy facility or part of that facility.; or
(6)  A community broadband system or part of that system.
Sec. 2.  30-A MRSA §5402, sub-§1-A is enacted to read:
1-A.  Need for broadband systems.  Access to affordable, reliable, high-speed 
broadband Internet is necessary to the general welfare of the public, and the people of the 
State and its economy require connection to existing publicly built infrastructure as a 
means of cultivating entrepreneurial activity, attracting business, improving access to 
modernized methods of education and health care and encouraging people to move to this 
State;
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §5403, sub-§13, as amended by PL 2005, c. 556, §1, is 
further amended to read:
13.  General powers.  Do all acts and things necessary or convenient to carry out the 
powers expressly granted in this chapter; and
Sec. 4.  30-A MRSA §5403, sub-§14, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 556, §2, is 
amended to read:
14.  Community septic systems.  As a means of facilitating compact growth 
patterns, including cluster developments, construct, maintain and operate a sewer system 
that is composed of one or more subsurface wastewater collection, treatment and disposal 
systems.  The municipality may construct such a sewer system in anticipation of the 
establishment of a community sanitary district under Title 38, chapter 11-A, to which the 
municipality will transfer the system pursuant to Title 38, section 1232.  For purposes of 
this subsection, "cluster development" has the same meaning as in section 4301, 
subsection 1-A.; and
Sec. 5.  30-A MRSA §5403, sub-§15 is enacted to read:
15.  Communications services systems; community broadband systems.  
Construct, maintain and operate a municipal or multimunicipal system composed of 
infrastructure capable of being utilized by communications service providers for the 
provision of communications services.  A municipality may not provide retail 
communications services through community broadband systems to nonmunicipal 
entities.  For the purposes of this subsection, "communications service" has the same 
meaning as in Title 35-A, section 9202, subsection 3 and "communications service 
provider" has the same meaning as in Title 35-A, section 9202, subsection 4.
Nothing in this chapter restricts a municipality from purchasing, leasing, constructing or 
equipping facilities that are designed to provide communications services.  Nothing in 
this chapter restricts a municipality from using community broadband systems for 
internal municipal government purposes or, by written contract, leasing, selling capacity 
in or granting other similar rights to communications service providers to use the 
facilities in connection with the provider's offering communications services.
Sec. 6.  30-A MRSA §5413, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 and Pt. C, 
§106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further 
amended to read:
§5413.  Exemption from taxation
As proper revenue-producing municipal facilities are essential for the health and 
safety of the inhabitants of the municipalities, and as the exercise of the powers conferred 
to effect these purposes constitute constitutes the performance of essential governmental 
functions, and as municipal facilities acquired or constructed under this chapter constitute 
public property and are used for municipal purposes, no municipality may be required to 
pay any taxes or assessments upon any parking facility or system, water or sewer system, 
community broadband system or telecommunications system revenue-producing 
municipal facility, or any part of such a system, whether located within or outside the 
corporate limits of the municipality, or upon the income from those facilities.  Any bonds 
issued under this chapter, and their transfer and the income from the bonds, including any 
profit made on the sale of the bonds, shall at all times be are free from taxation within the 
State, provided except that nothing in this section exempts any lessee or person in 
possession of a parking facility or part of a parking facility or the property so leased or 
possessed from taxes or assessments payable under Title 36, section 551.
SUMMARY
This bill recognizes broadband Internet as a public necessity.  It designates a 
community broadband system or part of that system as a revenue-producing municipal 
facility.  It allows a municipality to construct, maintain and operate a municipal or 
multimunicipal system composed of infrastructure capable of being utilized by 
communications service providers for the provision of communications services.  The bill 
prohibits a municipality from providing retail communications services through 
community broadband systems to nonmunicipal entities.  The bill exempts community 
broadband systems from taxation.