An Act To Establish a Tax on Water Extracted for Bottling in Order To Secure the Economic Future of Rural Maine
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 1074
Committee Amendment CA_A_H637 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to H.P. 797, L.D. 1074, Bill, "An Act To 
Establish a Tax on Water Extracted for Bottling in Order To Secure the Economic Future 
of Rural Maine" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act To Establish a Tax on Water Extracted for Bottling in Order To Support 
Transportation Infrastructure' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 1. 
Amend the bill in section 2 in chapter 370-A in §2832 in subsection 1 in the 2nd line 
(page 1, line 24 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "November 1. 2019
and inserting 
the following: 'July 1. 2020' 
Amend the bill in section 2 in chapter 370-A in §2832 in subsection 2 in the first line 
(page 1, line 28 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "12¢
and inserting the following: 
·~· 
Amend the bill in section 2 in chapter 370-A in §2833 in the first paragraph in the 
2nd and 3rd lines (page 2, lines 3 and 4 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "Water 
Trust Fund established under section 2834" and inserting the following: 'Highway Fund' 
Amend the bill in section 2 in chapter 370-A by striking out all of §2834 (page 2, 
lines 5 to 25 in L.D.). 
Amend the bill in section 3 in the last line (page 2, line 31 in L.D) by striking out the 
following: "2018" and inserting the following: '2019' 
Amend the bill by adding after section 3 the following: 
'Sec. 4. Statutory referendum procedure; submission at election; form of 
question; effective date. This Act must be submitted to the legal voters of the State at 
a statewide election held in the month of November following passage of this Act. The 
municipal officers of this State shall notify the inhabitants of their respective cities, towns 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
,r/21 
~o .· 
COMMITTEEAMENDMENT",4"toH.P. 797,L.D.1074 
and plantations to meet, in the manner prescribed by law for holding a statewide election, 
to vote on the acceptance or rejection of this Act by voting on the following question: 
"Do you favor a tax on bottled water operators of 5¢ per gallon of water 
extracted in the State of Maine to be used for Highway Fund purposes?" 
The legal voters of each city, town and plantation shall vote by ballot on this question 
and designate their choice by a cross or check mark placed within a corresponding square 
below the word "Yes" or "No." The ballots must be received, sorted, counted and 
declared in open ward, town and plantation meetings and returns made to the Secretary of 
State in the same manner as votes for members of the Legislature. The Governor shall 
review the returns. If a majority of the legal votes are cast in favor of this Act, the 
Governor shall proclaim the result without delay and this Act becomes effective 30 days 
after the date of the proclamation. 
The Secretary of State shall prepare and furnish to each city, town and plantation all 
ballots, returns and copies of this Act necessary to carry out the purposes of this 
referendum.' 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment reduces the proposed tax on the extraction of bottled water from 12¢ 
per gallon to 5¢ per gallon and provides that the revenue, after subtraction of 
administrative costs, is credited to the Highway Fund. The amendment also includes 
statutory referendum provisions to ensure that the tax will not take effect unless approved 
by the voters at a statewide election and changes dates to reflect the referendum timing. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 06/05/19 feac:.. 
LD 1074 
LR 1961(02) 
An Act To Establish a Tax on Water Extracted for Bottling in Order To Secure the Economic Future 
of Rural Maine 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended l)y Committee Amendment /J ( H-, J 7) 
Committee: Taxation 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Current biennium cost increase - General Fund 
Contingent current biennium cost increase - General Fund 
Contingent current biennium revenue increase - Highway Fund 
Referendum Costs 
Month/Year Election Type 
Question 
Length 
Nov-19 
General 
Referendum 
Standard 
The Secretary of State's budget includes sufficient funds to accommodate one ballot of average length for the general 
election in November. If the number or size of the referendum questions requires production and delivery of a 
second ballot, an additional appropriation of $172,000 may be required. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
The bill creates an excise tax of 5¢ per gallon on the-extraction of groundwater or surface water for commercial 
bottling for resale for each bottled water operator that extracted more than 1.5 million gallons of groundwater or 
surface water in the previous calendar year, contingent on voter approval at a statewide election. Revenue from the 
tax will be credited to the Highway Fund. If approved by the voters, Highway Fund revenue is expected to increase 
by approximately $53 million per year. The Department of Administrative and Financial Services will need a 
General Fund appropriation of $100,000 in fiscal year 2020-21 for computer programming to create the new tax in 
the processing system. 
LR1961(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1