An Act To Strengthen the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1562
Committee: Transportation
Sponsors: BENNETT, CEBRA, CHIPMAN, LIBBY, MOORE, COLLINGS, O'CONNELL
Amends: 23 MRSA §4210-B, 23 MRSA §8112, 23 MRSA §8121

Legislative Document
No. 1562
S.P. 505
In Senate, April 27, 2021
An Act To Strengthen the Northern New England Passenger Rail 
Authority
Received by the Secretary of the Senate on April 23, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Transportation pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator BENNETT of Oxford.
Cosponsored by Representative CEBRA of Naples and
Senators: CHIPMAN of Cumberland, LIBBY of Androscoggin, MOORE of Washington, 
Representatives: COLLINGS of Portland, O'CONNELL of Brewer.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  23 MRSA §4210-B, sub-§7-A, as amended by PL 2017, c. 375, Pt. E, §1, 
is repealed.
Sec. 2.  23 MRSA §8112, sub-§1, as repealed and replaced by PL 2005, c. 312, §8, 
is amended to read:
1.  Board of directors.  The authority consists of a board of 7 9 directors.  The 7 9 
directors are the Commissioner of Transportation, who is a director ex officio, the 
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development, who also is a director ex 
officio, and 5 directors who are members of the public, appointed by the Governor and 
confirmed by the Legislature for 5-year staggered terms, who shall serve until their 
respective successors are appointed and qualified, and 2 directors who are members of the 
public with expertise in passenger rail service, elected by the other directors for 5-year 
terms, who shall serve until their respective successors are elected.  A vacancy in a position 
held by a director who is a member of the public, except for the positions held by the 2 
directors elected by the other directors, occurring other than by the expiration of a term 
must be filled by the Governor and confirmed by the Legislature for the unexpired term.
Sec. 3.  23 MRSA §8112, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 312, §8, is amended to 
read:
5.  Officers.  The board shall elect a treasurer, a secretary and any other officers the 
board from time to time considers necessary, none of whom needs to be a director, and 
shall hire executive-level staff to manage relationships and contracts between the authority 
and governmental or private entities involved in the delivery of passenger rail service, 
including but not limited to its responsibilities under section 8003, and any other staff 
necessary to oversee management of state rail assets and policy and planning for the 
expansion of passenger rail service statewide.
Sec. 4.  23 MRSA §8121 is enacted to read:
§8121.  State Passenger Rail Fund
1.  Establishment of fund.  The State Passenger Rail Fund is established as a 
nonlapsing Other Special Revenue Funds program through the Department of 
Administrative and Financial Services and referred to in this section as "the fund."
2.  Establishment of program.  The authority shall establish the State Passenger Rail 
Fund program through the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Office of 
the State Controller.
3.  Use of funds.  The funds deposited into and disbursed from the fund must be used 
for the purposes of this subchapter, including but not limited to purchasing, operating, 
maintaining, improving, repairing, constructing and managing the assets of the authority.
4.  Sales tax revenue.  Beginning July 1, 2022 and every July 1st thereafter, the State 
Controller shall transfer to the fund an amount, as certified by the State Tax Assessor, that 
is equivalent to 100% of the revenue from the tax imposed on the value of rental of a pickup 
truck or van with a gross weight of less than 26,000 pounds rented from a person primarily 
engaged in the business of renting automobiles and the value of rental for a period of less 
than one year of an automobile pursuant to Title 36, section 1811 for the first 6 months of 
the prior fiscal year after the reduction for the transfer to the Local Government Fund as 
described by Title 30-A, section 5681, subsection 5. Beginning on October 1, 2022 and 
every October 1st thereafter, the State Controller shall transfer to the fund an amount, as 
certified by the State Tax Assessor, that is equivalent to 100% of the revenue from the tax 
imposed on the value of rental of a pickup truck or van with a gross weight of less than 
26,000 pounds rented from a person primarily engaged in the business of renting 
automobiles and the value of rental for a period of less than one year of an automobile 
pursuant to Title 36, section 1811 for the last 6 months of the prior fiscal year after the 
reduction for the transfer to the Local Government Fund as described by Title 30-A, section 
5681, subsection 5. The tax amount must be based on actual sales for that fiscal year and 
may not consider any accruals that may be required by law.
5.  Other fund sources.  The fund may accept funds from other sources, including but 
not limited to the United States Department of Transportation, Federal Transit 
Administration and Federal Railroad Administration, to carry out the provisions of this 
section.  
Sec. 5.  Transfer of funds from Multimodal Transportation Fund.  On the 
effective date of this Act, the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Office 
of the State Controller shall transfer all funds previously deposited into the Multimodal 
Transportation Fund pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 23, section 4210-B, 
former subsection 7-A to the State Passenger Rail Fund, established under Title 23, section 
8121.
Sec. 6.  Transfer of state rail assets. The Department of Transportation and the 
Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority shall enter into agreements to transfer all 
state rail assets the department controls to the Northern New England Passenger Rail 
Authority, except for the state rail assets listed under section 7. The department shall 
conduct a review of existing laws relevant to state rail assets and submit a report to the 
Joint Standing Committee on Transportation no later than January 1, 2022 identifying any 
legislation necessary to facilitate the transfer of rail assets to the Northern New England 
Passenger Rail Authority.
Sec. 7.  Trail until rail plan. The Department of Transportation shall develop a plan 
to allow for the recreational use of the following rail corridors while also preserving the 
corridors for future passenger rail development:
1.  The portion of the Mountain Division Trail corridor from the crossing at 
Chadbourne Road in the Town of Standish to the New Hampshire state line in the Town of 
Fryeburg; and
2.  The 9-mile portion of the Down East Sunrise Trail corridor from the intersection at 
Ayers Junction Road in the Town of Pembroke to the Canadian border in the Town of 
Calais.
Sec. 8.  Passenger rail bonding review.  The Northern New England Passenger 
Rail Authority shall analyze and develop recommendations on whether the authority should 
have bonding authority and how that authority could most effectively be exercised to carry 
out its responsibilities under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 23, chapter 621 and report 
its findings to the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation no later than January 1, 
2022.
SUMMARY
This bill does the following.
1.  It establishes the State Passenger Rail Fund and transfers all funds from the 
automobile and truck rental sales tax in the Multimodal Transportation Fund to the State 
Passenger Rail Fund.
2.  It directs the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority to hire additional 
executive management and staff positions.
3.  It creates 2 new director positions on the Northern New England Passenger Rail 
Authority board of directors.
4.  It directs the Department of Transportation and the Northern New England 
Passenger Rail Authority to enter into agreements to transfer all state rail assets the 
department controls to the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority.
5.  It directs the Department of Transportation to develop a plan to allow for the 
recreational use of certain rail corridors while also preserving the corridors for future 
passenger rail development.
6.  It directs the Department of Transportation to conduct a review of existing laws 
relevant to state rail assets and submit a report to the Joint Standing Committee on 
Transportation no later than January 1, 2022 identifying any legislation necessary to 
facilitate the transfer of rail assets to the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority.
7.  It directs the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority to look into options 
for issuing bonds necessary to carry out its responsibilities under the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 23, chapter 621 and report its findings to the Joint Standing Committee on 
Transportation no later than January 1, 2022.