An Act To Authorize the Use of Tax Increment Financing Funds for Constructing or Renovating Municipal Offices and Other Buildings
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 0412
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: CARLOW, BAILEY
Amends: 30-A MRSA §5225

Legislative Document
No. 412
H.P. 296
House of Representatives, February 10, 2021
An Act To Authorize the Use of Tax Increment Financing Funds for 
Constructing or Renovating Municipal Offices and Other Buildings
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 8, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Taxation pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative CARLOW of Buxton.
Cosponsored by Senator BAILEY of York and
Representative: BAILEY of Gorham.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§1, ¶C, as amended by PL 2019, c. 604, §3 and 
c. 625, §3, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
C.  Costs related to economic development, environmental improvements, fisheries and 
wildlife or marine resources projects, recreational trails, broadband service 
development, expansion or improvement, including connecting to broadband service 
outside the tax increment financing district, employment training or the promotion of 
workforce development and retention within the municipality or plantation, including, 
but not limited to:
(1)  Costs of funding economic development programs or events developed by the 
municipality or plantation or funding the marketing of the municipality or 
plantation as a business or arts location;
(2)  Costs of funding environmental improvement projects developed by the 
municipality or plantation for commercial or arts district use or related to such 
activities;
(3)  Funding to establish permanent economic development revolving loan funds, 
investment funds and grants;
(4)  Costs of services and equipment to provide skills development and training, 
including scholarships to in-state educational institutions or to online learning 
entities when in-state options are not available, for jobs created or retained in the 
municipality or plantation.  These costs must be designated as training funds in the 
development program;
(5)  Costs associated with quality child care facilities and adult care facilities, 
including finance costs and construction, staffing, training, certification and 
accreditation costs related to child care and adult care;
(6)  Costs associated with new or existing recreational trails determined by the 
department to have significant potential to promote economic development, 
including, but not limited to, costs for multiple projects and project phases that may 
include planning, design, construction, maintenance, grooming and improvements 
with respect to new or existing recreational trails, which may include bridges that 
are part of the trail corridor, used all or in part for all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, 
hiking, bicycling, cross-country skiing or other related multiple uses;
(7)  Costs associated with a new or expanded transit service, limited to:
(a)  Transit service capital costs, including but not limited to:  transit vehicles 
such as buses, ferries, vans, rail conveyances and related equipment; bus 
shelters and other transit-related structures; and benches, signs and other 
transit-related infrastructure; and
(b)  In the case of transit-oriented development districts, ongoing costs of 
adding to an existing transit system or creating a new transit service and limited 
strictly to transit operator salaries, transit vehicle fuel and transit vehicle parts 
replacements;
(8)  Costs associated with the development of fisheries and wildlife or marine 
resources projects;
(9)  Costs related to the construction or operation of municipal or plantation public 
safety facilities, the need for which is related to general economic development 
within the municipality or plantation, not to exceed 15% of the captured assessed 
value of the development district; and
(10)  Costs associated with broadband and fiber optics expansion projects, 
including preparation, planning, engineering and other related costs in addition to 
the construction costs of those projects.  If an area within a municipality or 
plantation is unserved with respect to broadband service, as defined by the 
ConnectMaine Authority as provided in Title 35‑A, section 9204‑A, subsection 1, 
broadband and fiber optics expansion projects may serve residential or other 
nonbusiness or noncommercial areas in addition to business or commercial areas 
within the municipality or plantation;
Sec. 2.  30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§1, ¶D, as amended by PL 2011, c. 101, §15, is 
further amended to read:
D.  Costs of constructing or improving facilities or buildings leased by State 
Government or a municipal or plantation government that are located in approved 
downtown tax increment financing districts.; and
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§1, ¶E is enacted to read:
E.  Costs of construction or renovation of municipal offices or other municipal 
buildings; however, the costs may not exceed $1,000,000 during a 20-year period for 
any one tax increment financing district.
Sec. 4.  30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2019, c. 148, §4, is further 
amended to read:
2.  Unauthorized project costs.  Except as provided in subsection 1, paragraph C, 
subparagraph (9) and subsection 1, paragraph paragraphs D and E, the commissioner may 
not approve as a project cost the cost of facilities, buildings or portions of buildings used 
predominantly for the general conduct of government or for public recreational purposes, 
including, but not limited to, city halls and other headquarters of government where the 
governing body meets regularly, courthouses, jails and other state and local government 
office buildings, recreation centers, athletic fields and swimming pools.
SUMMARY
This bill permits revenue from tax increment financing districts to be used for the 
construction or renovation of municipal offices or other buildings and limits the revenue 
that may be used to $1,000,000 during a 20-year period for any one tax increment financing 
district.  The bill also corrects a conflict in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 30-A, section 
5225, subsection 1, paragraph C, which was amended by Public Law 2019, chapter 604 
and chapter 625, by incorporating the changes made by both laws.