An Act to Increase Affordable Housing by Expanding Tax Increment Financing
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1493
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: LaROCHELLE, ANKELES, BRIDGEO, LANIGAN, PERRY, WHITE
Amends: 30-A MRSA §5225, 36 MRSA §1760, 36 MRSA §2016-A

Legislative Document
No. 1493
H.P. 948
House of Representatives, April 5, 2023
An Act to Increase Affordable Housing by Expanding Tax 
Increment Financing
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative LaROCHELLE of Augusta.
Cosponsored by Representatives: ANKELES of Brunswick, BRIDGEO of Augusta, 
LANIGAN of Sanford, PERRY of Bangor, WHITE of Waterville.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§1, ¶D, as amended by PL 2021, c. 261, §7, 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. 2.  30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§1, ¶E, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 261, §8, is 
amended to read:
E.  Costs associated with the development and operation of affordable housing or 
housing services for persons who are experiencing homelessness as defined in the 
municipality's or plantation's development program.; and
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§1, ¶F is enacted to read:
F.  Costs of constructing or improving facilities or buildings owned by the municipality 
as part of a qualified project as described by section 5250-W, subsection 3.
Sec. 4.  30-A MRSA c. 206, sub-c. 7 is enacted to read:
SUBCHAPTER 7
PINE TREE HOUSING ZONES
§5250-W.  Pine Tree Housing Zones
1. Definitions. As used in this subchapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.  
A. "Pine Tree Housing Zone" means a zone authorized to be established under this 
subchapter.
B. "Qualified project" means a project that meets the requirements of subsection 3.
C. "Workforce housing" means a housing project that will create long-term residential 
housing for households with earned income that is insufficient to secure quality 
housing in reasonable proximity to the workplace or for workers identified as essential 
by a municipality, including workers in public service, public safety, education, marine 
services, tourism or manufacturing industries.
2. Zones authorized.  The municipality may designate a Pine Tree Housing Zone if 
the municipality:
A. Has, at the time of the designation, a:
(1) Development district that uses tax increment financing;
(2) State tax increment financing district; or
(3) Pine Tree Development Zone;
B. Is facing a shortage of workforce housing or affordable rental housing; and
C. Has met other requirements specified by rule adopted by the commissioner.
3. Qualified project.  In order to be a qualified project, a project must:
A. Devote 50% of the area of the project to workforce housing or affordable rental 
housing;
B. Maintain the areas of workforce housing or affordable rental housing as workforce 
housing or affordable housing for a period of at least 20 years;
C. Be located in a Pine Tree Housing Zone; and
D. Meet other qualifications specified by rule adopted by the commissioner.
4. Use of tax increment financing revenue.  Notwithstanding any provision of law to 
the contrary, tax increment financing revenue may be used to finance a qualified project 
located anywhere in the municipality in which the qualified project is located.
5. Recovery of public funds.  The Maine State Housing Authority shall develop by 
rule provisions for recovery of public revenue if conditions for approval of an affordable 
housing development district are not maintained for the duration of the district. Rules 
adopted by the authority pursuant to this subsection are major substantive rules as defined 
in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
6. Rules.  The commissioner shall administer this subchapter. The commissioner shall 
adopt rules pursuant to the Maine Administrative Procedure Act for implementation of Pine 
Tree Housing Zones, including, but not limited to, rules for determining and certifying 
eligibility, selecting zones for designation and evaluating on a periodic basis the progress 
and success of each zone in achieving the Pine Tree Housing Zone's goals. Except as 
provided in subsection 5, rules adopted under this section are routine technical rules as 
defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 5.  36 MRSA §1760, sub-§87-A is enacted to read:
87-A.  Sales of tangible personal property and transmission and distribution of 
electricity to qualified projects in Pine Tree Housing Zones.  Sales of tangible personal 
property, and of the transmission and distribution of electricity, for use directly and 
primarily by  a qualified project, as described in Title 30-A, section 5250-W, subsection 3. 
The exemption provided by this subsection is limited for each qualified project to sales 
occurring within a period of 10 years of the beginning of construction of the qualified 
project. As used in this subsection, "primarily" means more than 50% of the time during 
the period that begins on the date on which the property is first placed in service by the 
purchaser and ends 2 years from that date or at the time the property is sold, scrapped, 
destroyed or otherwise permanently removed from service by the purchaser, whichever 
occurs first.
Sec. 6.  36 MRSA §2016-A is enacted to read:
§2016-A.  Pine Tree Housing Zones qualified projects; reimbursement of certain taxes
1.  Terms defined.  As used in this section, the term "qualified project" means a project 
described in Title 30-A, section 5250-W, subsection 3. For the purposes of this section, 
"primarily" means more than 50% of the time during the period that begins on the date on 
which the property is first placed in service by the purchaser and ends 2 years from that 
date or at the time the property is sold, scrapped, destroyed or otherwise permanently 
removed from service by the purchaser, whichever occurs first.
2.  Reimbursement allowed.  A reimbursement is allowed as provided in this section 
for a tax paid pursuant to this Part with respect to:
A. The sale or use of tangible personal property that is physically incorporated in and 
becomes a permanent part of real property that is owned by or sold to a qualified project 
and that is used directly and primarily by that qualified project; or
B. The sale or use of tangible personal property and the transmission and distribution 
of electricity to a qualified project.
3.  Audit.  The assessor has the authority to audit any claim filed under this section. If 
the assessor determines that the amount of the claimed reimbursement is incorrect, the 
assessor shall redetermine the claim and notify the claimant in writing of the 
redetermination. If the claimant has received reimbursement of an amount that the assessor 
concludes should not have been reimbursed, the assessor may issue an assessment for that 
amount within 3 years of the date the reimbursement claim was filed or at any time if a 
fraudulent reimbursement claim was filed. The claimant may seek reconsideration, 
pursuant to section 151, of the redetermination or assessment.
4.  Payment of claims.  The assessor shall determine the benefit for each claimant 
under this section. The assessor shall pay the certified amounts to each approved applicant 
qualifying for the benefit under this section within 30 days of receipt of a properly 
completed claim. Interest is not allowed on any payment made to a claimant pursuant to 
this section.
SUMMARY
This bill authorizes the creation of Pine Tree Housing Zones to allow retained value 
resulting from a tax increment financing district in a municipality to be used anywhere in 
the municipality for the purposes of the purchase, rehabilitation or establishment of 
affordable and workforce housing in the municipality. The bill provides for a sales tax 
exemption for the associated purchasing of goods and services and electricity for a qualified 
project in a Pine Tree Housing Zone.