An Act to Amend the Maine Cooperative Affordable Housing Ownership Act Reference to the Joint Select Committee on Housing suggested and ordered printed.
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1505
Committee: Housing
Sponsors: CLOUTIER, PIERCE, ABDI, BRENNAN, GERE, LEE, LOOKNER, SUPICA, ROTUNDO, VITELLI
Amends: 13 MRSA §1742, 13 MRSA §1754, 13 MRSA §1760, 13 MRSA §1763, 13 MRSA §1764

Legislative Document
No. 1505
H.P. 960
House of Representatives, April 5, 2023
An Act to Amend the Maine Cooperative Affordable Housing 
Ownership Act
Reference to the Joint Select Committee on Housing suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative CLOUTIER of Lewiston.
Cosponsored by Senator PIERCE of Cumberland and
Representatives: ABDI of Lewiston, BRENNAN of Portland, GERE of Kennebunkport, LEE 
of Auburn, LOOKNER of Portland, SUPICA of Bangor, Senators: ROTUNDO of 
Androscoggin, VITELLI of Sagadahoc.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  13 MRSA §1742, sub-§4-A is enacted to read:
4-A.  Group equity cooperative.  "Group equity cooperative" means a cooperative 
affordable housing corporation organized in accordance with section 1763.
Sec. 2.  13 MRSA §1742, sub-§4-B is enacted to read:
4-B.  Housing assistance program.  "Housing assistance program" means any 
program that offers financial assistance to individuals or organizations for housing costs, 
residential utilities or the development, acquisition, repair, weatherization, remediation, 
renovation or operation of residential housing.
Sec. 3.  13 MRSA §1742, sub-§4-C is enacted to read:
4-C.  Housing cooperative.  "Housing cooperative" includes any type of cooperative 
affordable housing corporation.
Sec. 4.  13 MRSA §1754, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 300, §1, is amended to 
read:
2.  Maintenance of affordability.  A limited equity formula, once established by a 
cooperative affordable housing corporation in its articles of incorporation, may be amended 
only if that amendment does not make the cooperative membership unaffordable for classes 
of low-income or moderate-income households for which the cooperative affordable 
housing corporation was originally incorporated.  A cooperative affordable housing 
corporation once organized under this section may not reorganize as other than a limited 
equity cooperative or group equity cooperative without first dissolving.
Sec. 5.  13 MRSA §1760, sub-§1, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 300, §1, is 
amended to read:
B.  As a dividend not to exceed 6% per annum on invested capital, except that a group 
equity cooperative may not apportion a dividend.
Sec. 6.  13 MRSA §1763 is enacted to read:
§1763.  Group equity cooperative
A cooperative affordable housing corporation may organize as a group equity 
cooperative for the purpose of providing and preserving housing for classes of low-income 
or moderate-income households at the time that the person or household purchases a 
membership.  A group equity cooperative must meet the following requirements.
1. Interest does not accrue equity. The articles of incorporation must require that 
cooperative interests may not be sold for more than the original par value. The original par 
value may not exceed $100.
2. Maintenance of affordability. A cooperative affordable housing corporation, once 
organized under this section, may not reorganize as other than a group equity cooperative 
without first dissolving.
3. Uphold public purpose. A group equity cooperative may not sell all or substantially 
all of its assets if the sale is intended to circumvent the purpose of this section.
4. Right to repurchase. The articles of incorporation must require that the cooperative 
affordable housing corporation has the first right to repurchase a member's cooperative 
interest.
5. No capital distribution. The articles of incorporation must require that there is no 
distribution of capital to a member in the form of dividends or any additional interest in the 
cooperative affordable housing corporation.
6. Distribution upon dissolution. The articles of incorporation must require that upon 
dissolution of the cooperative affordable housing corporation any assets remaining after 
retirement of corporate debts and distribution to members must be distributed to a 
charitable organization described in the United States Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 
Section 501(c)(3), as amended, a public agency or another limited equity cooperative 
whose formula for determining transfer value is no less restrictive than that of the 
cooperative affordable housing corporation being dissolved.
7. Sublease limitations. The articles of incorporation must require that a sublease of a 
unit may not require monthly payments by the sublessee in excess of 100% of the monthly 
payments for the unit required in the proprietary lease.
8. Minimum occupancy requirement. At least 80% of the occupied units of a group 
equity cooperative must be occupied by members.
9. Residents only. Voting authority may not be assigned to nonresidents.
Sec. 7.  13 MRSA §1764 is enacted to read:
§1764.  Housing assistance programs
1. Program inclusion. All state and municipal housing assistance programs, including 
publicly funded programs administered by private agencies, must be made reasonably 
available to residents of housing cooperatives, notwithstanding federal and state rules, 
regulations and laws to the contrary.
2. Classification of housing cooperatives. Housing assistance programs may develop 
specific policies that govern the treatment of program applicants who belong to or reside 
in housing cooperatives. For those programs that do not have specific policies regarding 
housing cooperatives, program applicants belonging to the housing cooperative must be 
treated as owners with a housing classification type of homeownership, except for the 
following:
A. A program applicant belonging to a group equity housing cooperative must have the 
program applicant's housing type classified as rental property, and all residents must 
be categorized as a renter or tenant and the group equity housing cooperative must be 
categorized as the owner or landlord and carrying charges as rent; and
B. A program applicant who is a resident of a housing cooperative and leases the 
program applicant's unit from the housing cooperative but is not a member of the 
housing cooperative, does not own a share of stock and does not hold any other 
ownership interest in the housing cooperative or residential property must be 
categorized as a renter or tenant and the respective cooperative affordable housing 
corporation must be categorized as owner or landlord. 
3. Cooperative affordable housing corporation participation in housing assistance 
programs. If a cooperative affordable housing corporation is classified as the owner, the 
cooperative affordable housing corporation has the right to apply for multifamily owner 
benefit programs in accordance with the guidelines of the housing assistance programs.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the Maine Cooperative Affordable Housing Ownership Act to include 
group equity cooperatives. It also provides that a housing assistance program must be made 
reasonably available to residents of housing cooperatives.