An Act to Amend the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law to Encourage Housmg Construction
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 0341
Committee Amendment CA_A_H236 (House)
Amends: 36 MRSA §581

COMMITTEE AN.IENDMENT ''A "to HP 215, L D 341, "An Act to Amend the 
Maine Tree Growth Tax Law to Encourage Housmg Construction" 
Amend the bill by stnkmg out everythmg after the enactmg clause and msertmg the 
followmg 
'Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §581, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2021, c 630, Pt C, §5, 1s 
further amended to read 
3. Penalty. If Except as provided m subsections 3-A and 3-B, 1f land is withdrawn 
from taxat10n under this subchapter, the assessor shall impose a penalty upon the owner 
The penalty is the greater of 
A An amount equal to the taxes that would have been assessed on the land on the fast 
day of April for the 5 tax years, or any lesse1 numbei of tax years startmg with the yeru 
m which the land was first classified, precedmg the withdrawal had that land been 
assessed m each of those years at its Just value on the date of withdrawal less all taxes 
paid on that land over the precedmg 5 yeaIS, or any lesser number of tax years stru1mg 
with the year m which the land was first classified, and mci eased by mterest at the 
prevathng mumc1pal rate from the date or dates on which those amounts would have 
been payable, and 
B An amount computed by mult1plymg the amount, 1f any, by which the Just value of 
the land on the date ofw1thdrawal exceeds the 100% valuation of the land pursuant to 
this subchapter on the precedmg Aprtl 1st by the followmg iates 
(1) If the land was subJect to valuation under this subchapter for 10 years or fewer 
prior to the date of withdrawal, the rate is 30%. 
(2) If the land was subject to valuation under this subchapter for more than 10 
years prior to the date of withdrawal, the rate 1s 30% reduced by one percentage 
pomt for each full year beyond 10 years that the land was subject to valuation under 
this subchapter prior to the date of withdrawal, except that the mmimum rate is 
20% 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
ROS 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 'A" to HP 215, L D 341 
For purposes of this subsection and subsections 3-A and 3-B, Just value at the ttme of 
wrthdrawal is the assessed Just value of comparable property m the mumcipahty ad Justed 
by the mumcipahty's certified assessment rat10 
Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §581, sub-§3-A is enacted to read 
3-A. Penalty; use of land for single-family housing construction. If land 1s 
wrthdrawn from taxat10n under thIS subchapter and a port10n of the land will be used for 
construction of smgle-famdy res1dent1al housmg and the conditions required for bmldmg 
construction described m subsect10n 3-B are met w1thm 2 years of withdrawal, the assessor 
shall tmpose a penalty upon the ownei that is equal to the amount calculated undei 
subsection 3, paragraph A Withdrawal of land is sub1ect to the penalty provided under 
subsection 3, paragraph A only if the amount of land withdrawn annually 1s equal to or less 
than the mmimum lot size for the construct10n of one smgle-famdy 1es1dence withm the 
mnsdictton where the land is located If construction of smgle-famtly residential housmg 
is not completed withm 2 years of withdrawal or the cond1t10ns i eqmred for bmldmg 
construction are not met, the penalty must be recalculated under subsection 3, paragraphs 
A and B and a supplemental penalty must be assessed for the amount m excess of the 
penalty ongmally assessed Any supplemental penalty resultmg from failure to complete 
construction withm 2 years of withdrawal must be assessed to the person that purchased 
the parcel 
This subsect10n is repealed January 1, 2029 
Sec. 3. 36 MRSA §581, sub-§3-B is enacted to read 
3-B. Conditions; use of land for single-family construction. In order to qualify foi 
the ongmal penalty p10vided under subsection 3-A, the followmg conditions must be met 
A The land withdrawn must be ehgible for taxation under this subchapter on July 1, 
2023 
B No more than one parcel may be withdrawn annually 
C The size of the parcel is ltmited to the mmtmum lot size allowed by the govemmg 
mnsdiction for the mtended purpose of smgle-family residential housmg construct10n 
m the applicable locat10n 
D The housmg constructed on the land must be mtended to be occupied as a residence 
and be deemed habitable by the code enforcement official for the applicable location 
withm 2 years after withdrawal 
This subsect10n is repealed January 1, 2029 
Sec. 4. 
Appropriations and allocations. The followmg appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF 
Revenue Services, Bureau of 0002 
Imtiat1ve Piovides fundmg to estabhsh 2 Revenue Agent positions effective October 1, 
2023 to nnplement changes to the Mame Tree Growth Tax Law 
GENERAL FUND 
2023-24 
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT 
000 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
2024-25 
000 
ROS 
COMMITTEEAMENDMENT'A "toHP 215,LD 341 
Personal Services 
All Other 
GENERAL FUND TOTAL 
$175,997 
$33,912 
$209,909 
$238,702 
$29,312 
$268,014 
Amend the bill by relettermg or renumbermg any nonconsecutive Part letter or section 
number to read consecutively 
SUMMARY 
This amendment ensures that at least the mmtmum withdrawal penalty allowed by the 
Constitution of Mame 1s assessed for the withdrawal of land from Mame Tree Growth Tax 
Law assessment for the purposes of single-family residential housmg construction as 
provided by the bill It also establishes cond1t1ons that the land must meet m order to qualify 
for the constitut10nal mm1mum penalty If the conditions are not met w1thm 2 years after 
withdrawal, a supplemental assessment must be made to ensme that the usual full 
withdrawal penalty 1s assessed These prov1s10ns are repealed January 1, 2029 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved 05/16/23 :tPac 
'-
LD341 
LR 951(02) 
An Act to Amend the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law to Encourage Housing Construction 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment A"" 1H- ';l 3(p) 
Committee: Taxation 
l[ 
Net Cost (Savings) 
Genet al Fund 
Appropriations/ Allocations 
General Fund 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY 2023-24 
FY 2024-25 
$209,909 
$268,014 
$209,909 
$268,014 
Projections 
FY 2025-26 
($23,393) 
($23,393) 
Projections 
FY 2026-27 
($14/'Y" 
($14,490) 
The btll includes ongomg General Fund approprrnt10ns to the Department of Ad1mmstrat1ve and Fmanc1al Services, 
Bureau of Revenue Services of $209,909 m fiscal year 2023-24 and $268,014 m fiscal year 2024-25 for 2 Revenue 
Agent pos1t10ns effective October 1, 2023 to process apphcat10ns for withdrawal of land from the tree growth 
program, conduct stte v1s1ts and determme ehg1b1hty for the reduced withdrawal penalty provided 111 the bill 
Increased withdrawals of land from the tree g1owth program will reduce state reimbursement to mumcpaht1es for 
p10perty tax revenue lost due to the program The first state reimbursement payment to mumctpahties that will be 
impacted by the btll 1s the Octobe1 2025 payment The proJectlons fot fiscal yea1 2025-26 and fiscal year 2026-27 
mclude a deappropnat10n of $300,000 per year for the reduced state reimbursement 
LR0951(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1