An Act to Increase
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1876
Committee Amendment CA_A_H760 (House)
Amends: 36 MRSA §151-C

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A-" to H.P. 1247, L.D. 1876, "An Act to Increase 
Use of State Tax Credits" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act to Change the Name and Duties of the Taxpayer Advocate to Increase the Use 
of State Tax Credits' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of the emergency preamble. 
Amend the bill by striking out all of Part A and inserting the following: 
'PART A 
Sec. A-1. 36 MRSA §151-C, as amended by PL 2011, c. 694, §5, is further amended 
to read: 
§151-C. Taxpayer advocate and experience officer 
1. Appointment. The Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services shall 
hire the taxpayer advocate and experience officer as an employee of the bureau who is 
independent of and not subject to the supervision or control of the assessor or any other 
employee of the bureau. The taxpayer advocate and experience officer is an unclassified 
employee and serves at the pleasure of the commissioner. The taxpayer advocate and 
experience officer need not be an attorney. 
2. Duties and responsibilities. The duties and responsibilities of the taxpayer 
advocate and experience officer are to: 
A. Assist taxpayers in resolving problems with the bureaut .!2y;_ 
(1) 
Establishing a taxpayer's best contact within the bureau to provide an 
accelerated review of the taxpayer's issues: 
(2) Facilitating speedy resolution within the bureau, if possible, including offer in 
compromise and payment plan options: and 
(3) Explaining reconsideration and appeal options, if available, under this Pait; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A' to H.P. 1247, L.D. 1876 
B. Identify areas in which Assist taxpayers have problems in dealings 1.vith the burnau.,, 
stakeholder advocacy groups, Legislators and other interested parties by describing 
available tax benefit programs and assisting with simplified access to those programs; 
C. Propose to the assessor and the bureau's division directors any recommended 
changes in the administrative practices of the bureau to mitigate problems identified or 
arising under paragraph paragraphs A and B; and 
D. Identify legislative changes that may be appropriate to mitigate problems identified 
or arising under paragraph paragraphs A and B and report recommendations in the 
annual report required under subsection 3. 
3. Annual report. Beginning in 2-m 2026, the taxpayer advocate and experience 
officer shall prepare and submit by l~ugust 1st Januaty 15th an annual report of activities 
and recommendations under subsection 2 of the taxpayer advocate and experience officer 
to the Governor, commissioner, the Associate Commissioner for Tax Policy, the assessor 
and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over taxation 
matters. 
4. 
Investigation. 
The taxpayer advocate may investigate complaints affecting 
taxpayers genemlly or any pa1ticular taxpayer or group of taxpayers and, v1hen appropriate, 
make recommendations to the assessor with respect to these complaints. The assessor shall 
provide a formal response to all recommendations submitted to the assessor by the taxpayer 
advocate vrithin 3 months after submission to the assessor, 
5. Response. The assessor shall establish procedures to provide for a formal response 
to all recommendations submitted to the assessor by the taxpayer advocate: 
Sec. A-2. Taxpayer advocate and experience officer. The changes to the 
position title and duties of the taxpayer advocate established in the Maine Revised Statutes, 
Title 36, section 151-C, as amended in this Part, do not change the position count and 
funding associated with the taxpayer advocate position within the Department of 
Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Revenue Services.' 
Amend the bill by striking out all of Patt Band insetting the following: 
'PARTB 
Sec. B-1. Special report of taxpayer advocate and experience officer. The 
taxpayer advocate and experience officer within the Department of Administrative and 
Financial Services, Bureau of Revenue Services shall: 
1. Study the use of state tax credits by: 
A. Determining the rate at which eligible individuals are accessing available state 
tax credits; 
B. Identifying and assessing current barriers that may be negatively affecting the 
rate at which available state tax credits are being accessed; and 
C, Developing recommendations to address any eligible individuals not accessing 
available state tax credits; 
2. Study the current practices of large tax preparation films with respect to offering 
state tax credits to individuals in this State by: 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT •A• to H.P. 1247, L.D. 1876 
A. Examining the cmTent practices of large tax preparation firms that offer services to 
individuals in this State with respect to providing information to customers about state 
tax credits and assisting customers in accessing those credits; 
B. Examining the efficacy of the software used by large tax preparation finns to 
prepare and file tax returns with respect to assisting customers in using state tax credits; 
and 
C. Developing recommendations for potential public policy or consumer protection 
measures to ensure that individual taxpayers in this State are informed of and have 
access to state tax credits, regardless of which tax preparer the individual taxpayer uses. 
For the purposes of this subsection, "large tax preparation firm" means a business that 
offers tax return preparation services to individuals and families in the State; offers tax 
return preparation services at multiple franchise locations, or remotely, to customers 
nationwide or in multiple other states; and has at least 50 employees; 
3. Address the role of State Government in promoting public awareness of individual 
state tax credits by: 
A. Identifying existing interactions of State Government with individual taxpayers that 
include providing information to those individuals about state tax credits; 
B. Identifying interactions between State Government and individual taxpayers that do 
not cmTently but reasonably could include providing information to those individuals 
about state tax credits; 
C. Identifying and evaluating any potential barriers to incorporating the provision of 
state tax credit information to individual taxpayers in any interactions identified in 
paragraph B; 
D. Recommending strategies to expand the practice of promoting awareness of state 
tax credits throughout appropriate state departments and agencies, including through 
interdepartmental data sharing; and 
E. Recommending improvements to the State's free electronic tax filing system, known 
as the Maine Tax Portal, including recommendations to improve: 
(1) Public education efforts to promote the existence and availability of the 
electronic tax filing system; and 
(2) Ease of use and accessibility features, including mobile access, use of plain 
language and accessibility to non-English speaking individuals; and 
4. Study and address current practices of municipalities related to promoting awareness 
of individual state tax credits and tax relief programs by: 
A. Identifying and assessing the cmTent practices of municipalities throughout the 
State, including with respect to promoting awareness of the following: 
(1) The earned income credit under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section 
5219-S; 
(2) The property tax fairness credit under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, 
section 5219-KK; 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "'f" to H.P. 1247, L.D. 1876 
(3) The dependent exemption tax credit under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 
36, section 5219-SS; 
( 4) The sales tax faimess credit under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 3 6, section 
5213-A; and 
(5) A deferred collection of homestead prope1iy taxes under the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 36, chapter 908; and 
B. Evaluate and address any barriers preventing a municipality from expanding the 
municipality's effo1ts to promote individual taxpayer awareness of state tax credits. 
Sec, B-2. Report. By November 4, 2026, the taxpayer advocate and experience 
officer within the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of 
Revenue Services shall submit to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over taxation matters a report consisting of the taxpayer advocate and 
experience officer's findings and recommendations, including any suggested legislation. 
The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over taxation matters 
may repo1t out legislation related to the report to the 133rd Legislature in 2027.' 
Amend the bill in Prut C in section 1 in the first line (page 6, line 24 in L.D.) by striking 
out the following: 
112025
and inserting the following: '2026' 
Amend the bill in Pait C in section 1 in the 4th line (page 6, line 27 in L.D.) by striking 
out the following: "General Fund" and inse1ting the following: 'Other Special Revenue 
Funds' 
Amend the bill in Prut C in section 2 in the first line (page 6, line 30 in L.D.) by striking 
out the following: 
11June
and inse1ting the following: 'December' 
Amend the bill in Part C by inse1ting after section 2 the following: 
'Sec. C-3. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
UNIVERSITY OF MAINE SYSTEM, BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE 
New Ventures Maine Z169 
Initiative: Allocates one-time funds to support a coalition of approximately 50 
organizations providing free volunteer tax assistance and other financial education services 
to low-income individuals and families statewide. 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 
All Other 
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL 
Amend the bill by striking out all of the emergency clause. 
2025-26 
$150,000 
$150,000 
2026-27 
$0 
$0 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section 
number to read consecutively. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 'A" to H.P. 1247, L.D. 1876 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces Part A of the bill, changes the title of the taxpayer advocate 
in the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Revenue Services 
to the taxpayer advocate and experience officer and revises the duties of the position. 
The amendment replaces Part B of the bill. It requires the taxpayer advocate and 
experience officer to study and develop recommendations to increase the use of individual 
state tax credits by individuals in this State by examining the following: current use of state 
tax credits; services offered by large tax preparation finns with respect to assisting 
customers to access state tax credits; the role of State Government in promoting public 
awareness of individual state tax credits; and municipal efforts to promote public awareness 
of individual state tax credits. 
The amendment requires the taxpayer advocate and experience officer to submit to the 
joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over taxation matters by 
November 4, 2026 a report consisting of the taxpayer advocate and experience officer's 
findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation. The joint standing 
committee may rep01t out legislation related to the rep01t to the 133rd Legislature in 2027. 
The amendment changes in Patt C of the bill the date by which the State Controller is 
required to transfer funds for volunteer tax assistance from June 30, 2025 to June 30, 2026, 
requires the funds to come from an Other Special Revenue Funds account instead of the 
General Fund and changes the date of the rep01t by the Chancellor of the University of 
Maine System to December 1, 2026. 
The amendment also changes the title, adds an appropriations and allocations section 
and removes the emergency preamble and emergency clause. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 06/03/25 LRL.-
LD 1876 
LR2191(02) 
An Act to Increase Use of State Tax Credits 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Aniended by Committee Amendment 'fr (H- 7 /;; () J 
Committee: Taxation 
• 
1/ 
Net Cost (Savings) 
General Fund 
Appropriations/Allocations 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Revenue 
General Fund 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY2025-26 
$150,000 
$150,000 
($150,000) 
$150,000 
FY 2026-27 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
Projections 
FY 2027-28 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
Projections 
FY2028-29 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
This bill requires the State Controller to transfer $150,000 no later than June 30, 2026 from the unappropriated 
surplus of the General Fund to the University of Maine System, New Ventures Maine program, Other Special 
Revenue Funds account to support a coalition of approximately SO organizations providing free volunteer tax 
assistance and other financial education services to low-income individuals and families statewide. This bill includes 
a corresponding one-time Other Special Revenue Funds allocation in fiscal year 2025-26 to authorize the expenditure 
of the funds. 
• 
Any additional costs to the Department of Administrative and Financial Services to revise the Taxpayer Advocate and 
Experience Qfficer position and to the University of Maine System to submit the required report can be absorbed 
within existing budgeted resources. 
LR2191(02) -Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1