An Act to Establish the
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 2178
Committee Amendment CA_A_S703 (Senate)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " to S.P. 883, L,D. 2178, "An Act to Establish the
Independent Office of Tax Appeals and Make Other Changes to the Laws Governing the
Tax Appeals Process"
Amend the bill in Part B in section 9 in §151-E in subsection 3 in the last line (page 4,
line 22 in L.D.) by inserting after the following: "Stated the following: 'Notwithstanding
this subsection, the Commissioner of Administfative and Financial Services may assign
other duties to the hearine officersjsQnsiMent w^ assisting the
State Board of Property Tax Review,'
Amend the bill in Part B in section 9 in §151-E in subsection 4 by striking out all of
the first blocked paragraph (page 4, lines 33 to 35 in L.D,).
Amend the bill in Part B in section 9 in §151-E in subsection 5 by striking out all of
paragraphs E and F (page 5, lines 6 to 11 in L.D.) and inserting the following;
'E. Ensuring that the assienment of duties to hearing officers comports with conflicts
of interest standards and other ethics standards; and
F. Providine and assienine oart-time duties to a hearing officer to provide leeal
services to the State Board of Property Tax Review in consultation with the Office of
the Attorney General.'
Amend the bill in Part B in section 14 in subsection 1 In the first line (page 7, line 36
in L,D.) by striking out the following: "September 1 5> 2026" and inserting the following;
'January 1,2027'
Amend the bill in Part B in section 14 in subsection 2 in the last line (page 7> line 39
in L.D.) by striking out the following: "September 15, 2026" and inserting the following;
'January 1,2027'
Amend the bill in Part B in section 14 in subsection 5 in the first line (page 8, line 6 in
L.D.) by striking out the following; "September 15, 2026" and inserting the following;
'January 1, 2027'
Amend the bill in Part B by striking out all of section 15 and inserting the following:
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
^0<
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT"^" to S.P. 883, L,D. 2178 ( S-~7<
'See. B-15. Effective date. This Part takes effect January 1,2027.'
Amend the bill in Part C by striking out all of section 2,
Amend the bill in Part C by striking out all of sections 6 to 12.
Amend the bill by striking out all of Part D.
Amend the bill in Part E by striking out all of section 2.
Amend the bill by inserting after Part E the following;
-PART F
Sec. F-l. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and
allocations are made.
ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
Independent Office of Tax Appeals N585
Initiative: Effective January 1,2027, transfers all 3 existing Legislative Count and funding
in the Maine Board of Tax Appeals to the newly created Independent Office of Tax
Appeals.
GENERAL FUND 2025-26 2026-27
POSITIONS" LEGISLATIVE COUNT 0,000 3.000
Personal Services $0 $206,458
AllOther $0 $26,564
GENERAL FUND TOTAL $0 $233,022
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 2025-26 2026-27
AllOther $0 $22,500
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL $0 $22,500
Maine Board of Tax Appeals Z146
Initiative; Effective January 1 , 2027, transfers all 3 existing Legislative Count and funding
in the M&me Board of Tax Appeals to the newly created Independent Office of Tax
Appeals.
GENERAL FUND 2025-26 2026-27
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT 0.000 (3.000)
Personal Services $0 ($206,458)
AllOther $0 ($26,564)
GENERAL FUND TOTAL $0 ($233,022)
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 2025-26 2026-27
AllOther $0 ($22,500)
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL $0 ($22,500)
Page2-132LR2674(02)
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "^ " to S.P. 883, L,D, 2178 (^ -~] D'2?
ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL
SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
DEPARTMENT TOTALS 2025-26 2026-27
GENERAL FUND $0 $0
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS $0 $0
DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS $0 $0
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section
number to read consecutively.
SUMMARY
This amendment makes the following changes to the bill.
1. It removes language from the powers and duties provision of the proposed
Independent Office of Tax Appeals and instead adds that language to the qualifications
provision to make clear that the Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services
may assign other duties to the hearing officers, including assisting the State Board of
Property Tax Rev iew.
2. It removes a listed duty of the Chief Hearing Officer regarding the assignment of
duties to an administrative staff person and adds a listed duty to provide and assign part-
time duties to a hearing officer to provide legal services to the State Board of Property Tax
Review in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General,
3. It changes the proposed date of transition from the existing Department of
Administrative and Financial Services, Maine Board of Tax Appeals to tlie new
Independent Office of Tax Appeals from September 15,2026 to January 1,2027.
4. It removes provisions that propose changes to the composition, jurisdiction and
duties of the State Board of Property TaK Review.
5. It removes the provisions that change the jurisdictional threshold amounts and
appeals process for nonresidential property.
6. It removes the provisions that require the Department of Administrative and
Financial Services, Bureau of Revenue Services, Office of Tax Policy to shidy further
simplification and modernization of the administrative tax appeals process and report
findings and recommendations to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having
5 jurisdiction over taxation matters.
7. It adds an appropriations and allocations section.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Approved: 04/09/26 t-RL
LD 2178 LR 2674(02)
An Act to Establish the Independent Office of Tax Appeals and Make Other Changes to the Laws
Governing the Tax Appeals Process
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment '^"f <,-'
Committee; Taxation
Fiscal Note Required; Yes
Fiscal Note
Projections Projections
FY 2025-26 FY 2026-27 FY 2027-28 FY 2028-29
Net Cost (Savings)
General Fund $0 $0 " $0 $0
Appropriations/Allocations
General Fund $0 $0 $0 $0
Other Special Revenue Funds $0 $0 $0 $0
Correctional and Judicial Impact Statements
This bill may decrease the number of civil suits filed in the court system. The Judicial Branch may realize some minor
reduction of workload and administrative costs associated with the minimal number of cases that will no longer be
filed. Collection of filing fees will decrease General Fund revenue by minor amounts.
Fiscal Detail and Notes
The bill creates the Independent Office of Tax Appeals and effective January 1,2027, transfers all 3 existing
Legislative Count and funding in the Maine Board of Tax Appeals to the newly created Independent Office of Tax
Appeals.
Any additional costs to the Department of Administrative and Financial Services to implement the provisions of this
bill are expected to be minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources,
LR2674(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1