An Act to Amend the Tax Expenditure Review Process and Centralize Incentive Data
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1107
Committee Amendment CA_A_H708 (House)
Amends: 3 MRSA §998

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT """ to H.P. 726, L.D. 1107, "Act to Create a 
Working Group to Support Tax Expenditure Evaluation Efforts" 
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following: 
'An Act to Amend the Tax Expenditure Review Process and Centralize Incentive Data 
Collection' 
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 3 MRSA §998, sub-§1, 1A, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 344, §4, is amended 
to read: 
A. Full evaluation for tax expenditures that are intended to provide an incentive for 
specific behaviors, that provide a benefit to a specific group of beneficiaries or for 
which measurable goals can be identified; and 
Sec. 2. 3 MR.SA §998, sub-§1, ~' as enacted by PL 2015, c. 344, §4, is repealed. 
Sec. 3. 3 MRSA §998, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2023, c. 417, §2, is further 
amended to read: 
2. Schedule. The committee, in consultation with the policy committee, shall establish 
a prioritized schedule of ongoing review of the tax expenditures assigned to the full 
evaluation aftcl e~cpeditecl re>!'iev,r categories category pursuant to subsection 1, paragraphs 
paragraph A-ancl-B. To the extent practicable, the committee shall group the review of tax 
expenditures with similar goals together. Beginning in 2024, when prioritizing ongoing 
review of tax expenditures assigned to the full evaluation category, the committee, in 
consultation with the policy committee, shall give priority to tax expenditures that are 
intended to provide an incentive to businesses over tax expenditures that are directed 
primarily toward individual tax relief and shall consider the impact of any statutory 
provisions regarding the expiration of a tax expenditure that may be the subject of 
legislation to extend the tax expenditure. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
ROS 
coMMrrrnE AMENDMENT "ko-H.P. 726, L.D. 1101 
Sec. 4. 3 MRSA §998, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2015, c. 344, §4, is amended to 
read: 
3. Annual review of assignments and schedule. By October 1st of each year, 
beginning in 2016, and by February 15th of each year, beginning in 2026, the committee, 
in consultation with the policy committee, shall review and make any necessary 
adjustments to the review category assignments and schedule pursuant to subsections 1 and 
2, including adjustments needed to incorporate tax expenditures enacted, amended or 
repealed during the preceding year. 
Sec. 5. Incentive Data Task Force, The Incentive Data Task Force, referred to in 
this section as "the task force," is established for the purpose of developing a plan for the 
centralization and standardization of data related to state tax expenditures and incentives 
and examining barriers to the access and disclosure of state tax expenditures and incentives 
information to the public. 
1. Membership. Notwithstanding Joint Rule 353, the task force is composed of 11 
members as follows: 
A. Two members of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate, both of whom 
are members of the party holding the largest number of seats in the Legislature and one 
of whom is a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Taxation; 
B. One member of the Senate appointed by the member of the Senate who is the leader 
of the party with the 2nd largest number of seats in the Senate; 
C. Two members of the House of Representatives, both of whom are members of the 
party holding the largest number of seats in the Legislature and one of whom is a 
member of the government oversight committee and one of whom is a member of the 
Joint Standing Committee on Housing and Economic Development; 
D. One member of the House of Representatives appointed by the member of the 
House who is the leader of the party with the 2nd largest number of seats in the House; 
E. One member representing a statewide nonpartisan research and policy organization 
appointed by the President of the Senate; 
F. The Director of the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability 
or the director's designee; 
G. The Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services or the commissioner's 
designee; 
H. The State Tax Assessor or the State Tax Assessor's designee; and 
I. 
The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development or the 
commissioner's designee. 
2. Chairs. The member of the Senate who serves on the Joint Standing Committee on 
Taxation is the Senate chair and the member of the House of Representatives who serves 
on the government oversight committee is the House chair of the task force. 
3. Appointments; convening of task force. All appointments must be made no later 
than 30 days following the effective date of this Act. The appointing authorities shall notify 
the Executive Director of the Legislative Council once all appointments have been 
completed. After appointment of all members, the chairs shall call and convene the first 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
ROS 
CO:MMITIBE AMENDMENT 'A' to H.P. 726, L.D. 1107 
meeting of the task force. If 30 days or more after the effective date of this Act a majority 
of but not all appointments have been made, the chairs may request authority and the 
Legislative Council may grant authority for the task force to meet and conduct its business. 
4. Duties. The task force shall: 
A. Develop a plan for centralizing and standardizing data related to tax expenditures 
and tax incentives in the State and ensuring that the data is reliable and routinely 
available to support transparency and oversight; 
B. Analyze statutory, regulatory and other barriers to access to state tax expenditure 
data under paragraph A by state agencies and make recommendations to eliminate or 
minimize those barriers; and 
C. Evaluate methods of making information on tax expenditures and incentives 
publicly accessible, including through a searchable database or an annual report. 
The task force shall examine research regarding similar efforts in other states, best practices 
in data collection and management and related recommendations in tax expenditure review 
reports from the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability. The task 
force shall also identify the types of tax expenditures and other incentives for which data 
will be centralized and standardized and the resources needed to implement the plan under 
paragraph A. 
5. Staffing. The Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability shall 
provide necessary staffing services to the task force. 
6. Report. The task force shall submit a report by October 30, 2026 regarding the 
plan developed under section 4, paragraph A, including any recommended legislation, to 
the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over taxation matters, 
the joint standing committee of the Legislature having' jurisdiction over housing and 
economic development matters and the government oversight committee. Either joint 
standing committee may report out legislation based on the report to the 133rd Legislature 
in 2027.
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section 
number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment replaces the bill, which is a concept draft, and changes the title. The 
amendment amends the tax expenditure review process by removing the requirement that 
an expedited review be done for tax expenditures that are intended to implement broad tax 
policy goals that cannot be reasonably measured and by requiring the joint legislative 
committee established to oversee program evaluation and government accountability 
matters to review and adjust category assignments twice each year. The amendment also 
establishes a task force to address the need for data centralization for tax expenditures, 
including evaluation of barriers to access to this data and disclosure of Maine tax 
expenditures and incentives information to the public. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 06/06/25 LRL 
LD 1107 
LR 1791(02) 
Act to Create a Working Group to Support Tax Expenditure Evaluation Efforts 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment 1rA
/H-708 \ 
Committee: Taxation 
· /\ \ t 
) 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
Legislative Cost/Study 
Legislative Cost/Study 
The general operating expenses of this study are projected to be $4,200 in fiscal year 2025-26 and $2,350 in fiscal 
year 2026-27. The Legislature's proposed budget for the 2026-2027 biennium includes $22,196 in each of fiscal .Yf 
2025-26 and 2026-27 for the costs of legislative studies, as well as $8,265 in projected balances from fiscal year 20L.."T-
and $33,073 of balances canied over from prior years for this purpose. Whether these amounts are sufficient to 
fund all studies will depend on the number of studies authorized by the Legislative Council and the Legislature. The 
additional costs of providing staffing assistance to the study during the interim can be absorbed utilizh1g existing 
budgeted staff resources. 
The Office of Program Evaluation and Govennnent Accountability (OPEGA) responsibilities outlined in this bill are 
already reflected in the statutorily assigned work of OPEGA in reviewing tax expenditures and are assumed to be 
absorbed within existing staff and budget resources. 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Any additional costs to the other agencies affected by the provisions of this bill are expected to be minor and are 
assumed to be absorbed within existing budgeted resources. 
LRl 791(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1