An Act to Prioritize Affordable Housing by Expediting Reviews for
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 0970
Sponsors: MALON, BENNETT, FECTEAU
Amends: 30-A MRSA §4103, 38 MRSA §485-A

Legislative Document
No. 970
H.P. 630
House of Representatives, March 11, 2025
An Act to Prioritize Affordable Housing by Expediting Reviews for 
Affordable Housing Projects Applying for Funding from the Maine 
State Housing Authority
Received by the Clerk of the House on March 7, 2025.  Referred to the Committee on 
Housing and Economic Development pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed 
pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative MALON of Biddeford.
Cosponsored by Senator BENNETT of Oxford and
Representatives: COLLAMORE of Pittsfield, Speaker FECTEAU of Biddeford, GERE of 
Kennebunkport, GOLEK of Harpswell, MINGO of Calais, ROBERTS of South Berwick, 
YUSUF of Portland, Senator: CURRY of Waldo.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §4103, sub-§3, as amended by PL 2003, c. 363, §6, is further 
amended to read:
3.  Application; issuance of permit.  An application for a permit must be in writing 
and shall must be signed by the applicant and directed to the licensing authority.  The 
Except as provided in paragraph E, the failure of the licensing authority to issue a written 
notice of its decision, directed to the applicant, within 30 days from the date when the 
application is filed, constitutes a refusal of the permit.
A.  The licensing authority may not issue any permit for a building or use for which 
the applicant is required to obtain a license under Title 38, section 413, until the 
applicant has obtained that license.
B.  The licensing authority may not issue any permit for a building or use within a 
subdivision, as defined in section 4401, subsection 4, unless that subdivision has been 
approved in accordance with chapter 187, subchapter IV 4.
C.  The licensing authority may not issue a permit for installation of a mobile home 
previously installed in another municipality until the mobile home owner provides 
proof of payment of all property taxes on that mobile home in the municipality where 
the home was formerly located.
D.  The licensing authority may not issue a permit for a building or use for which the 
applicant is required to obtain a driveway or entrance or traffic movement permit under 
Title 23, section 704 or 704‑A until the applicant has obtained that permit from the 
Department of Transportation.
E.  For a permit application for a building designated as affordable housing for which 
the applicant is seeking funding or credits from the Maine State Housing Authority, the 
licensing authority shall notify the applicant within 30 days from the date when the 
application is filed whether the licensing authority has determined the application is 
complete.  If the application is determined to be incomplete, the licensing authority 
shall provide notice to the applicant as to the information that is required for the 
application to be complete and provide sufficient time for the applicant to provide that 
information.   If the licensing authority does not provide notice of a decision on the 
completeness of the application within 30 days, the application is considered complete.  
The licensing authority shall approve or disapprove the permit no later than 120 days 
after the application is complete. If the municipality in which the building designated 
as affordable housing is located requests information during the 120-day period, the 
applicant must be afforded reasonable opportunity to provide that information to the 
licensing authority.
Sec. 2.  38 MRSA §485-A, sub-§1-E is enacted to read:
1-E.  Affordable housing.  Notwithstanding subsection 1, for an application to 
construct or operate a development designated as affordable housing for which the 
applicant is seeking funding or credits from the Maine State Housing Authority, the 
department shall, no later than 30 days after receiving the application, approve the proposed 
development, setting forth such terms and conditions as are appropriate and reasonable, or 
disapprove the proposed development, setting forth the reasons for the disapproval.  If the 
department does not approve or disapprove the proposed development as described in this 
subsection within 30 days, the application is automatically approved.
SUMMARY
This bill provides time frames within which a municipal licensing authority and the 
Department of Environmental Protection must make decisions on permit applications for 
the construction of affordable housing for which funding or credits from the Maine State 
Housing Authority are being sought.  Under the bill, a municipal licensing authority must 
provide notice to an applicant as to the completeness of the application within 30 days after 
receipt.  If no notice is provided to the applicant, the application is considered complete.  
Once the application is complete, the municipality must approve or disapprove the 
application within 120 days.  Further, the bill requires the Department of Environmental 
Protection to approve or disapprove site location of development permits for such 
affordable housing construction within 30 days after receipt of the permit application.