An Act Concernmg
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1804
Committee Amendment CA_A_S567 (Senate)
Amends: 3 MRSA §521, 3 MRSA §522, 5 MRSA §1585, 5 MRSA §1664-A, 25 MRSA §1509-A, 25 MRSA §1509

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "/"V" to S.P. 704, L.D. 1804, "An Act Concernmg
Funding and Oversight of Transportation Matters"
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 1 and inserting the following:
'See. 1. 3 MRSA §521, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 702> Pt. S, is repealed and the
following enacted in its place;
SS21. Committees
I. Oversieht of financial matters. The joint standine cotnniittee_of the Lefiislature
having jurisdiction over aDDrom'iations and financial affairs is authorized to provide
oversight of financial matters, excludine financial matters described in subsection 2 or
those items over which the Legislative Council has statutory authority.
2. Oversieht of Hiehwav Fund. The joint standing committee oftheLLeflisiature
having jurisdiction over transportation matters is authorized to provide oversight of
financial matters related to the Highway Fund. including all allocations and subdivisions
of an allocation from the Hiehwav Fund and excluding those items over which the
LeKJslative Council has statutory authority,
Sec. 2. 3 MRSA §522, as amended by PL 1997,c.24, Pt. DD, § 1, is further amended
to read:
§522. Purpose and powers
The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over appropriations
and financial affairs, referred to in this section as "the committee." shall oversee the transfer
of funds in accordance with Title 5, section 1 585, the transfer of funds in accordance with
any other provision of law, block grant changes in accordance with Title 5, section 1670
and any other related fiscal matters, except that the coininittee may not oversee any
financial matters that are overseen by the joint standing committee of the Legislature
hayiue jurisdiction over transDortation matters pursuant to section 522-C. The committee
shall also review all other financial orders that have been submitted to the Office of Fiscal
and Program Review since the last meeting, except for those financial orders reviewed by
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
' A " to S,P. 704, L,D. 1804 (5^1<H
^ COMMITTEE AMENDMENT " /{ " to S,P. 704, L,D. 1804 i
^
I the joint standine committee of the Legislature havine jurisdiction over transportation
matters pursuant to section 522-C, The committee may meet monthly or as often as is
determined necessaiy by the chairs.'
Amend the bill in section 2 in §522"C in the first indented paragraph in the 3rd line
(page I, line 20 in L,D.) by inserting after the following: "changes" the following:
'pertaining to transportation matters'
Amend the bill in section 2 in §522-C in the first indented paragraph in the 5th line
(page 1, line 22 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "or" and inserting the following: 'i'
Amend the bill in section 2 in §522-C in the first indented paragraph in the 5th line
(page 1, line 22 in L.D.) by inserting after the following; "Yelucles" the following: '; and
the Department of Public Safety. Bureau of Highway Safety and Bureau of State Police
pursuant to Title 23, section 1653, subsections 2-A and 2-B'
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 3 and inserting the following:
'See. 3. 5 MRSA §1585, sub-§l, as amended by PL 2009, c. 291, §1, is further
amended to read:
1. Transfer procedures. Any balance of any appropriation or subdivision of an
appropriation made by the Legislature for any state department or agency, except for those
balances transferred in accordance with Title 23. section 1652. which at any time may not
be required for the purpose named in such appropriations or subdivision, may be transferred
at any time prior to the closing of the books to any other appropriation or subdivision of an
appropriation made by the Legislature for the use of the same department or agency for the
same fiscal year subject to review by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having
jurisdiction over appropriations and financial affairs. Financial orders ciescribiag such
transfers must be submitted by the Bureau of the Budget to the Office of Fiscal and Program
Review 30 days before the transfer is to be implemented. In case of extraordinary
emergency transfers, the 30-day prior submission requirement may be waived by vote of
the committee. Positions, or funding for those positions, that are currently funded with
federal or other funds may not be transferred by financial order to the General Fund.
Financial orders proposing to transfer 4th or 3rd quarter allotments to the 3rd, 2nd or 1st
quarters that result from trends that will cause financial commitments to exceed current
appropriations or allocations are subject to the provisions of this section. The Department
of Health and Human Services is authorized to transfer funds within the TANF program
account to the ASPIRE-TANF program account as often as necessary in order to support
and assist participants in obtaining or retaining employment during the fiscal year. In
making a transfer ofTANF program funds to the ASPIRE-TANP program account, the
department does not need to submit a financial order to the committee in advance of the
transfer. For purposes of this subsection, "TANF" and "ASPIRE-TANF program" have the
same meaning as in Title 22, section 3762, subsection 1, paragraph E and Title 22, section
3781-A, subsection 1, respectively.
Sec. 4. 5 MRSA §1664-A is enacted to read;
§1664-A. Baseline Hiehwav Fund exnendifure and aom'onriation requirements for
capital
Beginning July L 2027. the baseline expenditure and aDDropriation requirements,
submitted to the State Budget Officer pursuant to section 1 665. for capital expenditures in
Page2.mLR1627(02)
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" i " to S,P. 704, L.D. 1804 (.b"
l the Department of Transportation, Highway and Bridge Capital; Highway Light Capital;
and Multimodal Transportation Fund pfograms must be no less than;
1. Highway and Bridee Capital program. For the Department of TransDortation.
Highway and Bridee Capital proeram. $ 150.000.000:
2, Hiehwav Lielit Capital nroerant. For the Department ofTransDQrtation, Highwav
Lieht Capital oroeram. $20.000.000; and
3. Multimodal Transportation Fund nroeram. For the Department of
Transportation. Multimodal Transportation Fund proeram. $30.000.000.
Beeinnine in 2030 and in every even-numbered year thereafter. on or before September
1st, the State Budget Officershall adjust the baseline expenditure requirements outlined in
this section by the percentage change in the C.onsinnejLPrice Index, as defined in section
17001. subsection 9. from the 2 complete calendar years preceding the biennial budget,'
Amend the bill by inserting after section 4 the following:
'See. 5. 23 MRSA c. 19, sub-c. 4, headnote is amended to read;
SUBCHAPTER4
GENERAL HIGHWAY FUND'
Amend tlie bill in section 6 in § 1653 by inserting after subsection 2 the following;
'2-A. State police. Beainnine July 1. 2027. for the Department of Public Safety.
Bureau of State Police for the purposes described in Title 25. section 1509-B. subsection
2i
2-B. Hiehwav safety. Beeinnine July 1. 2027. for th6_adtniiiistratiQiL of the
Department of Public Safety. Bureau ofHiehwav Safety;'
Amend the bill in section 6 in §1653 in subsection 5 in the first line (page 3, line 18 in
L.D.) by striking out the following; "said tax" and inserting the following; 'said tax the tax
described in subsection 4'
Amend the bill in section 6 in §1653 in subsection 8 in the first line (page 3, line 22 in
L.D.) by striking out tlie following: "Pursyaiitjo" and inserting the following: 'Subject to
the limitations in'
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 7.
Amend the bill in section 8 in §1984 in the first indented paragraph in the first line
(page 4, line 10 in L.D,) by striking out the following: "2026" and inserting the following;
'20281
Amend the bill in section 9 in §4241 in subsection 1 in the 2nd line (page 4, line 22 in
L.D.) by inserting after the following; "including" the following: 'public'
Amend tlie bill in section 10 in §4245 in the first indented paragraph in the first line
(page 4, line 37 in L.D.) by striking out the following; "2026" and inserting the following;
'2028'
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 1 1 and inserting the following;
Page3-132LR1627(02)
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
\
v
^ COMMITTEE AMENDMENT " ^ " to S.P. 704, L.D. 1804 C3^-
^
"See. 11. 25 MRSA §1509-A, as amended by PL 2013,c, 354, Pt. F, §1 and c. 368, / ^
Pt. BEE, §1, is repealed.
See. 12. 25 MRSA §1509"B is enacted to read:
81509-B. Fundine
1. Fundine from General Fund. Beeinning in fiscal year 2027-28, statejundmg for
the Department of Public Safety. Bureau of State Police for the following purposes must
be aptM'ODriated from the General Fund:
A, Patrolling rural areas of the State without organized police departments; enforcing
highway safety laws in rural areas and on the Maine Turnpike and the interstate system;
investlgatitlR homicides that occur outside Portland andj3angor; investigatingLchild
abuse casesi providine crime laboratoiv services to all law enforcement agencies: and
pfovidine a repositorv for criminal history records information: and
B. Providme clerical support for the field troops of the State Police.
2. Fundine from Hiehway Fund. Beeinmng in fiscal year 2027-28, state funding for
the Department of Public Safety. Bureau of State Police for the following ourposes must
be allocated from the Highway Fund:
A. Providine accident reconstruction and trainine services and maintaining the
statewide crash reporting system, including services provided by tlie Bureau of State
Police air wine program;
B. Overseeing and enforcing the laws reeardine weight. dimension and m'otection of
ways and ensuring compliance with federal motor vehicle commercial hours of service
regulations by checking vehicle log books; and
C. Administering and enforcing the motor vehicle inspection proeram. mcludine
issuing stickers and authorizitig garaees to perform the insDections,'
Amend the bill in section 13 in the indented paragraph in the first line (page 5, line 16
in L.D.) by striking out the following; "2026" and inserting the following: '2027'
Amend the bill in section 13 in the indented paragraph in the 7th line (page 5, line 22
in L.D.) by striking out the following; "60%" and inserting the following: '100%'
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 14 and inserting the following;
'See. 14. Effective date. Those sections of this Act that repeal and replace the Maine
Revised Statutes, Title 3, section 521 and Title 30-A, section 6054, subsection 5 and that
repeal Title 25, section 1509-A and that enact Title 25, section 1509-B take effect July 1,
2027.'
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section
number to read consecutively.
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is the minority report of the committee, makes the following
changes to the bill.
Page4"132LRI627(02)
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" /-\" to S.P, 704, L.D. 1804fr.")\
^
1, It excludes financial matters related to the Highway Fund, including transfers of
allocations from the Highway Fund, from oversight by the joint standing committee of the
Legislature having jurisdiction over appropriations and financial affairs.
2. It clarifies that use of the Highway Fund for the inultimodal transportation fund is
subject to limitations provided in the Constitution of Maine, Article IX, Section 19.
3. It removes provisions of the bill that require allocations from the Highway Fund to
meet minimum funding levels for construction and maintenance of highway bridges, lights
and inultiinodal tt'ansportation and replaces those provisions with language that establishes,
beginning July 1, 2027, baseline expenditure requirements to be used for capital in the
Department of Transportation, Highway and Bridge Capital; Highway Light Capital; and
Multimodal Transportation Fund programs.
4. It requires, beginning in fiscal year 2030-31, the State Budget Officer to adjust the
baseline for the Highway and Bridge Capital, Highway Light Capital and Multimodal
Transportation Fund programs in the Department of Transportation by tlie percentage
change in the Consumer Price Index from the 2 complete calendar years preceding the
biennial budget on or before September 1st of each even-numbered year.
5. It requires that, beginning in fiscal year 2027-28, state funding for the Department
of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police is no longer divided to require 35% from the
Highway Fund and 65% from the General Fund, but instead requires that certain functions
of the bureau be funded by the Higliway Fund and certain other functions be funded by the
General Fund.
6. It clarifies that, beginning July 1,2027, the Highway Fund may be used to fund the
administration of the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police for certain
I 24 specified purposes only. It also provides that the Highway Fund may be used to fund the
Department of Public Safety, Bureau of Highway Safety.
7, It modifies language in the bill that amends the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36,
section 1821 by increasing from 60% to 100% the percentage of revenue from automobile-
related sales and use taxes that must be transferred from the General Fund to the Highway
Fund beginning July 1, 2027.
FISCAL NOTE REQUTRED
(See attached)
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Approved; 02/18/26
I^Kt.
LD 1804 LR 1627(02)
An Act Concerning Funding and Oversight of Transportation Matters
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment ^j'^^oT
Committee: Transportation
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Net Cost (Savings)
General Fund
Highway Fund
Appropriations/AIlocations
General Fund
Highway Fund
Revenue
General Fund
Highway Fund
Other Special Revenue Funds
Fiscal Note
FY 2025-26
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
FY 2026-2'
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
$0
Projections FY
2027-28
Projections
FY 2028-29
$157,657,264 $158,575,609
($117,664,751) ($118,583,096)
$34,873,115 $35,7< 0
($34,873,115) ($35,791,460)
($122,784,149) ($122,784,149)
$82,791,636 $82,791,636
$39,992,513 $39,992,513
Fiscal Detail and Notes
Under current law, revenue from the contract for wholesale spirits activities and marketing is distributed with the first
$7,000,000 deposited into the General Fund and the remaining revenue, currently estimated at $59,000,000 annually,
deposited into the Highway Fund.
This bill repeals that distribution and directs that all proceeds from the contract be deposited into the General Fund.
This change would result in the removal of $7,000,000 in revenue from the General Fund and approximately
$59,000,000 in revenue from the Highway Fund. Instead, all contract revenue, approximately $66,000,000 annually,
would be deposited into the General Fund.
Additionally, the bill increases the percentage of auto sales tax revenue transferred from the General Fund to the
Highway Fund from 40% to 100% beginning in fiscal year 2027-28.
The net effect of these changes is an annual General Fund revenue decrease of $ 122,784,149 with a corresponding
annual Highway Fund revenue increase of $82,791,636 beginning in fiscal year 2027-28.
Beginning in fiscal year 2027-28, the bill transfers funding for the State Police and State Police - Support progran-is
from the Highway Fund to the General Fund. In fiscal year 2027-28, the Department of Public Safety would sei
increase in General Fund appropriations of $34,873,115 with a corresponding decrease in Highway Fund allocations.
LR 1627(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1