An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief for Senior Residents
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1541
Committee: Taxation
Sponsors: MARTIN, FAULKINGHAM
Amends: 36 MRSA §6281

Legislative Document
No. 1541
S.P. 625
In Senate, April 10, 2025
An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief for Senior Residents
Reference to the Committee on Taxation suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator MARTIN of Oxford.
Cosponsored by Representative FAULKINGHAM of Winter Harbor and
Senator: STEWART of Aroostook.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  36 MRSA c. 908-B, headnote is amended to read:
CHAPTER 908-B
PROPERTY TAX STABILIZATION EXEMPTION FOR SENIOR CITIZENS
Sec. 2.  36 MRSA §6281, as amended by PL 2023, c. 412, Pt. S, §10 and c. 441, Pt. 
D, §§1 to 3, is further amended by amending the section headnote to read:
§6281.  Stabilization of Exemption from property taxes on homesteads of individuals 
years of age or older
Sec. 3.  36 MRSA §6281, first ¶, as enacted by PL 2023, c. 412, Pt. S, §10, is 
amended to read:
This chapter applies only to the property tax year beginning April 1, 2023 and to 
property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2027.
Sec. 4.  36 MRSA §6281, sub-§1, ¶A, as amended by PL 2023, c. 441, Pt. D, §1, 
is further amended to read:
A.  "Eligible homestead" means a homestead occupied by an eligible individual who is 
eligible for a homestead exemption under chapter 105, subchapter 4‑B for the property 
tax year for which the individual is requesting stabilization exemption and includes up 
to one acre of land surrounding the homestead.
Sec. 5.  36 MRSA §6281, sub-§1, ¶B, as amended by PL 2023, c. 441, Pt. D, §1, 
is further amended to read:
B.  "Eligible individual" means an individual who, on April 1 1st of the property tax 
year for which the individual is requesting stabilization exemption:
(1)  Is 65 years of age or older or will attain 65 years of age during the property tax 
year for which exemption is requested; and
(2)  Is a permanent resident of the State as defined in section 681, subsection 4 and 
has owned a homestead in the State for at least 10 consecutive years prior to 
applying for an exemption under subsection 2.
Sec. 6.  36 MRSA §6281, sub-§1, ¶D, as amended by PL 2023, c. 441, Pt. D, §1, 
is repealed.
Sec. 7.  36 MRSA §6281, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 751, §1, is amended to 
read:
2.  Application for stabilization exemption; continuation of exemption; joint 
ownership.  An individual may apply by December 1st to the municipality in which the 
individual's homestead is located requesting that the municipality stabilize exempt that 
individual's homestead from the property tax assessed on that individual's homestead for 
the property tax year beginning on April 1st following the submission of the application.  
A new application is required for each year for which stabilization is requested.  An 
individual who qualifies for exemption under this chapter shall file annually with the 
municipality an affidavit, on a form provided by the municipality, declaring that the 
individual is still eligible for the exemption. 
In the case of joint ownership of a homestead, at least one of the residents must be an 
eligible individual for the property to qualify for the exemption. 
Sec. 8.  36 MRSA §6281, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 751, §1, is amended to 
read:
3.  Stabilization Exemption for eligible individual.  If a municipality determines that 
an applicant for stabilization exemption under subsection 2 is an eligible individual and 
that the individual's homestead is an eligible homestead, the municipality shall stabilize 
exempt the individual's homestead from the property tax assessed on the individual's 
homestead billed for the property tax year for which stabilization exemption was requested 
and continuing until the homestead no longer qualifies for exemption under this chapter.
Sec. 9.  36 MRSA §6281, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 2021, c. 751, §1, is repealed 
and the following enacted in its place:
4.  Transfer of eligibility.  An exemption granted under this chapter is not transferable 
unless the homestead is jointly owned by the transferee and the transferee is an eligible 
individual.
Sec. 10.  36 MRSA §6281, sub-§5, as amended by PL 2023, c. 441, Pt. D, §2, is 
further amended to read:
5.  State compensation.  A municipality that has stabilized exempted from property 
tax for the homestead of an eligible individual under this chapter may recover from the 
State 100% of the amount by which the property tax assessed on the homestead of an 
eligible individual in the usual manner exceeds the stabilized amount of property tax billed 
under difference between what the assessment on the homestead would have been, absent 
the exemption granted pursuant to subsection 3, and the amount of the assessment actually 
paid by the eligible individual after the exemption granted pursuant to subsection 3.  A 
municipality claiming compensation under this subsection shall submit a claim to the 
bureau on the annual return required by section 383.  The bureau shall review claims and 
determine the total amount to be paid to each municipality.  The bureau shall certify and 
the Treasurer of State shall pay the amount due to each municipality by January 15th of the 
year following the year for which the claim for compensation was submitted or within 60 
days of the date the claim was filed, whichever is later.
Sec. 11.  Evaluation; specific public policy objective; fiscal sustainability.  
The exemption provided under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, chapter 908-B, 
referred to in this section as "the exemption," is subject to legislative review in 2030 in 
accordance with Title 3, chapter 37.  The Office of Program Evaluation and Government 
Accountability shall submit an evaluation of the exemption by January 15, 2031 to the joint 
legislative committee established to oversee program evaluation and government 
accountability matters and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over taxation matters.  The joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over taxation matters may report out a bill related to the report to the 135th 
Legislature in 2031.
A. In developing evaluation parameters to perform the review, the office shall consider 
that the specific public policy objective of the exemption is to decrease the tax burden 
on senior residents of this State and allow them to continue to reside in their homes. 
B. The office shall also consider performance measures, including, but not limited to: 
(1) The number, amount and geographic distribution of the exemptions; 
(2) The cost to the State of the exemptions and whether that cost is fiscally 
sustainable; and
(3) The potential to expand or otherwise modify the exemption. 
SUMMARY
This bill amends the property tax stabilization for senior citizens program, which was 
limited to one property tax year, by:
1.  Changing the benefit under the program to a complete exemption from property 
taxes, for property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2027;
2.  Specifying that an eligible individual is someone who is at least 65 years of age, or 
who will attain 65 years of age during the property tax year for which the exemption is 
requested, and has maintained a permanent residence in this State for at least 10 consecutive 
years prior to applying for the exemption;
3.  Removing the requirement that an applicant apply every year for the exemption, 
instead requiring that the eligible individual file an affidavit declaring that the individual is 
still eligible for the exemption;
4.  Allowing the transfer of the exemption only if the transferee jointly owns the 
homestead and is eligible under the program; and
5.  Requiring the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, in 
2030, to conduct a review of the program, considering:
A. Whether the exemption fulfills its goal of decreasing the tax burden on senior 
residents of this State and allowing them to continue to reside in their homes; and 
B. Performance measures such as whether the program is fiscally sustainable and may 
be expanded or modified.
The office is required to submit, by January 15, 2031, a report with its findings to the 
Government Oversight Committee and to the joint standing committee of the Legislature 
having jurisdiction over taxation matters, which may report out a bill related to the report 
to the 135th Legislature in 2031.