Opinion ID: 1497714
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Assessment for LURC Services

Text: The Land Use Regulation Commission (LURC) is a State agency responsible for land use planning, regulation, and enforcement in the unorganized and deorganized areas of the State. 12 M.R.S.A. § 683 (1994); Nattress v. Land Use Regulation Comm'n, 600 A.2d 391, 393 (Me.1991). LURC currently provides planning services to 420 unorganized townships within the unorganized territory, and 33 plantations and 8 organized townships outside of the unorganized territory. [9] It also administers and enforces the environmental laws that the Department of Environmental Protection administers and enforces in areas outside of LURC's jurisdiction. 90% of LURC's funding comes from the State General Fund; 10% of LURC's budget has been provided by the District since 1991. 12 M.R.S.A. §§ 685-D, 685-E. Even though some of LURC's services are performed in the organized areas of the State (9%), those organized areas receiving LURC services have not been assessed any additional amounts. The plaintiffs contend that the assessment imposed against the District for LURC services violates Section 8 of Article IX because the tax is for services provided to both the unorganized and organized areas and property owners in the organized areas of the State are not similarly taxed. We are unpersuaded by that contention. Article IX, Section 8 of the Maine Constitution requires that property taxes assessed by the State be assessed on all of the property in the State on an equal basis. Opinion of the Justices, 146 Me. 239, 248, 80 A.2d 421 (1951). Nonetheless, the Legislature, may create separate tax districts and tax the districts differently, if the assessed taxes result in some special benefit to the taxed district. Town of Stonington, 403 A.2d at 1184-85 (doctrine of special purpose taxation permitted higher tax burden on Stonington property owners than on Deer Isle property owners because Town of Stonington and its residents enjoyed greater local benefit as a result of the taxation); Opinion of the Justices, 146 Me. at 248, 80 A.2d 421; Crabtree v. Ayer, 122 Me. 18, 22, 118 A. 790 (1922). As long as all property within a given district is assessed at a uniform rate, and the benefit from the tax is for a public purpose within the district, the constitutional requirement of equality of taxation is not violated even though the local rate prescribed by the Legislature in [one district] differs from that prescribed in [another district]. Sawyer v. Gilmore, 109 Me. 169, 186, 188, 83 A. 673 (1912); see also Opinion of the Justices, 383 A.2d at 652 (statute providing for assessment upon all property throughout tax district at its just valuation, and using a uniform rate of taxation, would be constitutional if enacted). In this instance, 91% of the work performed by LURC takes place in the unorganized territory, and 10% of LURC's budget comes from the unorganized territory. As long as the tax revenues LURC receives from the District are used to fund its services in the unorganized areas, no constitutional violation occurs. The presumption of the constitutionality of the legislative enactment has not been overcome. American Republic Ins. Co., 647 A.2d at 1197.