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An Act To Enable the Use of Credit Cards for Governmental Transactions
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  9-A MRSA §8-303, sub-§2-A  is enacted to read:
 
2-A.  Notwithstanding subsection 2, a governmental entity may impose a surcharge for payments made with a credit card for taxes, fines, charges, utility fees, regulatory fees, license or permit fees or the provision of a specific service provided by that governmental entity if the surcharge:
 
A.  Is disclosed clearly to the consumer prior to payment; and
 
B.  Does not exceed the costs associated with providing the credit card service that are directly incurred by the governmental entity or assessed by an authorized 3rd-party payment service provider.
 
As used in this subsection, "governmental entity" means a county established or governed by Title 30-A, Part 1, a municipality as defined in Title 30-A, section 2001, subsection 8 or a quasi-municipal corporation as defined in Title 30-A, section 2604, subsection 3.
 
SUMMARY
This bill allows a county, municipality or quasi-municipal corporation to impose a surcharge for the use of a credit card to pay for taxes, fines, fees and services provided as long as the amount of the surcharge is disclosed to the consumer prior to payment and the amount does not exceed the costs incurred by the governmental entity for providing the credit card payment option.