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An Act To Require Same-year State Valuations for Education Funding Purposes for Municipalities That Lose More Than 35 Percent of Their Tax Base
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §15672, sub-§23, ¶¶B and C, as enacted by PL 2013, c. 203, §1, are amended to read:
 
B. For fiscal year 2014-15, the average of the certified state valuations for the 2 most recent years prior to the most recently certified state valuation; and
 
C. ForExcept as provided in paragraph D, for fiscal year 2015-16 and each subsequent fiscal year, the average of the certified state valuations for the 3 most recent years prior to the most recently certified state valuation.; and
Sec. 2.  20-A MRSA §15672, sub-§23, ¶D  is enacted to read:
 
D.  Beginning in fiscal year 2018-19, if the State Tax Assessor has certified to the commissioner under Title 36, section 208-B that a municipality's most recently certified state valuation is at least 35% less than the state valuation for the previous year and the decline is due to a loss of valuation attributable to a single taxpayer, the most recently certified state valuation for the municipality.
Sec. 3.  36 MRSA §208-B  is enacted to read:
§ 208-B. Decline in certified state valuation
Beginning with the 2018 state valuation, if a municipality's most recently certified state valuation declines in an amount that is greater than 35% from the next most recently certified state valuation and that decline is due to the loss in value attributable to a single taxpayer, the State Tax Assessor shall certify to the Commissioner of Education that the municipality's certified state valuation qualifies under Title 20-A, section 15672, subsection 23, paragraph D.
 
SUMMARY
This bill changes the determination for property fiscal capacity as used to determine the amount of state aid a school administrative unit receives under the school funding formula if a municipality has experienced a decline in state valuation of at least 35% attributable to one taxpayer. Under this bill, the State Tax Assessor is required to certify to the Commissioner of Education when a municipality's state valuation has declined by at least 35% from the previous year's certified state valuation and the decline is due to the loss in value attributable to a single taxpayer. When those conditions have been met, the property fiscal capacity for that municipality is the most recently certified state valuation.