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An Act To Expand the Authority of Municipalities To Implement a Property Tax Deferral Program
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §6271, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 489, §5, is amended to read:
 
2. Authority.   The legislative body of a municipality may by ordinance adopt a property tax deferral program for senior citizenseligible homeowners, referred to in this section as "the program." Upon application by a taxpayer, a municipality may defer property taxes on property if the following conditions are met:For purposes of this subsection, "eligible homeowner" means an individual who occupies an eligible homestead in the municipality and is determined by the municipal ordinance as eligible based on age, income or assets.
 
A.  The property is an eligible homestead where the taxpayer has resided for at least 10 years prior to application;
 
B.  The taxpayer is an owner of the eligible homestead, is at least 70 years of age on April 1st of the first year of eligibility and occupies the eligible homestead; and
 
C.  The household income of the taxpayer does not exceed 300% of the federal poverty level.
 
An application, information submitted in support of an application and files and communications relating to an application for deferral of taxes under the program are confidential. Hearings and proceedings held by a municipality on an application must be held in executive session unless otherwise requested by the applicant. Nothing in this paragraph applies to the recording of liens or lists under subsection 3 or any enforcement proceedings undertaken by the municipality pursuant to this chapter or other applicable law.
 
The municipality shall make available upon request the most recent list of tax-deferred properties of that municipality required to be filed under subsection 3. The municipality may publish and release as public information statistical summaries concerning the program as long as the release of the information does not jeopardize the confidentiality of individually identifiable information.
Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §6271, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 489, §5, is amended to read:
 
7. Election to continue deferral.   If one of the events listed in subsection 6 occurs, and the ownership of the eligible homestead is transferred to another member of the same household, the transferee may apply to the municipality for continuation of the deferral of taxes if the transferee meets the conditions in subsection 2, paragraphs B and C.:
 
A.  Occupies the eligible homestead; and
 
B.  Is determined by municipal ordinance as eligible based on age, income or assets.
Sec. 3. Maine Revised Statutes headnote amended; revision clause. In the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, chapter 908-A, in the chapter headnote, the words "municipal property tax deferral for senior citizens" are amended to read "municipal property tax deferral" and the Revisor of Statutes shall implement this revision when updating, publishing or republishing the statutes.
 
SUMMARY
This bill expands the current authority for municipalities to adopt a property tax deferral program for persons who are 70 years of age or older to include other individuals based on factors such as age, income or assets.