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An Act To Reduce Property Taxes
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §13090-K, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2015, c. 267, Pt. OOOO, §1 and affected by §7, is further amended to read:
 
2. Source of fund.   Beginning July 1, 2003 and every July 1st thereafter, the State Controller shall transfer to the Tourism Marketing Promotion Fund an amount, as certified by the State Tax Assessor, that is equivalent to 5% of the 7% tax imposed on tangible personal property and taxable services pursuant to Title 36, section 1811, for the first 6 months of the prior fiscal year after the reduction for the transfer to the Local Government Fund as described by Title 30-A, section 5681, subsection 5 or Title 30-A, section 5681-A, subsection 5, except that, from October 1, 2013 to December 31, 2015, the amount is equivalent to 5% of the 8% tax imposed on tangible personal property and taxable services pursuant to Title 36, section 1811 and beginning July 1, 2016 the amount is equivalent to 5% of the 8% tax and 5% of the 9% tax imposed on tangible personal property and taxable services pursuant to Title 36, section 1811. Beginning on October 1, 2003 and every October 1st thereafter, the State Controller shall transfer to the Tourism Marketing Promotion Fund an amount, as certified by the State Tax Assessor, that is equivalent to 5% of the 7% tax imposed on tangible personal property and taxable services pursuant to Title 36, section 1811, for the last 6 months of the prior fiscal year after the reduction for the transfer to the Local Government Fund, except that, from October 1, 2013 to December 31, 2015, the amount is equivalent to 5% of the 8% tax imposed on tangible personal property and taxable services pursuant to Title 36, section 1811 and beginning October 1, 2016 the amount is equivalent to 5% of the 8% tax and 5% of the 9% tax imposed on tangible personal property and taxable services pursuant to Title 36, section 1811. The tax amount must be based on actual sales for that fiscal year and may not consider any accruals that may be required by law. The amount transferred from General Fund sales and use tax revenues does not affect the calculation for the transfer to the Local Government Fund.
Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §1310, sub-§6, as repealed and replaced by PL 2003, c. 212, §1, is amended to read:
 
6. Enforcement.   If a municipal treasurer fails to pay the installment due, or any part, on the dates required, to initiate collection procedures, the treasurer of the school administrative district may notify the municipal treasurer of the failure to pay. Interest accrues on each unpaid installment at the rate established under Title 36, section 186 beginning on the 60th day after the date the installment is due under subsection 4. If payment of an installment is not made within 60 days after the due date, the treasurer of the district may initiate an action in Superior Court to compel payment of the delinquent installment. The court shall determine the amount owed by the municipality to the district and shall order the municipal treasurer to pay all delinquent installments, accrued interest and any court costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the district. To ensure prompt payment of the delinquent installments, the court may require that amounts due to the municipality from the State under Title 30-A, section 5681 or Title 30-A, section 5681-A and Title 36, sections 578 and 685 be paid to the district until the amount determined by the court is satisfied. The court shall promptly notify the disbursing state agency of the determination and direct the agency to make the required change in payee and the amounts to be paid. If additional funds are needed to satisfy the amount determined by the court to be paid to the district, the court may order the attachment or trustee process and sale of real or personal property owned by the municipality or the attachment of the municipality's bank accounts or require property tax payments to the municipality to be turned over to the court and may pay the amount owed the district from the proceeds and return any excess to the municipality.
Sec. 3. 20-A MRSA §1489, sub-§6, as enacted by PL 2007, c. 240, Pt. XXXX, §13, is amended to read:
 
6. Enforcement.   If a municipal treasurer fails to pay the installment due, or any part, on the dates required, to initiate collection procedures, the treasurer of the regional school unit may notify the municipal treasurer of the failure to pay. Interest accrues on each unpaid installment at the rate established under Title 36, section 186 beginning on the 60th day after the date the installment is due under subsection 4. If payment of an installment is not made within 60 days after the due date, the treasurer of the regional school unit may initiate an action in Superior Court to compel payment of the delinquent installment. The court shall determine the amount owed by the municipality to the regional school unit and shall order the municipal treasurer to pay all delinquent installments, accrued interest and any court costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the regional school unit. To ensure prompt payment of the delinquent installments, the court may require that amounts due to the municipality from the State under Title 30-A, section 5681 or Title 30-A, section 5681-A and Title 36, sections 578 and 685 be paid to the regional school unit until the amount determined by the court is satisfied. The court shall promptly notify the disbursing state agency of the determination and direct the agency to make the required change in payee and the amounts to be paid. If additional funds are needed to satisfy the amount determined by the court to be paid to the regional school unit, the court may order the attachment or trustee process and sale of real or personal property owned by the municipality or the attachment of the municipality's bank accounts or require property tax payments to the municipality to be turned over to the court and may pay the amount owed the regional school unit from the proceeds and return any excess to the municipality.
Sec. 4. 20-A MRSA §1703, sub-§6, as repealed and replaced by PL 2003, c. 212, §2, is amended to read:
 
6. Enforcement.   If a municipal treasurer fails to pay the installment due, or any part, on the dates required, to initiate collection procedures, the treasurer of the community school district may notify the municipal treasurer of the failure to pay. Interest accrues on each unpaid installment at the rate established under Title 36, section 186 beginning on the 60th day after the date the installment is due under subsection 4. If payment of an installment is not made within 60 days after the due date, the treasurer of the district may initiate an action in Superior Court to compel payment of the delinquent installment. The court shall determine the amount owed by the municipality to the district and shall order the municipal treasurer to pay all delinquent installments, accrued interest and any court costs and reasonable attorney's fees incurred by the district. To ensure prompt payment of the delinquent installments, the court may require that amounts due to the municipality from the State under Title 30-A, section 5681 or Title 30-A, section 5681-A and Title 36, sections 578 and 685 be paid to the district until the amount determined by the court is satisfied. The court shall promptly notify the disbursing state agency of the determination and direct the agency to make the required change in payee and the amounts to be paid. If additional funds are needed to satisfy the amount determined by the court to be paid to the district, the court may order the attachment or trustee process and sale of real or personal property owned by the municipality or the attachment of the municipality's bank accounts or require property tax payments to the municipality to be turned over to the court and may pay the amount owed the district from the proceeds and return any excess to the municipality.
Sec. 5. 21-A MRSA §1124, sub-§2, ¶B, as amended by IB 2015, c. 1, §14, is further amended to read:
 
B. Three million dollars of the revenues from the taxes imposed under Title 36, Parts 3 and 8 and credited to the General Fund, transferred to the fund by the State Controller on or before January 1st of each year, beginning January 1, 1999. These revenues must be offset in an equitable manner by an equivalent reduction in tax expenditures as defined in Title 36, section 199-A, subsection 2. This section may not affect the funds distributed to the Local Government Fund under Title 30-A, section 5681 or Title 30-A, section 5681-A.
Sec. 6.  30-A MRSA §5681, sub-§§9 and 10  are enacted to read:
 
9.  Limitation.     This section applies to the calculation of state-municipal revenue sharing for fiscal years beginning before July 1, 2018.
 
10.  Repeal.     This section is repealed September 1, 2018.
Sec. 7.  30-A MRSA §5681-A  is enacted to read:
§ 5681-A. State-municipal revenue sharing; fiscal years on or after July 1, 2018
 
1.  Findings and purpose.     The Legislature finds that:
 
A.  The principal problem of financing municipal services is the burden on the property tax; and
 
B.  To stabilize the municipal property tax burden and to aid in financing all municipal services, it is necessary to provide funds from the broad-based taxes of State Government.
 
2.  Definitions.     As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.
 
A.  "Adjusted property tax burden" means the property tax burden of a municipality multiplied by the property tax burden adjustment factor for the municipality.
 
B.  "Population" means the population as determined by the latest Federal Decennial Census or the population as determined and certified by the Department of Health and Human Services, whichever is later. For the purposes of this section, the Department of Health and Human Services shall determine the population of each municipality at least once every 2 years. For the purposes of the distributions required by this section, "population" means the most current population data available as of the January 1st prior to the fiscal year of distribution.
 
C.  "Property tax burden" means the total real and personal property taxes assessed in the municipal fiscal year pertaining to the latest state valuation, except the taxes assessed on captured value within a tax increment financing district, divided by the latest state valuation certified to the Secretary of State and reduced by 0.01.
 
D.  "Property tax burden adjustment factor" for a municipality means one divided by a fraction equal to the property tax burden of the municipality divided by the average property tax burden for that municipality over the preceding 5 years.
 
E.  "Statewide average property tax rate" means the total real and personal property taxes assessed in all municipalities in the municipal fiscal year pertaining to the latest state valuation, except the taxes assessed on captured value within a tax increment financing district, divided by the total latest state valuation certified to the Secretary of State.
 
3.  Revenue-sharing funds.     To strengthen the state-municipal fiscal relationship pursuant to the findings and objectives of subsection 1, there is established the Local Government Fund.
 
4.  Distribution of Local Government Fund.     The Treasurer of State shall transfer the balance in the Local Government Fund on the 20th day of each month. Money in the Local Government Fund must be distributed to each municipality in proportion to the product of the population of the municipality multiplied by the adjusted property tax burden of the municipality.
 
5.  Transfers to fund.     No later than the 10th day of each month, the State Controller shall transfer to the Local Government Fund 5% of the receipts during the previous month from the taxes imposed under Title 36, Parts 3 and 8, and Title 36, section 2552, subsection 1, paragraphs A to F and L, and credited to the General Fund without any reduction, except that for fiscal year 2018-19 the amount transferred is 2% of the receipts during the previous month from the taxes imposed under Title 36, Parts 3 and 8, and Title 36, section 2552, subsection 1, paragraphs A to F and L, and credited to the General Fund without any reduction, and except that the postage, state cost allocation program and programming costs of administering state-municipal revenue sharing may be paid by the Local Government Fund.
 
6.  Plantations and unorganized territory.     For purposes of state-municipal revenue sharing, plantations and the unorganized territory must be treated as if they were municipalities.
 
7.  Indian territory.     For purposes of state-municipal revenue sharing, the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation Indian Territories must be treated as if they were municipalities. In the absence of a levy of real and personal property taxes in either or both Indian territories, the property tax assessment is computed by multiplying the state valuation for the Indian territory for the period for which revenue sharing is being determined by the most current average equalized property tax rate of all municipalities in the State at that time as determined by the State Tax Assessor.
 
8.  Posting of revenue-sharing projections.     For the purpose of assisting municipalities in a timely manner in their budget development process and in the determination of their property tax levy limits as required by section 5721-A, the Treasurer of State shall post no later than April 15th of each year on the Treasurer of State's website the projected revenue-sharing distributions as required by this section according to the most recently issued state revenue forecasts issued by the Revenue Forecasting Committee pursuant to Title 5, chapter 151-B for the subsequent fiscal year beginning on July 1st.
 
9.  Application.     This section applies to the distribution of state-municipal revenue sharing for fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2018.
Sec. 8. 36 MRSA §208-A, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2013, c. 368, Pt. O, §2 and affected by §11; c. 385, §§1 and 3; and c. 544, §§6 and 7, is further amended to read:
 
1. Request for adjustment.   A municipality that has experienced a sudden and severe disruption in its municipal valuation may request an adjustment to the equalized valuation determined by the State Tax Assessor under section 208 for the purposes of calculating distributions of education funding under Title 20-A, chapter 606-B and state-municipal revenue sharing under Title 30-A, section 5681 or Title 30-A, section 5681-A. A municipality requesting an adjustment under this section must file a petition, with supporting documentation, with the State Tax Assessor by March 31st of the year following the tax year in which the sudden and severe disruption occurred and indicate the time period for which adjustments to distributions are requested under subsection 5.
Sec. 9. 36 MRSA §685, sub-§4, ¶B, as amended by PL 2009, c. 571, Pt. MM, §1 and affected by §2, is further amended to read:
 
B. A municipality claiming reimbursement under this section shall submit a claim to the bureau by November 1st of the year in which the exemption applies or within 30 days of commitment of taxes, whichever occurs later. The bureau shall review the claims and determine the total amount to be paid. The bureau shall certify and the Treasurer of State shall pay by July 15th of the year following the year in which the exemption applies the difference between the estimated payment issued and the amount that the bureau finally determines for the year in which the exemption applies. If the total amount of reimbursement to which a municipality is entitled is less than the amount received under paragraph A, the municipality shall repay the excess to the State by December 30th of that year, or the amount may be offset against the amount of state-municipal revenue sharing due the municipality under Title 30-A, section 5681 or Title 30-A, section 5681-A.
Sec. 10. 36 MRSA §699, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 623, §1, is amended to read:
 
2. Intent.   It is the intent of the Legislature to fund fully transfers to the Disproportionate Tax Burden Fund or the Local Government Fund under section 700-A, subsection 1 and reimbursements under the business equipment tax reimbursement program under section 6652, subsection 4, paragraph B.
Sec. 11. 36 MRSA §700-A, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 2005, c. 623, §1, is amended to read:
 
1. Transfers to Local Government Fund.   Pursuant to section 699, subsection 2 and in order to provide additional compensation to municipalities affected by property tax exemptions provided under this subchapter, the Treasurer of State shall make the following transferstransfer $4,000,000 in each fiscal year as provided in section 700-B to the Disproportionate Tax Burden Fund established in Title 30-A, section 5681, subsection 3:, except that, for fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2018, the transfer must be made to the Local Government Fund established in Title 30-A, section 5681-A, subsection 3.
 
A.  In fiscal year 2009-10, $2,000,000;
 
B.  In fiscal year 2010-11, $2,500,000;
 
C.  In fiscal year 2011-12, $3,000,000;
 
D.  In fiscal year 2012-13, $3,500,000; and
 
E.  In fiscal year 2013-14 and subsequent fiscal years, $4,000,000.
Sec. 12. 36 MRSA §714, as amended by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. C, §§78 and 106 and PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further amended to read:
§ 714.State-municipal revenue sharing aid
The assessors shall deduct from the total amount required to be assessed an amount equal to the amount that the municipal officers estimate will be received under Title 30-A, section 5681 or Title 30-A, section 5681-A, during the municipal fiscal year.
Sec. 13. 36 MRSA §1815, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1999, c. 477, §1, is amended to read:
 
2. Monthly transfer.   By the 20th day of each month, the assessor shall notify the State Controller and the Treasurer of State of the amount of revenue attributable to the tax collected under this Part in the previous month on sales occurring on the Passamaquoddy reservation at either Pleasant Point or Indian Township reduced by the transfer to the Local Government Fund required by Title 30-A, section 5681 or Title 30-A, section 5681-A. When notified by the assessor, the State Controller shall transfer that amount to the Passamaquoddy Sales Tax Fund.
Sec. 14. 36 MRSA §2559, as amended by PL 2015, c. 300, Pt. A, §35, is further amended to read:
§ 2559.Application of revenues
Revenues derived by the tax imposed by this chapter must be credited to a General Fund suspense account. On or before the last day of each month, the State Controller shall transfer a percentage of the revenues received by the State Tax Assessor during the preceding month pursuant to the tax imposed by section 2552, subsection 1, paragraphs A to F and L to the Local Government Fund as provided by Title 30-A, section 5681, subsection 5 or Title 30-A, section 5681-A, subsection 5. The balance remaining in the General Fund suspense account must be transferred to service provider tax General Fund revenue. On or before the 15th day of each month, the State Controller shall transfer all revenues received by the assessor during the preceding month pursuant to the tax imposed by section 2552, subsection 1, paragraphs G to J and M to the Medical Care Services Other Special Revenue Funds account, the Other Special Revenue Funds Mental Health Services - Community Medicaid program, the Medicaid Services - Adult Developmental Services program and the Office of Substance Abuse - Medicaid Seed program within the Department of Health and Human Services.
 
SUMMARY
This bill changes the formula for calculating distributions of state-municipal revenue-sharing funds. The bill provides that revenue-sharing funds will be distributed only to municipalities with mill rates exceeding 10 mills. The bill also provides an adjustment that results in greater reimbursements to municipalities that have a lower mill rate than their average mill rate for the preceding 5 years than to municipalities that do not. The new distribution formula applies beginning in the 2018-19 fiscal year.