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An Act To Ensure the Effectiveness of Tax Increment Financing
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §5222, sub-§14-A  is enacted to read:
 
14-A.  Qualified business activity.     "Qualified business activity" means a business activity conducted within a development district that is directly related to financial services, manufacturing as defined in Title 30-A, section 5250-I, subsection 11 or targeted technologies as defined in Title 5, section 15301, subsection 2.
Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §5224, sub-§2, ¶H, as amended by PL 2013, c. 184, §3, is further amended to read:
 
H. The duration of the development district, which may not exceed a total of 30 tax years beginning with the tax year in which the designation of the development district is effective pursuant to section 5226 or, if specified in the development program, the subsequent tax year; and
Sec. 3. 30-A MRSA §5224, sub-§2, ¶I, as amended by PL 2011, c. 101, §10, is further amended to read:
 
I. All documentation submitted to or prepared by the municipality or plantation under section 5223, subsection 2.; and
Sec. 4.  30-A MRSA §5224, sub-§2, ¶J  is enacted to read:
 
J.  For development programs approved by the commissioner on or after April 1, 2018, documentation that shows that at least 80% of the area within the development district is designated for development by an entity or organization that is determined by the department to be engaged in a qualified business activity.
 
SUMMARY
This bill amends the criteria for adopting a development program as part of a development district by requiring that 80% of the area within the district is designated for development by an entity engaged in a qualified business activity that is directly related to financial services, manufacturing or targeted technologies. This provision applies to development programs approved by the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development on or after April 1, 2018.