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An Act To Improve the Law Authorizing Municipalities To Allow Low-income Seniors To Defer Payment of Municipal Property Taxes
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §6271, sub-§2, ¶B, as enacted by PL 2009, c. 489, §5, is amended to read:
 
B. The taxpayer is an owner of the eligible homestead, is at least 7065 years of age on April 1st of the first year of eligibility and occupies the eligible homestead; and
Sec. 2.  36 MRSA §6271, sub-§§9 and 10  are enacted to read:
 
9.  Property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2020.     For property tax years beginning on or after April 1, 2020, the State shall reimburse municipalities the amount of property taxes deferred under this section in the manner provided under chapter 908, and the State, the municipality where the property is located and the property owner have the same rights and responsibilities related to the property as under that chapter.
 
10.  Municipal deferral reimbursement account.     The municipal deferral reimbursement account is established as a nonlapsing account within the Department of Administrative and Financial Services. Money credited to the account must be used to reimburse municipalities as provided in subsection 9.
Sec. 3. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
 
ADMINISTRATIVE AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
 
Municipal Deferral Reimbursement Account N300
 
Initiative: Provides a one-time nonlapsing General Fund appropriation of $1,000,000 in fiscal year 2019-20 to the newly created Municipal Deferral Reimbursement Account program within the Department of Administrative and Financial Services to reimburse municipalities for certain property taxes deferred.

GENERAL FUND	2019-20	2020-21	
All Other	$1,000,000	$0	
			
GENERAL FUND TOTAL	$1,000,000	$0	

SUMMARY
This bill lowers from 70 years of age to 65 years of age the age of eligibility for municipal property tax deferral programs for homesteads of low-income seniors and requires the State to reimburse municipalities for the taxes deferred. The State acquires a lien on the property for the amount of taxes deferred plus interest.