1.  Fee payment required.  The purchaser of a manufactured housing community shall pay to the registry of deeds of the county where all or a majority of the acreage of the purchased real property associated with the manufactured housing community is located a fee equal to $10,000 for each licensed manufactured housing community lot in the manufactured housing community occupied or developed to be occupied by a manufactured home. The money must be paid to the registry of deeds in accordance with subsection 4.  

2.  Exemptions.  The following persons are exempt from the obligation to pay the fee under subsection 1:  

3.  (CONFLICT: Text as amended by PL 2025, c. 650, Pt. RRR, §49) Attestation of net worth.  An entity claiming an exemption under subsection 2, paragraph D shall provide the register of deeds with an attestation of net worth when the deed for the manufactured housing community is offered for recordation and any other information or documentation as required by the office by rule.  

3.  (CONFLICT: Text as amended by PL 2025, c. 688, §8) Attestation of net worth. 

3-A.  Sworn affirmation of exemption.  If the purchaser of a manufactured housing community seeks an exemption under subsection 2, it shall provide to the Maine State Housing Authority, on a form provided by the Maine State Housing Authority, a sworn affirmation no later than 15 days after a notice required pursuant to section 9094‑A is provided. The sworn affirmation must include all information necessary to determine whether the purchaser qualifies for an exemption. The sworn affirmation and the information submitted to the Maine State Housing Authority under this subsection is a public record, except that the person seeking the exemption may clearly designate specific information as proprietary information not subject to disclosure on the basis that the information contains a trade secret or that disclosure of the designated proprietary information contains commercial or financial information that would impair the competitive position of the person seeking the exemption. The designation must be clearly indicated on each page of the sworn affirmation containing the designated proprietary information. The Maine State Housing Authority shall establish procedures to ensure that designated proprietary information is kept confidential and is segregated from public records maintained by the authority. The Maine State Housing Authority shall, within 45 days of receipt of the sworn affirmation, provide to the purchaser a determination of whether the purchaser is exempt under subsection 2 and, if the purchaser is determined not to be exempt, a determination of the amount of the fee that the purchaser must pay pursuant to subsection 1.  

4.  Evidence of payment or exemption; disposition of fee.  A purchaser of a manufactured housing community shall pay the fee required under subsection 1, or provide a written statement from the Maine State Housing Authority exempting the purchaser from the fee under subsection 2, to the registry of deeds of the county where all or a majority of the acreage of the manufactured housing community is located at the time of the offering for recording of the deed for the purchase of the manufactured housing community or, if no deed is offered for recording for the purchase of the manufactured housing community, no later than 3 business days after the purchase. Evidence of the fee payment under subsection 1 or an exemption to the fee requirement under subsection 2 on the form provided by the Maine State Housing Authority must be retained by the registry of deeds of the county where all or a majority of the acreage of the purchased real property associated with the manufactured housing community is located in a manner established by the register of deeds. The register of deeds shall, on or before the 10th day of each month, pay to the Treasurer of State 95% of the fee collected pursuant to this section during the previous month. The remaining 5% must be retained for the county by the register of deeds and accounted for to the county treasurer as reimbursement for services rendered by the registry of deeds in collecting the fee.  

5.  Distribution of State's share of proceeds.  The State Controller shall credit all fees received pursuant to this section to the Manufactured Housing Community and Mobile Home Park Preservation and Assistance Fund established in Title 30‑A, section 4754‑B.  

6.  Violations.  A person who knowingly or intentionally fails to pay the fee required under subsection 1 or provides false or misleading information on a sworn affirmation or documents associated with a sworn affirmation submitted to the Maine State Housing Authority pursuant to subsection 3‑A is liable for damages in an amount equal to 3 times the amount of the fee required under subsection 1 and the forfeiture of that person's license to operate any manufactured housing community under section 9082. The damages plus interest on the damages may be recovered in a civil action brought by the Attorney General in the name of the State Controller, and all amounts recovered in that civil action, excluding costs, must be credited to the Manufactured Housing Community and Mobile Home Park Preservation and Assistance Fund established in Title 30‑A, section 4754‑B. The Attorney General has the authority to investigate possible violations enforced under this subsection pursuant to the provisions of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act and is entitled to recover reasonable attorney's fees incurred in any action for damages brought under this subsection.