HP0538, LD 787, item 1, An Act To Encourage Municipal Infrastructure Improvement

An Act To Encourage Municipal Infrastructure Improvement

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA §1301, sub-§1, ¶D, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 696, §1, is repealed.

Sec. 2. 20-A MRSA §1704, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2005, c. 2, Pt. D, §15 and affected by §§72 and 74 and c. 12, Pt. WW, §18, is further amended to read:

1. Formula. A community school district shall share its costs among the member municipalities on the basis of:

A. The number of resident pupils in each municipality;

B. The fiscal capacity of each member municipality as defined in section 15672, subsection 23;

C. Any combination of paragraphs A and B;

D. Any other formula authorized by the Legislature; or

E. Any other factor or combination of factors that may, but need not, include paragraphs A and B.

Notwithstanding paragraphs A to D, Title 30-A, chapter 208-A or any other provision of law, the state valuation used to calculate the shared cost for each municipality in a community school district with a municipal incentive development zone must include the increase in equalized just value of all industrial and commercial property located in the zone over the assessed value.

Sec. 3. 30-A MRSA §5281, sub-§§1-A to 1-C are enacted to read:

1-A. Infrastructure improvement plan. "Infrastructure improvement plan" means a plan to make improvements in infrastructure, including municipal infrastructure, in a municipal incentive development zone developed by a municipality under section 5283 for the purpose of providing an incentive for investment in commercial and industrial property in a municipality.

1-B. Municipal infrastructure. "Municipal infrastructure" means land and improvements to land that provide facilities for the provision of municipal services, including, but not limited to, general government, education, recreation, waste management and public safety, or that facilitate the provision of municipal services through improvements such as transportation, utilities and lighting.

1-C. Municipal tax-exempt property. "Municipal tax-exempt property" means property owned by a municipality and used for governmental purposes that is exempt from taxation under Title 36, section 651, including, but not limited to, municipal buildings, schools, recreation centers, athletic fields, swimming pools and public safety facilities.

Sec. 4. 30-A MRSA §5282, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 696, §3, is amended to read:

§ 5282. Municipal incentive development zones

Municipal incentive development zones may be established to assist municipalities in encouraging private and public investment in industrial and commercial projects through the provision of public municipal infrastructure necessary for improvements. Improvements and investments must provide new employment opportunities, improve and broaden the tax base , improve municipal infrastructure and improve the general economy of the State.

Sec. 5. 30-A MRSA §5283, sub-§1, ¶¶A and C, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 696, §3, are amended to read:

A. The municipal legislative body may establish a municipal incentive development zones zone within the boundaries of the municipality by majority vote at a duly called meeting:

(1) To establish the zone;

(2) To adopt a description of the physical boundaries of the zone;

(3) To adopt an infrastructure improvement plan for the zone. The infrastructure improvement plan must describe the public municipal infrastructure improvements to be constructed by the municipality in the municipal incentive development zone, including the nature of the improvements, the time, place and manner of installation of improvements, the plans for operation of improvements and a description of how the proposed improvements are expected to encourage private and public sector capital investment in commercial and industrial property or municipal tax-exempt property in the zone and otherwise benefit the public; and

(4) To authorize the infrastructure improvements described in the plan. Evidence of authorization must be included in the plan.

C. Prior to final approval of a municipal incentive development zone, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development must certify that the public municipal infrastructure improvements proposed by the municipality are likely to result in private or public sector capital investment in commercial and industrial property or municipal tax-exempt property within the zone. The Commissioner of Economic and Community Development may develop a nonexclusive list of qualifying improvements by rule.

Sec. 6. 30-A MRSA §5283, sub-§3, ¶¶C and D, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 696, §3, are amended to read:

C. The area within any municipal incentive development zone must be directly benefitted by the public municipal infrastructure improvements proposed to be made by the municipality according to the infrastructure improvement plan; and

D. The municipal infrastructure improvements proposed to be made by the municipality in the municipal incentive development zone and described in the infrastructure improvement plan must primarily benefit or encourage private or public investment in commercial and industrial property or municipal tax-exempt property.

Sec. 7. 30-A MRSA §5285, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 696, §3, is amended to read:

§ 5285. Agreements between municipalities

Municipalities may jointly create municipal incentive development zones that encompass property located within the boundaries of the municipalities. The municipalities may enter into agreements with each other allocating the economic or public benefit resulting from the creation of the zones.

summary

This bill expands the permissible uses for municipal incentive development zones to include municipal infrastructure improvements, including improvements to municipal tax-exempt property. The bill also provides that increases in the equalized just value of industrial and commercial property within a municipal incentive development zone will not be included in the just value of the municipality for the purposes of education funding.

HP0538 LD 787	Session - 126th Maine Legislature		LR 992 Item 1
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