Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §909 is enacted to read:

§909.__County advisory organizations

A county may raise or appropriate money to obtain the services of advisory organizations.__The Legislature recognizes the Maine County Commissioners' Association and the Maine Sheriffs' Association as nonprofit advisory organizations and declares these associations to be instrumentalities of their member counties with their assets upon their dissolution to be delivered to the Secretary of State to be held in custody for the counties of the State.__An advisory organization may receive federal grants or contributions for their activities with respect to the solution of county problems.

SUMMARY

This bill allows counties to expend funds in order to obtain the services of the Maine County Commissioners' Association and the Maine Sheriffs' Association as nonprofit advisory organizations and designates these associations as instrumentalities of their member counties. Upon dissolution, the assets of these organizations would be delivered to the Secretary of State to be held in custody for the counties of the State. This is the same recognition that Maine law gives the Maine Municipal Association and the Maine School Management Association in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 30-A, sections 5722 and 5724.