| | | Constitutional amendment. Resolved: Two thirds of each branch of the | | Legislature concurring, that the following amendment to the | | Constitution of Maine be proposed: |
|
| | | Constitution, Art. IV, Part Third, §23 is amended to read: |
|
| | | Section 23. Municipalities reimbursed annually. The | | Legislature shall annually reimburse each municipality from state | | tax sources for not less than 50% of the property tax revenue | | loss suffered by that municipality during the previous calendar | | year because of the statutory property tax exemptions or credits | | enacted after April 1, 1978. The Legislature shall enact | | appropriate legislation to carry out the intent of this section. |
|
| | | This section shall allow, but not require, reimbursement for | | statutory property tax exemptions or credits for unextracted | | minerals. |
|
| | | For the purposes of this section, a municipality is not | | considered to have lost revenue from a statutory property tax | | exemption or credit enacted after April 1, 2004 if the | | municipality has not assessed property taxes on the type of | | property subject to the exemption or credit in the 10 years | | preceding the enactment of the exemption or credit. |
|
| | | Constitutional referendum procedure; form of question; effective date. Resolved: | | That the municipal officers of this State shall notify the | | inhabitants of their respective cities, towns and plantations to | | meet, in the manner prescribed by law for holding a statewide | | election, at a statewide election, on the Tuesday following the | | first Monday of November following the passage of this | | resolution, to vote upon the ratification of the amendment | | proposed in this resolution by voting upon the following | | question: |
|
| | | "Do you favor amending the Constitution of Maine to permit | | the Legislature to create a property tax exemption or credit | | without reimbursing municipalities if municipalities have | | not taxed the property for 10 years?" |
|
| | | The legal voters of each city, town and plantation shall vote | | by ballot on this question and designate their choice by a cross | | or check mark placed within the corresponding square below the | | word "Yes" or "No." The ballots must be received, sorted, | | counted and declared in open ward, town and plantation meetings | | and returns made to the Secretary of State in the same manner as | | votes for members of the Legislature. The Governor shall review | | the returns and, if it appears that a majority of the legal votes |
|
|
