Sec. 1. 33 MRSA §753 is enacted to read:

§753.__Community preservation fee

1.__Surcharge.__In addition to any other fees required by law, a register of deeds shall collect a surcharge of $3 per document for all documents that are recorded in the registry of deeds, except those recorded by agencies of State Government and municipalities.

2.__Account.__The surcharge imposed in subsection 1 must be transferred to the Treasurer of State who shall deposit the surcharge in a separate nonlapsing account within 30 days of receipt.__Money in the account is not available for use as a general revenue of the State.__Interest earned on the account must be credited to the account.

3.__Expenditures from account.__The money in the account established in subsection 2 must be used by the Maine State Cultural Affairs Council for the New Century Community Program established in Title 27, section 558.

SUMMARY

This bill provides funding for the New Century Community Program through a surcharge on the recording of documents. The New Century Community Program provides seed money grants to communities, with a local match, for the preservation of archives, historic records, artifacts and libraries and related structures.