Sec. 5. Efficiency fund grants to promote consolidation. If a county district established pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 30-A, chapter 19 comprises more than one county and the county district combines police or record-keeping services of the counties contained in the county district, the State shall appropriate $1,000,000 to that county district to aid in the transition to a county district. The appropriation may be made over a 5-year period.

Sec. 6. Implementing legislation. Following the approval of the formation or consolidation of counties into a county district pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 30-A, chapter 19, the Legislature shall enact legislation necessary to implement the purposes of this Act.

SUMMARY

This bill establishes 8 county districts. The bill empowers the commissioners of a county district to impose an additional real estate transfer tax on the transfer of property contained in that county district; the first $200,000 of the sales price is exempt from the new tax. The revenue from the additional real estate transfer tax must be used to pay for police and record- keeping services for the county district.

The bill also allows a county district to transfer responsibility for every county jail located in that county district to the State by voting to pay an extra penny per dollar on the sales and use tax for sales in that county district. The revenue from the additional sales and use tax must be used to defray the costs of the Department of Corrections.

The bill also provides an appropriation of $1,000,000, spread out over as many as 5 years, to a district county that comprises more than one county that combines the police and record-keeping services of the counties located in that county district.

The 8 county districts created by the bill are: county district 1, York County; county district 2, Cumberland County; county district 3, Androscoggin County, Oxford County and Franklin County; county district 4, Somerset County and Kennebec