2.__Benefit base maximum adjustment.__Beginning March 1, 2006, the State Tax Assessor shall annually multiply the household income eligibility adjustment factor by the maximum benefit base amounts specified in section 6201, subsection 1, as previously adjusted.__The result must be rounded to the nearest $50 and applies to the application period beginning the next August 1st.

Sec. E-7. Application. This Part applies to claims for benefits under the Maine Residents Property Tax Program filed for application periods that begin on or after August 1, 2005.

Sec. E-8. Retroactivity. This Part applies retroactively to August 1, 2005.

PART F

Sec. F-1. 36 MRSA §683, sub-§1, as repealed and replaced by PL 2003, c. 20, Pt. BB, §1 and affected by §3, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:

1.__Exemption amount.__Except for assessments for special benefits, the just value of $13,000 of the homestead of a permanent resident of this State who has owned a homestead in this State for the preceding 12 months is exempt from taxation.__ In determining the local assessed value of the exemption, the assessor shall multiply the amount of the exemption by the ratio of current just value upon which the assessment is based as furnished in the assessor's annual return pursuant to section 383.__If the title to the homestead is held by the applicant jointly or in common with others, the exemption may not exceed $13,000 of the just value of the homestead, but may be apportioned among the owners who reside on the property to the extent of their respective interests.__A municipality responsible for administering the homestead exemption has no obligation to create separate accounts for each partial interest in a homestead owned jointly or in common.

Sec. F-2. 36 MRSA §683, sub-§1-A, as enacted by PL 2003, c. 20, Pt. BB, §2 and affected by §3, is repealed.