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An Act To Expand Eligible Project Costs in Development Districts
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§1, ¶C, as repealed and replaced by PL 2011, c. 675, §3, is amended to read:
 
C. Costs related to economic development, environmental improvements, fisheries and wildlife or marine resources projects, recreational trails or employment training within the municipality or plantation, including, but not limited to:
 
(1) Costs of funding economic development programs or events developed by the municipality or plantation or funding the marketing of the municipality or plantation as a business or arts location;
 
(2) Costs of funding environmental improvement projects developed by the municipality or plantation for commercial or arts district use or related to such activities;
 
(3) Funding to establish permanent economic development revolving loan funds or investment funds;
 
(4) Costs of services to provide skills development and training for residents of the municipality or plantation. These costs may not exceed 20% of the total project costs and must be designated as training funds in the development program;
 
(5) Quality child care costs, including finance costs and construction, staffing, training, certification and accreditation costs related to child care;
 
(6) Costs associated with new or existing recreational trails determined by the department to have significant potential to promote economic development, including, but not limited to, costs for multiple projects and project phases that may include planning, design, construction, maintenance, grooming and improvements with respect to new or existing recreational trails, which may include bridges that are part of the trail corridor, used all or in part for all-terrain vehicles, snowmobiles, hiking, bicycling, cross-country skiing or other related multiple uses;
 
(7) Costs associated with a new or expanded transit service, limited to:
 
(a) Transit service capital costs, including but not limited to: transit vehicles such as buses, ferries, vans, rail conveyances and related equipment; bus shelters and other transit-related structures; and benches, signs and other transit-related infrastructure; and
 
(b) In the case of transit-oriented development districts, ongoing costs of adding to an existing transit system or creating a new transit service and limited strictly to transit operator salaries, transit vehicle fuel and transit vehicle parts replacements; and
 
(8) Costs associated with the development of fisheries and wildlife or marine resources projects; and
Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§1, ¶D, as amended by PL 2011, c. 101, §15, is further amended to read:
 
D. Costs of constructing or improving facilities or buildings leased by State Government or a municipal or plantation government that are located in approved downtown tax increment financing districts.; and
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§1, ¶E  is enacted to read:
 
E.  Costs of projects jointly approved by more than one municipality pursuant to an interlocal agreement under chapter 115.
Sec. 4. 30-A MRSA §5225, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 2001, c. 669, §1, is amended to read:
 
2. Unauthorized project costs.   Except as provided in subsection 1, paragraphparagraphs D and E, the commissioner may not approve as a project cost the cost of facilities, buildings or portions of buildings used predominantly for the general conduct of government or for public recreational purposes, including, but not limited to, city halls and other headquarters of government where the governing body meets regularly, courthouses, jails, police stations and other state and local government office buildings, recreation centers, athletic fields and swimming pools.
 
SUMMARY
This bill permits tax increment financing funds to be used to fund projects approved by more than one municipality under an interlocal agreement.