An Act To Provide Funding for County Jails from Sales Tax Collected on Retail Sales of Marijuana and Marijuana Products
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 34-A MRSA §1210-D, sub-§6 is enacted to read:
6. Sales tax on retail marijuana and retail marijuana products. Sales tax from retail marijuana and retail marijuana products collected pursuant to Title 36, section 1817 must be deposited monthly in the fund and must be distributed to the counties for jail operations based on the formula established under subsection 4. Funds distributed to the counties pursuant to this subsection must be used to supplement and not supplant funding provided to the counties for jail operations from other funding sources.
Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §1817, sub-§7, as enacted by IB 2015, c. 5, §3, is amended to read:
7. Application of tax revenues. All Seventy-five percent of the sales tax revenue collected pursuant to this section must be deposited in the General Fund and 25% must be deposited in the County Jail Operations Fund pursuant to Title 34-A, section 1210-D, subsection 6. Sales tax revenue derived from the sale of retail marijuana and retail marijuana products that is deposited in the General Fund may not be used to directly fund any new state programs except that this revenue may be appropriated to the Maine Criminal Justice Academy for the purpose of training law enforcement personnel on retail marijuana and retail marijuana products laws and rules. Funds appropriated to the Maine Criminal Justice Academy pursuant to this subsection may be used only for the actual costs incurred to provide the necessary education and training of law enforcement personnel.
SUMMARY
This bill distributes 25% of tax revenues from the sales tax on retail marijuana and retail marijuana products to the counties to support county jail operations. The funds distributed to the counties under this bill must be distributed according to the formula established for funds in the County Jail Operations Fund and must be used to supplement and not to supplant funding provided to the counties for jail operations from other funding sources.