‘An Act To Provide Critical Communications for Family Farms, Businesses and Residences by Strategic Public Investment in High-speed Internet and Broadband Infrastructure’
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
Amend the bill by inserting after the title and before the enacting clause the following:
‘Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, this legislation provides funding to the ConnectME Authority to address critical needs to deploy high-speed Internet and broadband infrastructure in the State; and
Whereas, this legislation needs to take effect before the expiration of the 90-day period in order for this funding to be available as soon as possible; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,’
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the enacting clause and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §1951-C, sub-§5 is enacted to read:
5. Application of tax revenue. All sales and use tax revenue collected by the State Tax Assessor pursuant to this Part from marketplace facilitators, with respect to marketplace-facilitated sales, must be deposited into the General Fund, except that, on or before the last day of each month, the State Controller shall transfer to the ConnectME Authority, under Title 35-A, section 9203, the following amount: 33% of sales and use tax revenue received from marketplace facilitators, with respect to marketplace-facilitated sales, during the previous month after making the required transfers to the Local Government Fund as described by Title 30-A, section 5681, to the Multimodal Transportation Fund as described by Title 23, section 4210-B, subsection 7-A and to the Tourism Marketing Promotion Fund as described by Title 5, section 13090-K, subsection 2.
Sec. 2. Application. This Act applies to sales occurring on or after June 1, 2020.
Sec. 3. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT, DEPARTMENT OF
Office of Broadband Development Z245
Initiative: Provides allocation to the ConnectME Authority to further deployment of broadband infrastructure to unserved and underserved areas of the State.
| OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS | 2019-20 | 2020-21 |
|
All Other
|
$0 | $7,010,000 |
 |
|
|
| OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL | $0 | $7,010,000 |
Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.’
SUMMARY
This amendment replaces the bill, which is a concept draft. The amendment requires that 33% of sales and use tax revenue collected by the State Tax Assessor from marketplace facilitators, with respect to marketplace-facilitated sales, after required transfers to other funds be transferred to the ConnectME Authority to further deployment of high-speed Internet and broadband infrastructure to unserved and underserved areas of the State.
This amendment adds an emergency preamble and emergency clause to the bill.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)