This bill establishes a dedicated fund to support the University of Maine Cooperative Extension Tick Laboratory. It directs the State Liquor and Lottery Commission to create a $4 instant lottery game, with 50% of its net proceeds going to the fund starting by January 2026. The fund must be used exclusively for the lab's operations - including supplies, equipment, salaries, and educational materials - and cannot be diverted to other purposes. The Commission must report to the legislature by December 2028 on the lottery's revenue distribution to the fund and the General Fund. The bill directly affects the Tick Laboratory's funding stability and operations.
This bill updates Maine's New Markets Tax Credit program to create two new fund types: "Maine funds" (requiring at least one Maine-resident executive with 5+ years in finance) and "diverse Maine funds" (requiring majority ownership/control by racial/ethnic minorities or Native American groups, or a majority-minority board). It sets strict time limits: funds must use allocated tax credits within 24 months (Program 1) or 6 months (Program 2), or the unused credits lapse. The bill caps total tax credits at $250 million per program, with annual limits of $20 million, and requires annual reports on private investment and job creation. These changes directly affect community development organizations seeking tax credits to fund investments in underserved Maine communities.
LD 1498 limits how Maine municipalities can charge impact fees for housing development projects. The bill requires towns to create a public policy document explaining how they determine when infrastructure improvements are needed and how developers' fees are calculated. It restricts fees to infrastructure directly adjacent to the development and mandates that fees be proportionate to the project's use of that infrastructure. Additionally, municipalities must spend collected fees within 180 days of receipt.
LD 143 establishes a dedicated fund within Maine's Department of Health and Human Services to maintain statewide access to family planning services. The bill allocates $6.18 million annually from the General Fund to be distributed as a single grant to a qualified provider selected through a competitive request for proposals. This provider will manage and oversee the delivery of family planning services across the state, including coordination with subrecipients. The fund is designed to ensure ongoing, non-lapsing funding for these services without replacing existing funding sources.
LD 1768 amends Maine's real estate transfer tax law to better support mobile home park residents. It exempts transfers of mobile home parks to residents or resident-owned associations from the standard transfer tax, making it easier for residents to collectively purchase their parks. Additionally, all tax revenue generated from mobile home park sales (to non-residents) must be directed to the Maine State Housing Authority and deposited into the Housing Opportunities for Maine Fund, which supports statewide housing initiatives. These changes take effect starting in fiscal year 2026-27.
This bill increases Maine fishing license fees by $7.00 for most licenses (e.g., resident fishing licenses rise from $25 to $32). It dedicates $6.00 of each increased fee to the new Inland Fisheries Conservation and Enhancement Fund and $1.00 to the Boat Launch Facilities Fund. The conservation fund must use 65% of its revenue for native freshwater fish species conservation/research and 35% for recreational fisheries management, with unspent funds carried forward annually. The bill directly affects all residents and nonresidents purchasing fishing licenses in Maine.
LD 1664 repeals Maine's Dirigo Business Incentives Program, which provided tax credits to businesses making eligible capital investments or offering qualified employee training in targeted sectors. The bill removes the program's legal foundation by repealing specific sections of Maine law (36 MRSA §191, sub-§2, ¶SSS, and §5219-AAA) that established the tax credit. This directly affects businesses previously eligible to claim these credits under the Dirigo program. The repeal eliminates the state's tax incentive for qualifying investments and training, ending the program's availability for new or existing participants.
LD 746 allows Maine municipalities to impose a 2% local sales tax on short-term lodging (like hotels and vacation rentals) if approved by voters through a referendum. The tax must be applied only to lodging already subject to state sales tax, and requires voter approval with a majority vote and at least 20% turnout from the previous gubernatorial election. Ten percent of the revenue collected must fund Maine's affordable housing programs through the State Housing Authority, while the remaining 90% goes directly to the municipality that enacted the tax. The tax cannot be applied in unorganized territory and cannot take effect before January 1, 2026.
LD 1077 would exempt bottled drinking water from Maine's sales tax by including it in the tax-free "grocery staples" category. Currently, packaged drinking water (including bottled mineral and carbonated water) is excluded from this exemption and subject to sales tax. The bill amends Maine's tax code to explicitly add "drinking water placed in a container or package for human consumption" to the definition of grocery staples. This change would directly affect consumers purchasing bottled water and retailers selling it, eliminating sales tax on these items at checkout.
LD 1386 provides one-time tax relief for Maine's wild blueberry industry in 2025. It suspends the tax portion normally paid by sellers (growers) of Maine-harvested wild blueberries, meaning growers pay $0 tax on these berries for 2025. Processors and shippers instead pay half the tax (0.75 cents per pound) for Maine-harvested berries, while continuing to pay the full tax (1.5 cents per pound) on out-of-state berries. This shifts the tax burden from growers to processors/shippers for in-state berries, offering immediate financial relief to growers facing declining prices and rising costs.
