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Bill would let Secretary of State accept excise taxes for vehicles owned by unhoused Mainers; BMV supports change
Summary
LD 611 would allow unhoused Maine residents to pay motor vehicle excise tax directly to the Secretary of State when a municipality refuses to accept payment; supporters argued it provides a practical remedy, BMV said implementation is minimal and funds would flow to the general fund.
Representative Dan Sayer presented LD 611 to the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation on April 3, proposing to amend Maine’s excise tax rules so that a resident with no fixed place of residence may pay excise tax on a motor vehicle ‘‘directly to the secretary of state.’’ Sayer said the change responds to cases in which a Maine resident who is unhoused was refused by their town when attempting to register and pay excise tax.
‘‘If the individual resident of this state has no residing place, the excise tax may be paid directly to the secretary of state,’’ Sayer told the committee. He said the measure is intended to let unhoused Mainers register legally and avoid impoundment or loss of livelihood.
Kathy Curtis, Deputy Secretary of State and deputy director of the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV), testified in support. She told the committee the bill would amend Title 36, section 1484, and that the Secretary of State’s office has been contacted by an ‘‘increasing number of individuals’’ who own vehicles but lack proof of residency required by some town offices.
Curtis said unhoused individuals often cannot provide rent receipts or utility bills and sometimes live in their vehicles. She said BMV already accepts excise tax for residents of unorganized territories and for participants in the Address Confidentiality Program, that implementation would have “minimal impact” on BMV, and that any excise taxes collected by the Secretary of State would be deposited to the general fund.
Committee members asked several practical questions. Representative Angus asked for the number of affected people; Curtis said she knew of three individuals she had assisted but had no comprehensive count. Representative Perry and others queried how an address would be recorded; Curtis said applicants sometimes use PO boxes, parking locations, or a relative’s driveway and that BMV already records private addresses in its address confidentiality program. Representative Bishop and others raised concerns about enforcement and identification, asking how law enforcement would track motorists and whether the change could be abused by out-of-state residents; Curtis said Maine already registers out-of-state addresses in practice and that accepting payments at the Secretary of State would offer a straightforward recourse for people the municipalities refuse.
No public testimony in opposition was recorded; the chair closed the hearing after BMV’s testimony. The bill would change a limited administrative route for excise collection; committee work-session follow-up requests included asking BMV for data on the number of affected individuals and similar programs in other states.
