Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Property Tax topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee questions constitutionality and fiscal effects of amended UD bill that would freeze Unorganized Territory valuations
Summary
An amendment to LD382 would freeze Unorganized Territory (UT) property valuations at 04/01/2024 values through a 10‑year revaluation cycle and cap mill-rate increases to the Social Security COLA; analysts warned of constitutional issues and county revenue shifts, and the taxation committee voted 'not to pass.'
A concept amendment to LD382 would repurpose the bill from coastal revenue sharing to a proposal affecting property valuation and taxation in Maine's Unorganized Territory (UT).
OPLA analyst Jessica Griswold outlined the amendment's central provisions: beginning 04/01/2026, UT real and personal property valuations would revert to or remain at their 04/01/2024 valuation until the state tax assessor completes a statewide revaluation, and thereafter revaluations in the UT would occur once every 10 years beginning in tax year 2030. The amendment would also limit the annual mill rate increase used to compute the UT educational and services tax levy to no more than the percent increase in the federal Social Security cost-of-living adjustment for that year.
Analysts flagged germane and constitutional concerns under Article 9, Section 8 of the Maine Constitution, which requires taxes on real and personal estate to be "apportioned and assessed... according to the just value thereof." Griswold noted that retroactive valuation freezes and a cap on mill rate increases could shift tax burdens onto properties whose valuations fell in the recent revaluation and could deprive counties and the state of necessary revenues for UT services.
Steven Sullivan, deputy director in the MRS property tax division, explained that UT revaluations are not conducted annually; MRS does annual updates for tree growth and new construction but conducts full revaluations less frequently, which informed the committee's questions about the practical effects of the proposed freeze and decade-long revaluation cycle.
County associations and the fiscal administrator for the UT testified that limiting the tax levy could force cuts to services or shift costs to organized municipalities. After discussion, Senator Bickford moved 'not to pass' on the amended LD382; the committee voted unanimously among those present to recommend not passing the amendment as drafted.
Chair Grohowski closed the work session and noted the committee will reconvene after legislative floor sessions.
