47. Public Law 2005, chapter 2, Part E, section 3 enacted January 21, 2005 permanently extends the deadline for filing an application for the Maine Residents Property Tax Program from December 31st to May 31st. Thus, the new filing period for the program is August 1st to May 31st; previously, the filing period was August 1st to December 31st. Existing law also provides a 6- month extension for reasonable cause, extending the deadline for eligible applicants from May 31st to November 30th. This extension period overlaps the next program that starts August 1st. To eliminate this overlap, the bill shortens the allowable extension period from 6 months to 2 months, through July 31st. Under law prior to enactment of Public Law 2005, chapter 2, the total number of months available for filing an application, including the allowable extension period, was 11 months. This bill provides a total of 12 months for filing an application. Public Law 2005, chapter 2 provides a total of 16 months.