Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §4641-B, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2005, c. 12, Pt. H, §1, is further amended to read:

4. Distribution of State's share of proceeds. The State Tax Assessor shall pay all net receipts received pursuant to this section to the Treasurer of State, and shall at the same time provide the Treasurer of State with documentation showing the amount of revenues derived from the tax imposed by section 4641- A, subsection 1 and the amount of revenues derived from the tax imposed by section 4641-A, subsection 2. The Treasurer of State shall credit 1/2 of the revenues derived from the tax imposed by section 4641-A, subsection 1 to the General Fund and shall monthly pay the remaining 1/2 of such revenues to the Maine State Housing Authority, which shall deposit the funds in the Housing Opportunities for Maine Fund created in Title 30-A, section 4853, except that in fiscal year 2003-04, fiscal year 2004-05, and fiscal year 2005-06 and fiscal year 2006-07, $7,500,000 of the remaining 1/2 of those revenues must be transferred to the General Fund before any payments are made to the Maine State Housing Authority and, beginning in fiscal year 2006-07, $7,500,000 of the remaining 1/2 of those revenues must be deposited in the Weatherization Assistance Program Fund established in Title 30-A, section 4966. The Treasurer of State shall credit to the General Fund all of the revenues derived from the tax imposed by section 4641-A, subsection 2.

SUMMARY

This bill establishes the Weatherization Assistance Program to provide funds or materials to eligible households to improve the energy efficiency of the homes of those eligible households. The program is administered by the Maine State Housing Authority. The program is funded by an annual allocation of $7,500,000 of the funds from the real estate transfer tax that are transferred to the Maine State Housing Authority. This bill strikes current law that requires the $7,500,000 to go to the General Fund in fiscal year 2006-07.