‘Sec. 34. 36 MRSA §1603, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2005, c. 686, Pt. A, §65, is further amended to read:
1. Definition. For the purposes of this chapter, "municipal cost component" means the cost of funding services in the Unorganized Territory Tax District that would not be borne by the State if the Unorganized Territory Tax District were a municipality, but does not include a state cost allocation charge, including, without limitation, reimbursement to the General Fund for departmental functions such as accounting, personnel administration and supervision. "Municipal cost component" also includes the cost of funding obligations of the unorganized territory under the terms of a tax increment financing district approved by the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development prior to January 1, 2008 pursuant to Title 30-A, chapter 206. The "municipal cost component" includes, but is not limited to:
A. The cost of education, as would be determined by the Essential Programs and Services Funding Act if the unorganized territory were a municipality;
B. The cost of services the state funds in the unorganized territory that are funded locally by a municipality; the cost of forest fire protection to be included in the cost component must be determined in accordance with Title 12, section 9205-A and collected in the same manner as other portions of the municipal cost component; and
C. The cost of reimbursement by the State for services a county provides to the unorganized territory in accordance with Title 30-A, chapter 305. A county may not be reimbursed for services provided on or after January 1, 1979, unless a legislative allocation is obtained pursuant to this chapter. If a county receives, in addition to its budget, funds that are designated by the Legislature for a specific purpose and the county does not spend those funds for that specific purpose in that fiscal year, then the reimbursement under this chapter to that county for the next fiscal year must be reduced by an amount equal to the amount of funds so designated that were not expended for that specific purpose . ; and
D. The cost for payments that the unorganized territory is required to make pursuant to the terms of a tax increment financing district approved by the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development pursuant to Title 30-A, chapter 206 prior to January 1, 2008 with respect to taxable property in the Unorganized Territory Tax District.
Sec. 35. 36 MRSA §1606, as amended by PL 1989, c. 373, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§ 1606. Property taxes credited on assessments; quarterly payments for unorganized territory services and annually for county taxes
1. Credit and appropriation of special funds or taxes for political subdivisions. Notwithstanding any other statute to the contrary, the gross amount of property taxes assessed upon real and personal property in the unorganized territory through the State Tax Assessor for the benefit of any special fund or political subdivision of the State may be credited on the books of the State to the special fund or to the proper fiscal officer of the political subdivision. The Treasurer of State shall pay to that fiscal officer the amount of the tax so assessed, in equal quarterly amounts for unorganized territory services, on or before the last day of July, October, January and April and an annual installment for county taxes on or before October 15th following the date of the assessment. The amount of the assessment is appropriated for the purposes of this subsection.
2. Tax increment financing payments. With respect to a tax increment financing district located in the unorganized territory and approved by the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development pursuant to Title 30-A, chapter 206 prior to January 1, 2008, the Treasurer of State must deposit into the development program fund established by a county for the tax increment financing district pursuant to Title 30-A, section 5227, subsection 3 the tax increment revenues on the captured assessed value, as that term is defined in Title 30-A, section 5222. The payment must be made on or before October 15th following the date of assessment or within 30 days after the taxes constituting the tax increment are paid, whichever is later. The amount of the assessment is appropriated for the purposes of this subsection.
3. Deposits, abatements, interest payments and supplemental assessments. Upon collection by the State Tax Assessor, taxes collected under subsection 1 must be deposited in the Unorganized Territory Education and Services Fund. All abatements of such taxes must be charged against the Unorganized Territory Education and Services Fund and all interest and supplemental assessments must be paid into the Unorganized Territory Education and Services Fund and neither may be charged against or credited to the special fund or political subdivision on account of which the tax was levied. Any excess of supplemental assessments over abatements accruing to the Unorganized Territory Education and Services Fund must be considered as reimbursement to the Unorganized Territory Education and Services Fund for administrative expenses connected with the assessment of those taxes.
4. Intent. The intent of the Legislature is to permit the administration of all real and personal property taxes in the unorganized territory through the Unorganized Territory Education and Services Fund as a matter of convenience and economy.’