An Act To Facilitate the Establishment of Tribal Electric Utility Districts
Sec. 1. 35-A MRSA §3916 is enacted to read:
§ 3916. Tribal power districts
Subject to the approval of the commission under sections 2102 and 2105, a tribal power district may furnish electric power transmission, distribution and supply services within the district. An application by a tribal power district to furnish electric power transmission, distribution or supply services must identify the boundaries of the Indian territory to be served. Approval of the commission under sections 2102 and 2105 is not required for a tribal power district to generate or manufacture electricity within the district or to purchase, acquire, accumulate or sell electricity at wholesale or by private contract for use within the tribal power district.
A tribal power district has the same rights, powers, privileges, obligations and limitations of a municipal power district formed under this chapter, including, but not limited to, the issuance of revenue obligation securities; the exemption of district property from taxation under Title 36, section 651; and, in the case of a tribal power district that has received approval from the commission under sections 2102 and 2105, the right of eminent domain as provided under section 3911.
Sec. 2. Findings. The Legislature finds that:
1. The Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe have inhabited the State as self-governing Indian tribal communities since long before the founding of this State and the United States and each tribe continues to maintain its own tribal government;
2. In keeping with native traditions and culture, the Penobscot Indian territory and the Passamaquoddy Indian territory are communal lands that are owned and held in perpetuity for the benefit of the members of the respective tribes; and
3. The communal ownership of the Penobscot Indian territory and the Passmaquoddy Indian territory deprives the respective tribal governments of the property tax revenues that are the financial foundation of the municipal governments of this State and makes the tribal governments critically dependent upon successfully developing a sustainable local economy.