APPROVED CHAPTER
JUNE 17, 2025 337
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
_____
H.P. 194 - L.D. 294
An Act to Expand Municipal Volunteer Program Eligibility Requirements in
the Municipal Property Tax Assistance Laws
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §5122, sub-§2, ¶EE, as corrected by RR 2009, c. 2, §111, is
amended to read:
EE. To the extent included in federal adjusted gross income, an amount constituting
benefits received under a municipal property tax assistance program established
pursuant to section 6232, subsection subsections 1‑A and 1-B;
Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §6232, sub-§1, as amended by PL 2019, c. 159, §2, is further
amended to read:
1. Conditions of program. Except as provided in subsection 1‑A and 1-B, a program
adopted under this section must:
A. Require that the claimant has maintained a homestead in the municipality for a
certain period of time, as determined by the municipality;
B. Provide benefits for both owners and renters of homesteads; and
C. Calculate benefits in a way that provides greater benefits proportionally to claimants
with lower incomes in relation to their property taxes accrued or rent constituting
property taxes accrued.
A program adopted under this section may impose additional standards of eligibility and
procedures, as long as those standards are established by the municipality by ordinance.
Sec. 3. 36 MRSA §6232, sub-§1-B is enacted to read:
1-B. Expanded municipal volunteer program. Beginning January 1, 2026, a
municipality may by ordinance adopt a program that permits claimants who are eligible
volunteers to earn benefits up to an annual maximum of $1,000 or 100 times the state
minimum hourly wage under Title 26, section 664, subsection 1, whichever is greater, by
volunteering to provide services to the municipality. A program adopted under this
subsection does not need to meet the requirements of subsection 1, paragraph B or C.
Benefits provided under this subsection must be related to the amount of volunteer service
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provided. Benefits received under this subsection may not be considered income for
purposes of Part 8. A municipality may by ordinance establish procedures and additional
standards of eligibility for a program adopted under this subsection.
Notwithstanding the age requirements under this section, for the purposes of this
subsection, "eligible volunteer" means a person who is at least 60 years of age or a person
who is a volunteer firefighter as defined in Title 30-A, section 3151, subsection 4, a
volunteer municipal firefighter as defined in Title 30-A, section 3151, subsection 5 or a
volunteer emergency medical services person. For the purposes of this subsection,
"volunteer emergency medical services person" means an emergency medical services
person as defined in Title 32, section 83, subsection 12 who is licensed pursuant to Title
32, chapter 2-B, who receives up to 20% of the compensation of a worker employed 40
hours per week at the state minimum wage and who may receive injury and death benefits.
Receiving benefits from a municipal program established pursuant to this subsection does
not make a person ineligible to participate in the program as an eligible volunteer.
Sec. 4. 36 MRSA §6232, sub-§1-C is enacted to read:
1-C. Single benefit. A volunteer may not participate in both a program established
pursuant to subsection 1-A and a program established pursuant to subsection 1-B in the
same tax year.
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Statutes affected:
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 337: 36.5122, 36.6232