Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

APPROVED                 CHAPTER
                                                                 JULY 1, 2025                 489
                                                               BY GOVERNOR              PUBLIC LAW
                                  STATE OF MAINE
                                          _____
                          IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
                       TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
                                          _____
                                  S.P. 758 - L.D. 1951
 An Act to Promote Food Processing and Manufacturing Facility Expansion
                            and Create Jobs
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
    Sec. 1. 36 MRSA §5219-VV, sub-§1, ¶H, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 386, §2, is
repealed.
    Sec. 2. 36 MRSA §5219-VV, sub-§1, ¶J, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 386, §2, is
amended by repealing subparagraph (1).
    Sec. 3. 36 MRSA §5219-VV, sub-§1, ¶J, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 386, §2, is
amended by amending subparagraph (4) to read:
        (4) The applicant employs or will employ upon within 12 months of the start-up
        of the facility at least 40 full-time employees based in the State; and
    Sec. 4. 36 MRSA §5219-VV, sub-§1, ¶J, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 386, §2, is
amended by amending subparagraph (5) to read:
        (5) The annual income derived from employment with the applicant of at least
        75% of the applicant's employees who have been employed by the applicant for at
        least 12 months exceeds the most recent annual per capita personal income in the
        county in which the facility is located.
    Sec. 5. 36 MRSA §5219-VV, sub-§1, ¶K, as amended by PL 2019, c. 659, Pt. H,
§2, is further amended to read:
    K. "Qualified investment" means an expenditure of at least $35,000,000 to design,
    permit, construct, modify, equip or expand the applicant's facility in the State. The
    expenditures of a qualified applicant and other entities, whether or not incorporated,
    that are part of a single business enterprise must be aggregated to determine whether a
    qualified investment has been made. A qualified investment does not include an
    expenditure made prior to April 1, 2019 or after December 31, 2024 2027.
    Sec. 6. 36 MRSA §5219-VV, sub-§2, ¶E, as amended by PL 2019, c. 659, Pt. H,
§4, is further amended to read:
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    E. A certified applicant shall submit an application to the commissioner for a certificate
    of completion. If the commissioner determines that the certified applicant has made a
    qualified investment and determines that, at the time the application for a certificate of
    completion is submitted, the certified applicant is itself, or is the parent or subsidiary
    of, an entity that satisfies all of the criteria in subsection 1, paragraph J, subparagraphs
    (1) and (5), the commissioner shall issue a certificate of completion to the certified
    applicant as soon as is practical. The certificate of completion must state the amount
    of qualified investment made by the certified applicant.
    Sec. 7. 36 MRSA §5219-VV, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2019, c. 659, Pt. H, §§3
and 4, is further amended by amending the first blocked paragraph to read:
The commissioner may not issue certificates of approval under this subsection that total, in
the aggregate, more than $100,000,000 $200,000,000 of qualified investment or any
individual certificate of approval for more than $85,000,000 $100,000,000 of qualified
investment.
    Sec. 8. 36 MRSA §5219-VV, sub-§3, ¶A, as enacted by PL 2019, c. 386, §2, is
amended to read:
    A. Subject to the limitations under paragraph B, beginning with the first full tax year
    after the certified applicant has been issued a certificate of completion under subsection
    2, paragraph E or the tax year beginning on January 1, 2022, whichever is later, and
    for each of the following 19 tax years, a certified applicant is allowed a credit against
    the tax due under this Part for the taxable year in an amount equal to 1.8% of the
    certified applicant's qualified investment, except that, for a tax year beginning on or
    after January 1, 2027, a certified applicant is allowed a credit against the tax due under
    this Part for the taxable year in an amount equal to 2% of the certified applicant's
    qualified investment. A certified applicant may not claim a credit under this subsection
    for more than 20 years. If the certified applicant is a pass-through entity, the owner or
    owners of the certified applicant are allowed the credit. The credit allowed under this
    paragraph is refundable.
    Sec. 9. 36 MRSA §5219-VV, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 2019, c. 659, Pt. H,
§5, is further amended by repealing subparagraph (2).
    Sec. 10. 36 MRSA §5219-VV, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 2019, c. 659, Pt.
H, §5, is further amended by repealing subparagraph (4), division (a).
    Sec. 11. 36 MRSA §5219-VV, sub-§3, ¶B, as amended by PL 2019, c. 659, Pt.
H, §5, is further amended by amending subparagraph (4), division (c) to read:
            (c) The annual income derived from employment with the certified applicant
            of at least 75% of the certified applicant's employees who have been employed
            by the certified applicant for at least 12 months exceeds the most recent annual
            per capita personal income in the county in which the facility is located.
    Sec. 12. 36 MRSA §5219-VV, sub-§5, ¶A, as amended by PL 2019, c. 607, Pt.
C, §7 and c. 659, Pt. H, §6, is further amended to read:
    A. On or before March 1st of each year, a certified applicant shall file a report with
    the commissioner for the tax year ending during the immediately preceding calendar
    year, referred to in this subsection as "the report year," containing year." The report
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must include, at a minimum, metrics and other progress measures, including the
following information:
    (1) The number of full‑time employees based in the State of the certified applicant
    on the last day of the report year; and
    (2) The incremental amount of qualified investment made in the report year.;
    (3) The total number of full-time employees based in the State in the report year;
    (4) The number of jobs offered by the certified applicant during the report year
    above the base level of employment; and
    (5) The number of jobs that have been added since the day the certificate of
    approval was issued.
The commissioner may prescribe forms for the annual report described in this
paragraph. The commissioner shall provide copies of the report to the assessor, to the
Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability and to the joint standing
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over taxation matters at the time the
report is received.
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Statutes affected: 
Bill Text ACTPUB , Chapter 489: 36.5219