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Page 1 - 132LR1507(03)
STATE OF MAINE
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IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-SIX
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S.P. 745 - L.D. 1904
An Act to Establish the Municipal Shoreline Protection Legal Fund
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §450 is enacted to read:
§450. Municipal Shoreline Protection Legal Fund
1. Fund established. The Municipal Shoreline Protection Legal Fund, referred to in
this section as "the fund," is established within the department to provide financial
assistance to municipalities that have incurred or expect to incur legal costs in pursuing
shoreland zoning violations. The fund consists of money received from any public or
private source, including, but not limited to, any monetary penalties deposited in the fund
in accordance with section 480-R, subsection 1. The fund must be held separate and apart
from all other money, funds and accounts. Interest earned by the fund must be credited to
the fund. Any unexpended balances remaining in the fund at the end of any fiscal year do
not lapse and must be carried forward to the next fiscal year.
2. Administration; use of money in fund. The department shall administer the fund.
In accordance with rules adopted by the department pursuant to subsection 4, the
department shall use money in the fund to provide financial assistance to municipalities
that have incurred or expect to incur legal costs in pursuing shoreland zoning violations.
The department may use money in the fund to cover the department's actual costs incurred
in administering the fund.
3. Reimbursement. In accordance with rules adopted by the department pursuant to
subsection 4, a municipality that receives financial assistance from the fund under
subsection 2 may be required to reimburse the fund following the settlement or final
adjudication of the legal claim for which the financial assistance was received.
4. Rules. The department shall adopt rules necessary for the implementation and
administration of the fund, including, but not limited to, rules establishing standards for the
provision of financial assistance from the fund to a municipality pursuant to subsection 2
and rules establishing standards for municipal reimbursement of financial assistance
received from the fund pursuant to subsection 3. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection
are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
APPROVED
APRIL 15, 2026
BY GOVERNOR
CHAPTER
715
PUBLIC LAW
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Sec. 2. 38 MRSA §480-R, sub-§1, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 809, §2, is amended
by enacting at the end a new first blocked paragraph to read:
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, of the total penalties paid by all
persons found to have violated this article in any fiscal year, the commissioner shall ensure
that $100,000 of that amount, or the total amount of penalties paid in the fiscal year if that
amount is less than $100,000, is deposited in the Municipal Shoreline Protection Legal
Fund established in section 450.
Sec. 3. Transfer from General Fund unappropriated surplus; Department
of Environmental Protection, Municipal Shoreline Protection Legal Fund. On
or before September 1, 2026, the State Controller shall transfer $100,000 from the
unappropriated surplus of the General Fund to the Department of Environmental
Protection, Municipal Shoreline Protection Legal Fund, Other Special Revenue Funds
account to provide financial assistance to municipalities that have incurred or expect to
incur legal costs in pursuing shoreland zoning violations in accordance with the provisions
of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 450.
Sec. 4. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and
allocations are made.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF
Land Resources Z188
Initiative: Provides funding for one Environmental Specialist III position and associated
All Other costs.
GENERAL FUND 2025-26 2026-27
POSITIONS - LEGISLATIVE COUNT 0.000 1.000
Personal Services $0 $79,114
All Other $0 $22,767
__________ __________
GENERAL FUND TOTAL $0 $101,881
Municipal Shoreline Protection Legal Fund N528
Initiative: Provides ongoing allocations to allow for the provision of financial assistance to
municipalities that have incurred or expect to incur legal costs in pursuing shoreland zoning
violations in accordance with the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 450.
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS 2025-26 2026-27
All Other $0 $100,000
__________ __________
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL $0 $100,000
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION,
DEPARTMENT OF
DEPARTMENT TOTALS 2025-26 2026-27
GENERAL FUND $0 $101,881
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS $0 $100,000
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__________ __________
DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS $0 $201,881