# Maine LD 294: An Act to Expand Municipal Volunteer Program Eligibility Requirements in the Municipal Property Tax Assistance Laws Maine LD 294, An Act to Expand Municipal Volunteer Program Eligibility Requirements in the Municipal Property Tax Assistance Laws, is a 132nd Maine Legislature (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Stephan Bunker (Democratic); status signed, last action 2025-06-17 (Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 337); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-10-17). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD294-132 - As of: 2026-10-17 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Maine LD 294 - State: Maine - Session: 132nd Maine Legislature (2025-2026) - Title: An Act to Expand Municipal Volunteer Program Eligibility Requirements in the Municipal Property Tax Assistance Laws - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-01-30 - Last action: 2025-06-17, Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 337 - Sponsor: Stephan Bunker (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: INCOME TAX, INCOME TAX - CREDITS - Touches household money: yes - Economic provisions PRIA read: 3 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Maine taxes some assistance benefits: cost, low. If your municipal property tax assistance shows up in your federal adjusted gross income, Maine now counts it as taxable income too. This applies to assistance paid under town programs covered by the law. This ties Maine to what appears on your federal return. Note: Benefits from the new expanded v… - New property tax help for volunteers: mixed, medium. Beginning January 1, 2026, towns can create an expanded program that lets eligible volunteers earn help on property taxes. You can get up to the larger of $1,000 or 100 times the state minimum hourly wage each year. Eligible volunteers include people age 60 or older, volunteer firefighters, and lic… - Baseline rules for town property tax aid: mixed, low. Town property tax aid programs must meet base rules unless they use the special volunteer options. Towns set how long you must keep a homestead, must offer help to both owners and renters, and must give proportionally bigger help to lower‑income claimants. Towns may add more eligibility rules by or… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Stephan Bunker (Democratic), House ## Actions (7) - 2025-06-17: Signed by Governor, ACTPUB Chapter 337 - 2025-06-12: PASSED TO BE ENACTED, in concurrence. (Senate) - 2025-06-11: PASSED TO BE ENACTED. Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. (House) - 2025-06-11: Reports ReadOn motion by Senator GROHOSKI of Hancock the Majority Ought to Pass as Amended Report ACCEPTED Bill READ ONCE. Committee Amendment "A" (H-621) READ and ADOPTED. Under suspension of the Rules, READ A SECOND TIME and PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED AS AMENDED by Committee Amendment "A" (H-621) in concurrence. (Senate) - 2025-06-10: Reports READ.On motion of Representative CLOUTIER of Lewiston, the Majority Ought to Pass as Amended Report was ACCEPTED.The Bill was READ ONCE.Committee Amendment "A" (H-621) was READ and ADOPTED.Under suspension of the rules, the Bill was given its SECOND READING without REFERENCE to the Committee on Bills in the Second Reading.The Bill was PASSED TO BE ENGROSSED as Amended by Committee Amendment "A" (H-621). Sent for concurrence. ORDERED SENT FORTHWITH. (House) - 2025-03-21: Carried over, in the same posture, to the next special or regular session of the 132nd Legislature, pursuant to Joint Order SP 519. (House) - 2025-01-30: Received by the Clerk of the House on January 30, 2025.The Bill was REFERRED to the Committee on TAXATION pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401. (House) ## Bill text - Amendment C-A (H-621), adopted by House & Senate: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0194&item=2&snum=132) - Enacted: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0194&item=3&snum=132) - Introduced: [PDF](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0194&item=1&snum=132) ## Related bills - LD 1522: An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program (failed) - LD 1665: An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Families (failed) - LD 1872: An Act to Reinvest in the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retirement System (failed) - LD 2067: An Act to Include Community Mental Health Workers Under the 1998 Special Plan for Retirement (failed) - LD 1611: An Act to Decrease the Retirement Contributions Required for Teachers and State Employees (failed) - LD 1294: An Act to Expand the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit (failed) ## Sources - [Amendment C-A (H-621), adopted by House & Senate (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0194&item=2&snum=132) - [Enacted (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0194&item=3&snum=132) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://legislature.maine.gov/legis/bills/getPDF.asp?paper=HP0194&item=1&snum=132) ## Related - [LD 1522: An Act to Establish the Maine Eviction Prevention Program](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1522-132) - [LD 1665: An Act to Provide Property Tax Relief to Maine Families](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1665-132) - [LD 1872: An Act to Reinvest in the Pension Funds of the Maine Public Employees Retiremen…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1872-132) - [LD 2067: An Act to Include Community Mental Health Workers Under the 1998 Special Plan f…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD2067-132) - [LD 1611: An Act to Decrease the Retirement Contributions Required for Teachers and State…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1611-132) - [LD 1294: An Act to Expand the Dependent Exemption Tax Credit](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD1294-132) - [Maine bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/maine/bills) - [Maine state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/maine) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/ME-LD294-132 (as of 2026-10-17).