A public hearing has now been set for a bill seeking to revitalize a now-defunct property tax stabilization program for seniors.

On Tuesday, April 15 at 2pm in Room 127 of the State House, Mainers will have the opportunity to weigh in on the GOP-led proposal.

Written testimony may also be submitted online at www.mainelegislature.org/testimony.

Introduced by Rep. Wayne R. Parry (R-Arundel), LD 1481 would bring the short-lived stabilization program back beginning in April of this year for eligible seniors.

To qualify for the program, homeowners must be over the age of 65 and have owned a home in the state for at least twenty years, up from the ten-year threshold included in the original language.

Rep. Parry’s proposal would also make stabilization available only to households making less than $75,000 annually. In these two ways, his bill parries down the pool of eligible recipients, lowering the costs from the short-lived stabilization program of past years.

Also, Parry’s bill looks to simplify the process for annually renewing the stabilization, allowing seniors to submit a written form indicating that the homestead is still eligible for stabilization.

Previously, seniors were required to fully reapply for stabilization every year.

The proposed legislation would also do away with the ability to transfer stabilization from one home to another. Instead, seniors would be able to receive a fresh stabilization for their new property.

Click Here for More Information on LD 1481

When this program was first introduced, it was estimated that stabilization would cost taxpayers statewide millions of dollars, with costs increasing substantially with each passing year.

Although municipalities were to be fully reimbursed for revenue lost as a result of this program, critics pointed out that the design simply shifted costs from municipalities to taxpayers statewide.

The fiscal note attached to the final version of the Stabilization Program indicated that roughly $2 million was initially allocated from the General Fund to cover the cost of municipal reimbursements for fiscal year 2023-24.

Another group of Republican lawmakers — including Sen. Jim Libby (R-Cumberland), Sen. Bruce Bickford (R-Androscoggin), and Sen. Trey Stewart (R-Aroostook) — have also made a push to bring back the now-defunct stabilization program.

Under that bill, LD 1144, seniors would be able to apply for the program starting with the 2026 property tax year so that their taxes would be frozen at 2025 levels.

It would also amend the original program by limiting the stabilized value of a senior’s home to $900,000, meaning that for homes assessed above this threshold would only receive stabilization benefits on the value up to $900,000.

A public hearing for LD 1144 was held earlier this month, and a work session has been scheduled for Tuesday, April 15 at 1pm in Room 127.