An Act Regarding The Brunswick Naval Air Station Job Increment Financing Fund

132nd Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Dan Ankeles

LD 1819 amends the Brunswick Naval Air Station JIF Fund rules, removing a remote-worker expansion; final law shows no General Fund revenue loss, only minor admin costs.

Signed by Governor

#brunswicknavalairstation #economicdevelopment #planning

Purpose / Intent

LD 1819 makes statutory changes related to the Brunswick Naval Air Station Job Increment Financing (JIF) Fund — a state disbursement mechanism tied to job creation at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, which is owned and administered by the Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA). The bill’s intent is to amend how the JIF fund is administered or calculated (as described in the enacted amendments).

Key legislative actions and amendments

Referred to the Committee on Housing and Economic Development (4/29/2025).

Committee Amendment A (H‑504) and House Amendment A (H‑520) were adopted during floor action.

Final passage in concurrence with the Senate and House (6/05/2025, roll call: Yeas 74 – Nays 67).

Sent to and signed by the Governor (6/12/2025).

Main provisions and notable changes

The enacted bill modifies provisions governing the Brunswick Naval Air Station JIF Fund. The fiscal documents do not include the full bill text, but the legislative record shows at least one substantive proposal was considered and then removed:

A proposed expansion of the statutory definition of “employee” to explicitly include remote workers of businesses located at MRRA (i.e., remote employees linked to businesses on the former base) was included in an earlier draft. That change would have altered the basis for State disbursements into the JIF Fund.
House Amendment A removed that expansion; the final enacted version does not include the remote‑worker expansion.

Fiscal impact

Earlier draft (with remote‑worker expansion) was estimated to reduce General Fund revenue by $304,000 in FY 2026‑27 (and roughly $313,500 in FY 2027‑28; $323,000 in FY 2028‑29) and to decrease Local Government Fund revenue by $16,000 in FY 2026‑27 (increasing slightly in later years).

The final enacted bill (as engrossed with amendments) carries no projected General Fund revenue loss from the removed remote‑worker provision. The fiscal note for the engrossed bill reports only a minor General Fund cost increase related to implementation; any additional costs to the Department of Economic and Community Development are expected to be minor and absorbed within existing resources.

Who is affected

Midcoast Regional Redevelopment Authority (MRRA) and businesses operating at the former Brunswick Naval Air Station could be affected by how the JIF Fund is calculated and disbursed (though the most consequential proposed change — counting remote workers — was removed).

State finances: earlier proposals would have reduced General Fund and Local Government Fund receipts; the final law has only minor administrative costs.

Procedural / timeline notes

Committee work and a divided committee report occurred in May 2025. Work sessions and floor amendments were adopted in early June 2025. The bill passed both chambers in concurrence on 6/05/2025 and was signed into law on 6/12/2025.

If you want, I can locate and summarize the final enacted statutory language to show precisely what changes were made to the JIF Fund.

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