Bill
LD 115
Imposes a daily fee on megayachts over 150 ft to fund harbor, sea level rise, and transit infrastructure via a state Megayacht Fund administered by DEP.
Status: Placed in the Legislative Files (No longer active)
Introduction and purpose
- Introduced: January 8, 2025
- Purpose: To establish a system of impact fees on privately owned megayachts (defined as vessels over 150 feet in length) and to create a dedicated Megayacht Fund (MF) within the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The program would fund harbor infrastructure, sea level rise mitigation, and public transit investments.
Key provisions
- Fee structure
- A daily impact fee of $10 per foot of length over 150 feet, assessed for up to 30 consecutive days.
- Municipalities would administer the fee on eligible megayachts.
- Revenue distribution
- Municipalities may retain 10% of total fees collected; 90% must be remitted to the state and deposited into the Megayacht Fund.
- From MF receipts, 50% would be distributed to municipalities for harbor and sea level rise mitigation infrastructure, and 50% would support public transit infrastructure.
- Administration and funding
- The DEP would oversee the MF.
- An initial allocation of $500 (in the MF) was provided to establish the program and support future disbursements.
- DEP indicates potential need for additional staff to manage disbursements, to be addressed in future budgets.
- Existing Other Special Revenue Funds allocations are available to support expenditures from the MF.
- Local government considerations
- The bill notes the local activities could constitute a state mandate. If so, options to address mandate costs include:
- General Fund appropriations covering at least 90% of additional local costs, or
- A Mandate Preamble plus a two-thirds vote to exempt the mandate from funding requirements.
- Fiscal impact highlights (from fiscal notes)
- Potential state mandate (unfunded) with modest annual appropriation details: $500 per year for FY 2025-26 through 2028-29.
- Revenue projections are uncertain due to the limited number of private megayachts that would qualify.
Who is affected
- Megayacht owners (privacy vessels over 150 feet)
- Maine municipalities (assessment, collection, and remittance of the fee)
- DEP (administration of the MF and oversight of disbursements)
- Harbor and sea level rise mitigation projects and public transit programs funded by MF
Legislative history and status
- Committee: Transportation
- Key milestones: Passed various readings and committee amendments, but ultimately died in the Legislative Files on June 2, 2025, following an accepted Majority Ought Not to Pass report.
Notes
- Because the bill did not become law, its fiscal and policy effects are hypothetical, based on the text and fiscal notes. The proposed program would have created a dedicated funding stream for coastal infrastructure and transit, contingent on municipal participation and state funding decisions.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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