Legislative Directed Studies

Before the legislature adjourned in June, they created two studies with potential implications for land trusts. The first, covering property tax concerns, includes multiple reports to the legislature over the next two years, while the second, addressing public recreational access issues, requires final recommendations to the legislature in February of 2026. MCHT is following both to make sure land trust interests are being represented.

Property Tax Relief Task Force

In May, the Legislature’s Taxation Committee voted unanimously in support of LD 1770 to establish the “Real Estate Property Tax Relief Task Force.” The task force is charged with studying why property taxes in Maine have been rising so rapidly in recent years and then proposing ways to reduce the tax burden, especially for residential property owners.

MCHT is working in coordination with the Maine Association of Nonprofits and other nonprofit organizations to monitor the task force, provide information, answer any questions, and make sure that policymakers understand that undermining the existing property tax exemption for land trusts and other nonprofit organizations is not a good solution to addressing property tax concerns.

Public Outdoor Recreational Access

In enacting LD 1308, the legislature directed the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to create a working group to “recommend actions and policies that may be implemented to better support public access to public and private property in both municipalities and the unorganized territory.” The state agencies appointed Kaitlyn Nuzzo of The Nature Conservancy to the working group to represent a “conservation organization that manages land or conservation easements.”

Stay tuned for more updates on these legislative study efforts. If you have any questions or want additional information, please contact MCHT’s Director of Policy Jeff Romano.