Maine Revised Statutes

1. Application.  A municipality that increases its qualifying expenditures for transit over a base year may apply to the department for a transit bonus to the municipality's Urban-Rural Initiative Program payment, as defined in section 1803-B.

2. Qualifying expenditures for transit.  As used in this section, "qualifying expenditures for transit" means a municipality's total annual expenditures derived from municipal revenue sources that are used for the operations of a seasonal or year-round transit service that has been established for at least 3 years and that provides scheduled service for at least 3 days per week.

3. Use of funds.  All funds distributed pursuant to this section must be used for the purposes set forth in sections 1801 and 1803-B.

4. Program funding cap.  The annual amount available for distribution under this section may not exceed 2.5% of the annual funding dedicated for the Urban-Rural Initiative Program. All funds not distributed each year lapse to the Highway Fund.

5. Distribution of funds.  Beginning July 1, 2003, the department shall increase an Urban-Rural Initiative Program payment for a municipality that applies under subsection 1 on a dollar-for-dollar basis. After the total of qualifying applications for reimbursement exceeds the annual amount available for distribution provided under subsection 4, funds must be apportioned according to the amount of each municipality's increase of qualifying expenditures, ridership or other factors determined by the department.

6. Rules.  The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement this section. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II-A.