Whereas, Great Northern Paper, Inc., the owner of 2 large paper mills in the towns of Millinocket and East Millinocket, is currently in bankruptcy; and

Whereas, the bankruptcy of Great Northern Paper, Inc., is causing substantial economic hardship to the towns of Millinocket and East Millinocket, to the employees and suppliers of Great Northern Paper, Inc., and to the economy of the region; and

Whereas, part of the economic hardship occasioned by the insolvency of Great Northern Paper, Inc., is that $7.8 million of property taxes due to the towns of Millinocket and East Millinocket for the 2002-03 property tax year have not been paid, and the assets of the bankrupt estate will not be sufficient to pay the taxes; and

Whereas, Brascan Corporation, or its designee, has agreed to purchase the mills and has also offered to alleviate the hardship by paying the property taxes, and these payments will be made, in part, by applying loan proceeds secured by Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement program payments related to the mills; and

Whereas, the Business Equipment Tax Reimbursement program payments are not payable by the State until after August 1, 2004, which will delay the payment of taxes to the towns, and this delay can be alleviated by this Act; and

Whereas, in order to facilitate the foregoing, this legislation must be enacted prior to the purchase of the assets of Great Northern Paper, Inc. by Brascan Corporation; and

Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:

Sec. 1. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms have the following meanings.

1. "Acquiring business" means a business that acquires substantially all of the assets of Great Northern Paper, Inc.