AUGUSTA, Maine - The Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee, after over a year of study, has voted to submit legislation to overhaul the state's business incentive programs.
GOC co-chairman Sen. Roger Katz, of Augusta, says the measure will require the state to develop a 10-year economic development plan. He says many states do that, but Maine has not.
“I think most people out there think we have a plan," Katz says. "We don’t have a plan and many other states do, and it’s about time Maine had one. We are going to get some of the best and brightest people we can.”
Katz says the panel has looked at how Maine uses tax incentives and other tax breaks to encourage businesses to locate or expand in the state. He says part of the legislation the committee has recommended would require greater oversight of the various incentives, which amount to a couple of billion dollars a year.
