A bipartisan bill imposing an “impact fee” on megayachts has been introduced by Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford) and co-sponsored by Rep. Grayson B. Lookner (D-Portland).
The fees collected under this law would go toward supporting harbor infrastructure and public transit.
Under the proposed legislation, “megayachts” are defined as “privately owned pleasure vessel[s]” that are over 150 feet in length.
Exempted from this definition are a large range of vessels, including those used to fishing, research, construction, or military purposes.
More specifically, commercial fishing vessels, commercial cruise vessels with over 20 passengers, commercial scientific research vessels, marine salvage or construction equipment vessels, commercial freight-carrying vessels, vessels built before 1950, vessels made primarily of wood, military vessels, and vessels owned by an academic institution would not be included under the definition of “megayacht.”
Vessels that do fall under the category of “megayacht” would be charged a fee of $10 per foot over the 150 threshold for every consecutive day that it is docked, up to 30 days.
Municipalities would be permitted to keep 10 percent of the fees collected under this law, while the remaining 90 percent would be sent to the state government’s newly-created Megayacht Fund.
Fifty percent of money collected in the Megayact Fund would need to be spent on supporting municipalities’ harbor infrastructure and sea level rise mitigation infrastructure.
The remaining 50 percent would be used to support public transit infrastructure, including ferries and land-based public transportation.
“This was a bill last year that had wide bipartisan support, ended up on the Appropriations Table, was ultimately enacted last May and put on the Governor’s desk,” Sen. Bennett explained in a statement to the Maine Wire. “She pocket-vetoed the bill along with 34 others that would put on her desk that day for bad reasons.”
“Megayachts in our waters have positive economic effects but also have externalities, taking up slip space, dumping refuse in our offshore waters, and carbon emisssions,” Bennett said. “By one estimate, if megayachts were their own country, they would be 110th out of 211 in carbon emissions.”
“These vessels can easily cost more than $200,000 per week to operate, so the impact fees being assessed will be a minuscule cost to the owners,” he concluded. “Funds would go to preserving marine infrastructure and public transportation, like ferries.”
LD 115 will now go to a public hearing and be considered further by members of the Maine Legislature’s Transportation Committee.
