A public hearing on a bill that would extend the window when Pine Tree Zone tax incentives are available to businesses was scheduled to be heard this afternoon before the Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee.

The change would affect some rural and border communities in York County and municipalities like Portland, South Portland, Gorham, Scarborough and Cape Elizabeth in Cumberland County.

Pine Tree Development Zones originated in the Gov. John Baldacci administration, and offer an array of incentives for businesses to locate or expand in the state. Pine Tree Zone incentives may include corporate tax credits, sales and use tax exemptions for both personal and real property, withholding tax reimbursements of 80 percent and reduced electricity rates.

The bill, LD 1633, submitted by Sen. James Boyle, D-Gorham, would extend Pine Tree Zone availability for five more years in some communities, called Tier 2 locations, where it expired Dec. 31. The proposed legislation would change that expiration date to Dec. 31, 2018. Businesses certified for Pine Tree Zone benefits in Tier 2 communities receive the incentives for five years, versus 10 years for those in Tier 1 municipalities. Pine Tree Zones expire in Tier 1 municipalities in 2028.

Tier 2 communities in York County include many small, rural towns and some tucked up against the New Hampshire border. They include Berwick, Buxton, Dayton, Eliot, Hollis, Kittery, Lebanon, Lyman, Parsonsfield, Shapleigh and York.

Rick McCarthy of Eaton Peabody Consulting Group, which keeps an eye on legislation for the York County Advocacy Group, sent out an email to the group earlier this week.

“Pine Tree Zones are one of the few effective tools available in York County, especially when competing for businesses with New Hampshire,” McCarthy told the group.

Committee member Rep. Anne-Marie Mastraccio, a Sanford Democrat, said she’s looking forward to today’s public hearing. She said she understands the program is important to York County, but expressed some misgivings.

“I look at some of the towns and wonder if this is the best use of tax dollars,” said Mastraccio.

She also pointed out that there have been questions about whether the financial impact of the tax breaks is really balanced by the number of jobs created.

“We have a huge budget hole ”¦ we have to look at all of these programs,” said Mastraccio, but again emphasized she understood the importance of the program in York County.

In rural Lyman, Victoria Gavel, who has been a selectwoman for a couple of years, said she isn’t aware of any companies that have applied for Pine Tree Zone incentives in town, and hadn’t been aware the program had expired in Lyman and other Tier 2 communities Dec. 31. She said the Pine Tree Zone program may be helpful, on a case-by-case basis.

“(They could) help you get started” in business, she said.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].