Can Maine's Legislature take money out of a dedicated revenue fund, like the PUC Conservation Administration Fund, and sweep it into the General Fund?

Plain-English summary

The Joint Standing Committee on Utilities and Energy asked whether transferring $600,000 from the Public Utilities Commission's Conservation Administration Fund to Maine's General Fund would violate the Maine Constitution. AG G. Steven Rowe concluded that it would not.

The AG examined 35-A M.R.S.A. § 3211 and found nothing suggesting that the Legislature intended to establish the Conservation Administration Fund as a trust. The opinion says the Legislature may allocate funds for a designated governmental purpose, including to the General Fund, unless the funds are held in trust or expressly protected by the Maine Constitution.

The AG explained that assigning revenue to a stated purpose does not itself establish a trust: if it did, "no dedicated revenue account would be available for reallocation by the Legislature." The attached 1989 letter distinguishes trust funds from other special or dedicated revenue accounts that the Legislature can reallocate.

A 1989 follow-up letter from AG Michael Carpenter to the Finance Commissioner, attached to this opinion, identified specific funds that were trust-protected even from a generic across-the-board sweep: Baxter State Park accounts, certain Bureau of Parks and Recreation accounts funded by donations conditioned on park use, Bureau of Public Lands accounts restricted to public reserved or submerged lands, monies raised by bonds for designated purposes, and highway trust fund monies.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2003. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Q: How do I tell whether a Maine fund is a "trust fund" or a "dedicated revenue fund"?
A: The AG looked for legislative intent to establish a trust and found no such indication in 35-A M.R.S.A. § 3211 or elsewhere known to the office. Dedicating revenue to a stated purpose alone does not create a trust. The attached 1989 letter identifies park donations received with an explicit restriction on their use and bond proceeds designated for a particular purpose among funds that could not be transferred under the budget provision it discussed.

Q: At the time of this opinion, did the AG say the Legislature could sweep highway funds?
A: No. The attached 1989 letter listed highway trust fund accounts among the funds that could not be reallocated to the General Fund under the across-the-board transfer it addressed.

Q: Did this opinion bind the courts?
A: AG opinions in Maine are persuasive, not binding. They guide other state officials and represent the AG's best legal judgment on the question presented. If a transfer were challenged in court, the court would do its own analysis; the AG opinion is one piece of authority the court might consider.

Q: Did the Legislature actually transfer the $600,000?
A: This opinion answered the legal question. Whether the Legislature went ahead with the specific $600,000 transfer was a political and budgetary decision that the AG opinion did not control. The opinion cleared the legal path.

Background and statutory framework

The AG examined 35-A M.R.S.A. § 3211 for evidence that the Legislature intended the Conservation Administration Fund to be a trust and found none. The opinion describes dedicated revenue accounts as funds designated for a particular purpose.

The opinion says that, unless funds are held in trust or expressly protected by the Maine Constitution, the Legislature has discretion to allocate them for a designated governmental purpose, including the General Fund.

The 2003 opinion cites ME AG Opinion No. 92-7. The official PDF reproduces a December 15, 1989 letter from AG Michael Carpenter to Finance Commissioner Sawin Millett. That letter identifies trust-type funds that could not be reached by Part KKK's across-the-board transfer and distinguishes them from dedicated revenue accounts held in a non-trust capacity.

Citations

• 35-A M.R.S.A. § 3211 (PUC Conservation Administration Fund)
• ME AG Opinion No. 92-7 (Legislature's discretion over allocations absent trust)
• 1989 AG letter to Finance Commissioner Sawin Millett re Part KKK across-the-board transfer (attached)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.maine.gov/legis/lawlib/lldl/agops/agops.htm
• Original PDF: https://lldc.mainelegislature.org/Open/AG/Opinions/2003/ag_20030203.pdf

Original opinion text

STATE OF MAINE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
G. STEVEN ROWE, ATTORNEY GENERAL
6 STATE HOUSE STATION
AUGUSTA, MAINE 04333-0006

February 3, 2003

Hon. Christopher Hall, Senate Chair
Hon. Lawrence Bliss, House Chair
Members of the Joint Standing Committee on Utilities and Energy
100 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333-0100

Dear Senator Hall, Representative Bliss and Committee Members:

You have inquired whether the transfer of $600,000 from the Conservation Administration Fund of the Maine Public Utilities Commission ("PUC") to the State's General Fund would violate the provisions of the Maine Constitution. We believe that such transfer would not violate the Maine Constitution.

Unless funds are held in trust or are specifically protected by the express terms of the Maine Constitution, the Legislature has discretion in making allocations for any designated governmental purpose, including allocation to the general fund. See ME AG Opinion No. 92-7 (attached).

It is our determination that the funds in the PUC Conservation Administration Fund are not held in trust. There is nothing in Title 35-A M.R.S.A. section 3211 or of which we are aware that suggests that the Legislature intended to establish the Conservation Administration Fund as a trust. Dedicated revenue accounts are, by definition, funds specified to be used for a designated purpose. If this alone were sufficient to render these accounts trust funds, then no dedicated revenue account would be available for reallocation by the Legislature.

I hope this answers your question. Please feel free to inquire again if further clarification is necessary.

Sincerely,

G. STEVEN ROWE
Attorney General

GSR:dp
Attachment

December 15, 1989

Sawin Millett, Commissioner
Department of Finance
State House Station #78
Augusta, Maine 04333-0078

Re: Transfer of Trust Monies to General Fund under Part KKK of Legislative Appropriations Bill

Dear Sawin:

As you know, my office has been in contact with yours regarding the applicability to certain trust funds of Part KKK of the appropriations bill enacted in the last legislative session. Part KKK provides an across-the-board transfer of .9% of accounts to the general fund. It is this office's opinion that Part KKK cannot, however, lawfully effect a transfer to the general fund of monies that the State holds in trust for certain legally designated purposes. Such a transfer would either violate the legal trust relationship by which the State holds the monies involved, or would violate constitutional requirements by which bond or other revenues must be held for expenditure. More detailed legal analysis describing the rationale for this opinion is attached.

In the discussions between my office and yours, the suggestion was made that we provide a concise summary of our views on this issue as it pertains to the trust monies that have been brought to our attention. My purpose then is to simply state what we believe to be the law on the matter and to point out the types of trust-type funds, to the extent known by us, to which this opinion applies. Again, as to the funds described below, an across the board transfer to the general fund as envisioned by Part KKK would violate the trust duties under which the State holds these particular funds. This is in contrast to the applicability of Part KKK to other special or dedicated revenue accounts, held by the State in a non-trust capacity, and over which the Legislature has discretion in making allocations for any designated governmental purpose, including reallocation to the general fund.

These are the funds that have been brought to our attention and from which monies should not be reallocated to the general fund under Part KKK:

Monies in Baxter State Park accounts;

Monies in accounts of Bureau of Parks and Recreation of the Department of Conservation, which were donated to and received by the State with the explicit understanding that the monies would be used for certain park facilities;

Monies in accounts of the Bureau of Public Lands of the Department of Conservation, restricted to the public reserved lands or submerged lands;

Monies raised by bond issues designated for a particular purpose;

Monies in or drawn from highway trust fund accounts.

There may be other trust funds, of which we have not been made aware, and we will respond to these circumstances as they arise. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please let me know.

Sincerely,

MICHAEL E. CARPENTER
Attorney General

MEC/tt

Attachments

cc: Michael D. Pearson, Senate Chair, Legislative Appropriations Committee Lorraine N. Chonko, House Chair, Legislative Appropriations Committee Jim Clair
Jack Nicholas