ME LD1072

Expands the Land for Maine's Future Program's stated purpose to explicitly include maintaining working lands for farming, commercial fishing, and forestry alongside existing conservation goals

Broadens the definition of "interest in property" to include conservation easements, access easements, scenic easements, and long-term leases of at least 99 years, clarifying what types of land interests the program can acquire

Creates a new legal framework for "Options to Purchase at Agricultural Value" (OPAV), allowing qualified holders such as government entities and nonprofits to control farmland purchase prices to keep working farmland affordable and available for beginning farmers

OPAV agreements are unlimited in duration, must be recorded with county registries and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, and can restrict resale prices, equity appreciation, improvements, and land uses

Updates conservation lands reporting requirements to include fee-owned parcels alongside easements, authorizes GIS mapping of reported information, and maintains the $80 annual certification fee