All that stands between Bath Iron Works and a $45 million tax credit is Gov. Paul LePage’s signature.

The bill that would give BIW the credit over a 15-year period was approved by both chambers of the Maine Legislature with overwhelming support last week. It will become law once LePage puts his John Hancock on it.

The bill represents a reduced version of a $60 million tax credit passed in 1997 to support the renovation of the BIW shipyard and the construction of a multi- milliondollar Land Level Transfer Facility. In a press conference earlier this year, Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said the original tax credit was one of the best things he did as a governor.

“I can tell you to a certainty, look you straight in the eye, if we hadn’t done that, Bath Iron Works would not be here,” said King. “Because that money was used to create the Land Level (Transfer) Facility, and BIW would be unable to compete without that facility.”

That tax credit, valued at approximately $3 million annually for BIW, expires at the end of this year.

The new tax credit, as sponsored and introduced by Rep. Jennifer DeChant, D-Bath, was essentially a renewal of the original $60 million bill with updated language. Over several weeks, the Taxation Committee amended the legislation, shortening the time period and total credit, increasing reporting requirements and removing language that would make the bill carry forward or refundable. Many of those changes were introduced by DeChant during the numerous work sessions on the legislation.

As amended, the bill would allow a shipyard with greater than 5,500 employees to receive a tax credit of $30 million over 10 years, conditional on an investment of $100 million in the facility. With a second investment of $100 million by the company, Bath Iron Works could extend the tax credit for an additional five years and $15 million, for a total of $45 million over 15 years. The tax credit is also slated to accelerate or decelerate based on the level of employment at the shipyard. The Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability will review the tax credit by 2024.

A final amendment added by Sen. Dana Dow, R-Waldoboro, at the recommendation of Maine Revenue Services, further clarified that recipients of the shipbuilding tax credit could not also qualify for benefits under the Pine Tree Development Zones.

A fiscal note for the legislation estimates $2.66 million in state general fund revenue losses for 2020- 21, and $140,000 in local government fund revenue losses.

Even as the tax credit was under consideration by the Legislature, BIW was moving forward with investments in the shipyard that could be part of the initial $100 million investment required to receive the credit. In January, General Dynamics announced in an earnings call that it would be investing $200 million between BIW and Electric Boat in Connecticut. BIW has also presented plans to the town of Brunswick to build a new building and install new equipment at the Hardings Facility in Brunswick. The new project would replace the current blast and paint building, which would be demolished.

“I was proud to join my colleagues on both sides of aisle in supporting Maine’s shipbuilders,” said DeChant in a statement after the bill received initial support in the House. “Bath Iron Works is the last union shipyard on the East Coast. It supports over 5,000 good manufacturing jobs. I’m grateful that both BIW and organized labor were willing to work with us to make sure this tax credit comes with taxpayer safeguards, real guarantees about investment and hiring and a way to review and revoke the credit if it doesn’t help Maine workers.”

Meanwhile, the Bangor Daily News reported Friday that the shipyard would be temporarily laying of 31 painters, in addition to the nearly 60 electricians laid off in February. The paper quoted from a BIW memo in which shipyard president Dirk Lesko wrote: “This regrettable step is the byproduct of schedule disruptions that ripple through our operations and results in our ability to staff and perform work as planned.”

Overall, BIW expects to hire about 500 workers this year.