Good Morning from Augusta.
While not much has changed here from my last report, there is some movement to report.
Next week, the Legislature will only meet on Tuesday, January 17th and will be traveling across Eastern Maine on the bi-annual Maine Development Foundation legislative tour, the rest of the week.
FIRST 200 BILLS RECIEVE LD#s AND LANGUAGE
As of January 13, 2022, 200 of the expected 2,000 bills for this session have progressed on the path to legislation, transitioning from an LR# (Legislative Reference - bill request) to an LD# (Legislative Document - bill reviewed and approved by the Revisor's Office) and have been referred to committees of jurisdiction by both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Two of the 200 bills are PLC priorities this session that we asked members to sponsor on our behalf. More on these two bills is below in the, “PLC Tracking and Priorities for 2023”.
I have updated our bill tracking spreadsheet so you can see the bills and the related language.
Committee Action
The Legislative Committee of jurisdiction for each bill will begin meeting to review LDs soon, but I wouldn’t expect to see any significant action on any of these bills until sometime in early February. Committees will begin meeting on Tuesday, January 17th and for the last two weeks of January, however, they are only expected to receive updates from Executive Branch Departments and introductions from lobbyists during this timeframe. The PLC will introduce the organization and the industry to Committees that we generally appear before (Ag., Conservation and Forestry; Labor and Housing, Taxation and Transportation) during this timeframe.
One third of the legislature has no prior experience this session. My advice is that it is more important than ever for our membership to testify on bills this session, especially if you have a local legislator on a committee. Committee members are much more prone to listen to a constituent than a lobbyist when they are reviewing bills and have very little bandwidth.
The PLC has a new legislative contact software system, and we will be asking you to contact your elected officials through this system during the session and we will also be in touch with written testimony for you to deliver in the near future. Stay tuned and stay in touch as this is going to be a session for the ages.
PLC Bill Tracking and Priorities in 2023
The PLC is tracking the following bills this session: Bill Tracking Spreadsheet
The PLC has also asked legislative members to introduce the following bills:
- LD 190, An Act to Allow a Person to File a Paper Copy of a Timber Harvest Notification – Mandate the Maine Forest Service to provide both a paper option and an electronic option for filing a Forest Operations Notification (FONS). In January of 2021, the paper FONS was eliminated in favor of electronic only. The PLC wants the paper form brought back as an option. Senator Russell Black (R-Wilton) has introduced this bill for the PLC.
- LD 108, An Act to Establish a Logger Relations Advocate Within the Maine Forest Service – The PLC would like to see a new position created at the Maine Forest Service, whose primary responsibility is to work on behalf of loggers and the general public. This new position would not be staffed by a licensed forester and would act to help loggers with questions on training, regulation, markets, etc. The state of Vermont has created a similar position and Maine should also have one. Rep. Scott Landry (D-Farmington) has sponsored the bill on our behalf.
If there are issues you feel that we should be aware of or are in need of a bill for action, please do not hesitate to contact me.
PLC Legislative Breakfast 2023
The Board of Directors would like to extend an invitation for you to attend our 2023 Legislative Breakfast. This event will take place on Thursday, March 2 from 7:00 – 8:30 am at the Governor Hill Mansion in Augusta. This meet and greet opportunity is a great way to sit down and build a relationship with your state representative who could impact your business with the decisions that they make in Augusta. Please RSVP by called 688-8195 or email office@maineloggers.com
Contact Your Representative or Senator
Don’t know who your Representative or Senator is? A complete roster, sortable by town, is available here: House Members Senators
In your message, clearly state the bill(s) you support and why each one is important to Loggers in Maine.
Introduce yourself and/or company.
- Identify the town you live in or where your business is located. If you work in multiple towns, please identify those towns (we need to show that harvesting occurs across the state);
- # employees (gross pay roll figure would be good);
- # of subcontractors your business supports (e.g. how much you spend for repairs, fuel, how many logging crews you keep busy, etc.),
- Volume of wood you move annually;
Conclude your message by thanking the Representatives for their service to the state and asking them to support these bills.
Have a great weekend and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Best,
Dana