Good Morning from Augusta.
PLC Legislative Breakfast 2023
The PLC held its Legislative Breakfast on Thursday, March 2, 2023 at the Governor Hill Mansion in Augusta for the first time since March 4, 2020. Thanks to all PLC Contractor and Supporting Members for attending despite the challenging weather.
The breakfast was a smashing success as there were more than 100 folks in attendance, including close to 50 legislators.
All attendees enjoyed a hearty breakfast and had a good dose of reality regarding what is happening in the industry these days and what the Legislature needs to do to ensure no more harm is done.
Will Cole, PLC President and Vice President of Trees, Ltd. Sidney, opened the morning with an overview of the PLC and a thanks to the Legislature for working with us over the years.
Dana Doran, PLC Executive Director, then announced the results of the PLC’s latest Economic Impact Study, which conveyed the stark reality of the impact of the Pixelle Mill closure and the after effects of COVID, including record inflation and the inability to hire new people without higher rates for wood.
Alex and Molly London, owners of PLC Member, WW London and Sons, provided their perspective on investing in this industry as a first-generation logger and what it’s like to make a go of it as a price taker and not a price setter. Alex and Molly nearly brought the crowd to tears as they told their heartfelt story.
In the end, this event is always so important to educate those who don’t know the impact the industry has on rural Maine and the impact the Legislature can have with irresponsible action. Thanks to everyone who came from far and near to make it such an impactful showing.
Other Activity
989 of the expected 2,000 bills have now 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.
I have updated our bill tracking spreadsheet so you can see the bills and the related language.
Legislative Activity February 27 – March 3, 2023
Tuesday, February 28, 2023
(Postponed) Public Hearing, Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee, LD 43, An Act to Reduce the Cost of Electricity by Removing the 100-megawatt Limit on Renewable Resources of Energy and LD 622, An Act to Create Equal Opportunity Access to Clean Energy by Removing the 100-megawatt Limit on Clean Energy Sources; Both of these bills remove the 100-megawatt maximum capacity limit for a source of electrical generation to qualify as a renewable resource for purposes of meeting the State's renewable resource portfolio requirement. These two bills are similar to numerous attempts over the last decade to provide opportunities for large hydro dams to be built in the state of Maine. These attempts will harm biomass energy and the PLC will testify in opposition.
Wednesday, March 1, 2023
Work Session, Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee, LD 180, An Act to Allow a Person to File a Paper Copy of a Timber Harvest Notification In an interesting move, the ACF Committee reconsidered their actions on this bill as a result of the bill sponsor realizing that he had been duped by those testifying Neither For Nor Against (Maine Forest Service, Maine Woodland Owners, Maine Forest Products Council). As a reminder, the Committee voted unanimously ONTP on this bill and effectively killed it. However, after a discussion with the bill Sponsor, Russell Black to educate him on the issue and what the bill actually does, he realized that he had been duped and needed to right the wrong.
After voting to reconsider the bill, Republicans on the Committee spoke up and are adamant that a paper copy must be provided for anyone who requests it and will draft a letter from the Committee mandating MFS to do this. They will wait for a copy of the letter to be produced before disposing of the bill. If the letter is not strong enough or MFS doesn’t follow through on making it available, they will hold this legislation if they need to do something with it later this session or next. The bill has been tabled for now. You can watch the proceeding here by fast forwarding to 11:50 AM :
https://legislature.maine.gov/audio/#214?event=87497&startDate=2023-03-01T09:00:00-05:00
Thursday, March 2, 2023
Public Hearing, Education and Cultural Affairs Committee, LD 570, Resolve, to Provide Information to Maine's School Administrators and Maine Communities About the Financial Advantages of Modern Wood Heating This resolve, sponsored by Senator Trey Stewart (R-Presque Isle), directs the Commissioner of Education to notify school administrators, school boards and communities in the State of the Efficiency Maine Trust's Thermal Energy Investment Program and the opportunity to stabilize and reduce annual school heating costs when replacing an existing fossil fuel heating system or planning the heating system for a new school building. Senator Stewart had similar legislation passed in 2019 which directed schools to consider wood heat. This resolved ensures information on financing is made available. The PLC testified in support.
Public Hearing, Transportation Committee, LD 522, An Act to Require That Motor Vehicles Be Clear of Snow When Operated on Public Ways, This bill, sponsored by Rep. Bruce White (D-Waterville) prohibits a person from operating on a public way a vehicle with a load of unsecured snow or a vehicle that has naturally accumulated snow on top of the vehicle, except that, with regard to snow that has accumulated naturally, a driver may not be cited during a snowstorm and the 48-hour period after the snowstorm that took place in the area. This bill is similar to previous attempts to do the same thing. The PLC testified in opposition.
In an interesting twist of fate, the Mills Administration testified in support of the bill. You can listen to the hearing on this bill here, fast-forward to 2:54 PM:
https://legislature.maine.gov/audio/#126?event=87597&startDate=2023-03-02T13:00:00-05:00
After the hearing was over, PLC and Maine Motor transport cornered the bill sponsor and told him that we would work to kill the bill if he didn’t exempt commercial motor vehicles. The sponsor agreed and we will work to amend the bill at the work session next week to exempt all commercial motor vehicles from the this legislation. Stay tuned for more next week.
Legislative Activity March 6 – March 10, 2023
Thursday, March 9, 2023
Work Session, Transportation Committee, 1 pm LD 522, An Act to Require That Motor Vehicles Be Clear of Snow When Operated on Public Ways
Friday, March 10, 2023
Public Hearing, Innovation, Development and Economic Advancement and Business Committee, 9:30 am, LD 755, An Act to Promote Higher Blends of Biofuel by Regulating the Sale or Transfer of Biofuels This bill, sponsored by Senator Daughtry (D-Brunswick) amends definitions applicable to the sale of biodiesel, biomass-based diesel, biomass-based diesel blends and biodiesel blends. It requires a person that transfers fuel containing biodiesel, biomass-based diesel, biomass-based diesel blends and biodiesel blends to prepare and maintain a transfer document. The PLC will testify in support of this bill.
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