Good Morning from Augusta,
The month of June has arrived and it looks like the Legislature has recognized that the end is near and a sense of urgency has finally arrived in the majority party to get things done. June 21st (scheduled date of adjournment) is now only two and a half weeks away and with only 10 session days left on the calendar between now and then, Committee action has come to an end and all activity from this moment forward will move to the floor of the House and the Senate.
This past week was filled with final committee activity on a series of anti-business bills and one positive bill to expand the use of biomass in the state that the PLC has been involved with for quite some time. The Labor and Housing Committee continues it’s trail of tears as it reported out two anti-business bills related to flexible scheduling and paid family and medical leave. In the Energy and Utilities Committee, thanks to the great work of 1st term State Rep. Austin Theriault (R-Fort Kent), son of PLC Member Steve and Terry Theriault, TNT Road Company, the Committee voted in a bi-partisan manner to support some changes to the Wood Fired Combined Heat and Power program, which was created in 2021. Changes to the program include a sizeable expansion of total megawatts and the project sizes that could be eligible for long-term contracts.
Over the next few weeks, we will need to let the Legislature and the Governor know our feelings on various pieces of legislation that will hurt and help this industry. We will reach out to all of you to ask you to contact your local legislators so they know what bills will do to your businesses. This type of contact is critical to how things turn out in the end. I know that markets are terrible right now and folks are fighting for your lives so the last thing on your minds is what is happening in Augusta. That said, we can’t stop some of the things that will hurt your bottom line without your help. Please be ready to help when we call for it and we will try to make it painless and as easy as possible. As always, please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions.
Only four new bills were introduced this week and it appears that we may be nearing the end of newly introduced legislation. 2,007 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.
Last Week’s Legislative Activity May 29 – June 2, 2023
Wednesday, May 31, 2023
Work Session, Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee, LD 1408, An Act to Reduce Maine's Dependence on Fossil Fuels and Carbon Footprint for Energy Production Using Waste Wood Fuel, This bill, sponsored by Rep. Theriault (R-Fort Kent), originally sought to increase the limit on the net generating capacity of a combined heat and power program participant from 10 megawatts to 20 megawatts and the maximum total net generating capacity of all program participants from 20 megawatts to 40 megawatts. The PLC testified in support.
As a result of recent decisions and feedback by the Maine Public Utilities Commission, the PLC worked with the bill sponsor to revise his original bill and provide necessary changes that would do the following:
Expand the definition of net generating capacity to ensure it is clear that capacity sent to adjacent facilities behind the meter should not be considered electric output to the T & D system;
Expand the size of net generating capacity for a single participant from 10 MW to 15 MW. This would also make project size consistent with a requested change to the federal Community Wood Energy Program, authorized by Congress, which has currently been included in the Farm Bill reauthorization by Senator Collins;
Expand the total net generating capacity of all program participants combined from 20 MW to 30 MW to allow for more projects to bid in;
Expand the definition of projects that are eligible to negotiate a long term contract with an investor owned facility. This would allow projects that might be built in a consumer owned territory that is adjacent to an investor-owned utility to sell energy directly to the adjacent investor owned utility;
The Committee voted in a bipartisan fashion in support of the amended bill with 11 in favor and two opposed. The full amendment can be found here. The bill will now move to the floor of the House and Senate over the next few weeks, but we should be in good shape to get this to the Governor’s desk for signature where she has already signaled her support for the measure.
Thursday, June 1, 2023
Work Session, Labor and Housing Committee, LD 1190, An Act to Ensure a Fair Workweek by Requiring Notice of Work Schedules, This bill, sponsored by Senator Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot), initially required employers who employ 250 or more employees worldwide to provide hourly employees at least 2 weeks' prior notice of the employees' work schedules, with compensation owed for schedule changes under certain circumstances.
Last week, the bill sponsor tried to pull a fast one and decided to amend the bill at the work session without sharing the amendment beforehand and make it applicable to all employers in the state. Any employer with more than 10 employees would have to pay their employees for a minimum of two hours if they have to cancel a shift under any circumstance. The bill also includes penalties if employers don’t comply with certain provisions.
The PLC peppered the bill sponsor with emails to signal opposition from the organization and his constituents as we did not testify on the original bill since it was focused on employers with more than 250 employees.
This is a bad bill and provides further government control and regulation over Maine small businesses and their employment practices. The bill sponsor and a liberal think tank were the only supporters of this legislation and despite fierce business opposition, the sponsor moved forward anyway.
Not surprisingly, the Labor and Housing Committee voted on strict party lines, 8-5, in support of the bill and we are also hearing that the Governor might not be opposed to this legislation. This fight will now move to the floor.
Work Session, Labor and Housing Committee, LD 1964, An Act to Implement the Recommendations of the Commission to Develop a Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Program, sponsored by Senator Maddie Daughtry (D-Brunswick), this bill implements a paid family and medical leave benefits program based on the recommendations of the Commission to Develop a Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Program established by the 130th Legislature. The program provides up to 12 weeks of family and medical leave to eligible covered individuals. An individual is eligible for leave under the program after working 120 days for a company prior to submitting an application or if the individual is self-employed and has elected to be part of the program. The weekly benefit amount is 90% of the covered individual's average weekly wage. The bill establishes the Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Fund to support the program. The funds for administrative costs and payment of benefits come from payroll contributions of no more than 1% of wages shared by employers and employees, except that employers with fewer than 15 employees are not required to make employer contributions to the program. The bill also authorizes employers to provide these benefits through a private plan as long as the benefits for family and medical leave provided to their employees are the same as provided in the program. The PLC testified in adamant opposition along with PLC Board Member, Steve Hanington, Hanington Bros.
The sponsor introduced a second amendment to the bill at the work session and claimed that it was an amalgamation of recommendations provided at the public hearing. When asked at the work session to make further changes that were beneficial to small business or to carry the bill over until next session to provide time for an actuarial cost study that would provide the real cost of the bill, the sponsor deflected the question and instead told Republicans that they had ample time over the last three years to request changes and that an actuarial study would be done once the bill became law and there was no more time to wait.
The Committee voted on strict party lines, 8-5, in support of the amended bill and it will now move to the floor. The Governor has not signaled her support, but she has also not signaled her opposition either. The bottom line is that this is a tax increase for small businesses and she promised no tax increases during her tenure. Stay tuned for the floor fight.
Next Week’s Legislative Activity June 5 – June 9, 2023
The House and Senate will meet on Tuesday (June 6), Wednesday (June 7) and Thursday (June 8) next week. No Committee work has been scheduled other than language reviews.
Through the end of the session, the PLC is watching the following bills that will be the subject of floor action over the next two and a half weeks:
LD 827, An Act to Allow Employees to Request Flexible Work Schedules
LD 949, An Act to Protect Employees from Employer Surveillance
LD 993, An Act to Facilitate Stakeholder Input Regarding Forest Policy in Maine
LD 1190, An Act to Ensure a Fair Workweek by Requiring Notice of Work Schedules
LD 1338, An Act to Amend the Maine Exclusion Amount in the Estate Tax
LD 1455, An Act to Establish the Weighing Point Preclearance Program
LD 1849 An Act to Ensure Fair and Timely Payment in the Harvesting of Forest Products
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