Good Morning from Augusta,
One more day closer, but the Legislature is still not Sine Die (Without Day).
This past week, the Legislature met on Thursday, July 6th, with significantly reduced participation due to previously planned vacations, and plowed forward, but have still not left the building. Activity on Thursday included passage of a supplemental budget on nearly strict party lines (more on that below), sustainment of two Gubernatorial vetoes related to offshore wind and Wabanaki rights and the passage of an abortion bill that was sent to the Governor later in the day. At least one more legislative day will be required later in the month to take action on bills that the Appropriations Committee might fund from the Special Appropriations Table and deal with any further vetoes that the Governor might send their way.
Similar to last week, here is an update on bills we are still following that received action this past week.
On Wednesday, we learned that the Governor allowed, LD 1874, An Act to Support Maine Loggers' and Truckers' Right to Work in Maine by Improving Labor Standards, to become law without her signature. This bill is significant because it firmly puts in statute a provision that the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry may obtain certification from a forest certification program for state land only if the program requires labor standards for logging and trucking. Put simply, the state cannot maintain SFI certification as a result of this legal change, it cannot force contractors to carry a training credential as a condition of work and the state cannot make payments for certification services to a trade association that lobbies state government. This legal change is precedent setting and could be replicated across the country in areas where state forests hold forest certification. PLC contractors that work on Maine Public Lands should take note of this change.
Now, the bad news.
As I reported last week, the Paid Family Medical Leave Act (LD 1964), which the PLC has been lobbying against for weeks, was included in a Supplemental Budget bill that the Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations supported by 12-1 vote. On Thursday, the Legislature enacted the Supplemental budget, LD 258, Making Unified Appropriations and Allocations from the General Fund and Other Funds for the Expenditures of State Government and Changing Certain Provisions of the Law Necessary to the Proper Operations of State Government for the Fiscal Years End, on an almost strict party line vote and sent to the Governor for signature. On page 320 of the Supplemental Budget is the language for the Paid Family Medical Leave program.
The supplemental budget bill did not get enacted with 2/3rd’s support, thus, it was not enacted as an emergency measure and will not take effect until 90 days after the Legislature officially adjourns. The Governor was expected to sign the bill over the weekend or early next week.
I have updated our bill tracking spreadsheet so you can see where all the bills we followed this session stand at this time and a full update on the 11 remaining bills that the PLC is following is below.
I will send out one more legislative update later this month, once the Legislature meets for their final time so stay tuned for the final wrap up at a later date.
Bills the PLC is Following on the House and Senate Floor
PLC Opposed
LD 827, An Act to Allow Employees to Request Flexible Work Schedules (PLC opposed) Enacted in the House and sent by the Senate to the Special Appropriations Table for final deliberation over funding. The amended bill, does the following: 1. It combines the definitions of "private employer" and "public employer." 2. It allows an employee to request in writing, including by electronic means, a flexible work schedule. 3. It requires an employer to consider an employee's request for a flexible work schedule and whether the request can be granted in a manner that is not inconsistent with employer operations. It defines "inconsistent with employer operations." 4. It specifies that an employer and an employee must mutually agree on the duration of time and terms of a flexible work schedule. 5. It allows an employer to rescind a flexible work schedule with as much notice to an employee as is practicable. 6. It prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee for exercising rights given under the subchapter enacted by the bill. 7. It specifies that a collective bargaining agreement may provide an employee with rights more expansive than rights established by the subchapter enacted by the bill.
LD 949, An Act to Protect Employees from Employer Surveillance (PLC Opposed) Enacted in the House and sent by the Senate to the Special Appropriations Table for final deliberation over funding. The amended bill specifies that an employer may use employer surveillance if the employer informs the employee before beginning employer surveillance. It prohibits an employer from using audiovisual monitoring in an employee's residence or personal vehicle or on the employee's property and provides that an employee can decline a request by an employer to install data collection or transmission applications on the employee's personal electronic devices for the purposes of employer surveillance. It also requires that an employer notify a prospective employee during the interview process that the employer engages in employer surveillance. It adds rule-making authority for the Department of Labor.
LD 993, An Act to Facilitate Stakeholder Input Regarding Forest Policy in Maine(PLC Opposed) Enacted in the House and sent by the Senate to the Special Appropriations Table for final deliberation over funding. The amended bill, which is the majority report, reduces the number of members on the Maine Forest Advisory Board from 21 to 10 and requires the Governor to appoint all members of the board. The amendment also requires that at least one member of the board be a professional forester. The amendment revises the duties of the board to advise and assist the Bureau of Forestry within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry in the development and implementation of the state forest action plan required under the federal Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. The amendment also requires the director of the bureau to submit to the Governor and the Legislature a decennial report on the implementation of the state forest action plan, beginning January 1, 2025. This amendment also adds an appropriations and allocations section.
LD 1190, An Act to Ensure a Fair Workweek by Requiring Notice of Work Schedules (PLC Opposed) Enacted in the House and sent by the Senate to the Special Appropriations Table for final deliberation over funding. This bill, sponsored by Senator Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot), states that 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.
LD 1338, An Act to Amend the Maine Exclusion Amount in the Estate Tax (PLC Opposed) Voted ONTP in the House by a margin of 95-45 and was killed in the Senate (Dead).
LD 1964, An Act to Implement the Recommendations of the Commission to Develop a Paid Family and Medical Leave Benefits Program, (Opposed by PLC) was included on page 320 of the supplemental budget that was enacted by the Legislature this past week. The Governor is expected to sign the bill over the weekend. Sponsored by Senator Maddie Daughtry (D-Brunswick), the amended 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.
PLC Supported
LD 1303, An Act to Exempt Boats and All-terrain Vehicles Purchased for Qualified Commercial Fishing or Commercial Farming from State Sales Tax (PLC Supported) Enacted in the House and sent by the Senate to the Special Appropriations Table for final deliberation over funding. This bill exempts from sales tax sales of all-terrain vehicles used directly and exclusively in commercial fishing, commercial agricultural production or commercial timber harvesting to a qualified purchaser. The bill defines "qualified purchaser" to mean a purchaser who, pursuant to the law governing the refund of sales tax on depreciable machinery and equipment purchases, has obtained a certificate from the State Tax Assessor stating that the purchaser is engaged in commercial fishing, commercial agricultural production and/or commercial timber harvesting.
LD 1408, An Act to Reduce Maine's Dependence on Fossil Fuels and Carbon Footprint for Energy Production Using Waste Wood Fuel (PLC Supported) Signed into law by the Governor on June 28th. This bill, sponsored by Rep. Theriault (R-Fort Kent), will:
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;
LD 1455, An Act to Establish the Weighing Point Preclearance Program (PLC Supported) Enacted in the House and Senate and sent to the Governor for signature. This bill establishes the Weighing Point Preclearance Program, which is operated by the Department of Public Safety, Bureau of State Police and which uses an electronic system that verifies a commercial motor vehicle's size, weight, registration and safety records as the commercial motor vehicle drives on a highway and allows compliant commercial motor vehicles to bypass weighing points. The bill also provides that if the Department of Transportation administers a separate program that uses a preclearance system, the department must determine which weighing points must participate in that program, and all preclearance system providers' devices and platforms must be treated equally and used concurrently at participating weighing points.
LD 1849 An Act to Ensure Fair and Timely Payment in the Harvesting of Forest Products (PLC Supported) Became law without the Governor’s signature on Thursday, June 29, 2023. The amended bill requires an entity that contracts with a person to harvest wood and place the wood roadside so that the entity is able to have the wood hauled away for use or processing to pay the person within 30 days of the person's fulfilling the contract and placing the wood roadside. The amendment also requires the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry or a wood scaler under contract with the department to conduct random inspections to ensure that entities are complying with this requirement.
LD 1874, An Act to Support Maine Loggers' and Truckers' Right to Work in Maine by Improving Labor Standards (PLC Supported) Became law without the Governor’s signature on Tuesday, July 4, 2023. This bill provides that the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry may obtain certification from a forest certification program for state land only if the program requires labor standards for logging and trucking.
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