Good Morning from Augusta,
The Legislature is now up and running like the well-oiled machine that it is. The presiding officers (Speaker and Senate President) have instructed committees to ensure that all the public hearings on bills not yet heard must be completed by the end of January and work sessions must be completed by the middle of February. This is a tall task that most likely will not be achieved, but it appears that there is a strong effort being put forward to finish all legislative work by the statutory adjournment date of April 17th.
This past week, Legislative Council met on Tuesday afternoon to take up after-deadline bills that were put in after cloture, including Senator Stewart’s bill, LR 2969, “An Act to Create the Savings Account Program for Small Businesses,” on behalf the PLC. Unfortunately, the bill fell short of the 6 votes needed for passage, by one vote. The weeks prior to the meeting, PLC staff had meetings, phone calls, emails, and text messages with members of the Legislative Council to confirm their votes. In the end, two Democrat members of the council (Speaker Talbot Ross and Senator Vitelli) reversed their support without notifying us ahead of time. This is extremely disappointing, however, there is an opportunity for this to be reconsidered at the next Legislative Council meeting. We are working with the staff of the members who flip-flopped their votes and we are hopeful they will reconsider.
Next week, public hearings and work sessions continue starting on Tuesday. The bills are highlighted below and you can always find more information from our bill tracking spreadsheet here.
This Past Week’s Public Hearing and Work Sessions (January 8-12, 2024):
LD 1815, “An Act to Protect Maine's Consumers by Establishing an Abuse of Dominance Right of Action and Requiring Notification of Mergers”
A public hearing was held on Tuesday, January 9, 2024 at 1pm in the Innovation, Development and Economic Advancement Committee. The PLC testified in opposition to this legislation.
LD 1455, “An Act to Establish the Weighing Point Preclearance Program”
A work session was held on Thursday, January 11, 2024 at 1pm in the Transportation Committee. This bill was voted Ought Not to Pass, however Lieutenant Aaron Hayden of the Maine State Police worked with stake holders, the bill sponsor, and The Maine DOT to come to an agreement with two vendors. They will work to implement this initiative within existing department resources. The PLC testified Neither for Nor Against this bill in 2023 and is supportive of the end result.
LD 1210, “An Act to Establish a Maine Highway Capital Fund to Provide Consistent Funding for the Construction and Repair of Maine's Roads and Bridges”
A work session was held on Thursday, January 11, 2024 at 1pm in the Transportation Committee. This bill was voted Ought Not to Pass at the work session on Thursday. Last session the Governor signed into law continuing funding for the Department of Transportation. Ultimately, this bill was no longer needed. The PLC was monitoring the outcome of this bill but did not weigh in on it.
LD 191, “An Act to Amend the Laws Regarding Certain Business Equipment Tax Benefits”
A work session was held on Thursday, January 11, 2024 at 1pm in the Taxation Committee. This bill was voted 7-1 Ought Not to Pass. The sponsor was not in attendance and there wasn’t much of an appetite to move forward with the bill at this time. The PLC was monitoring this bill.
LD 1606, “An Act to Finance Clean Energy and Infrastructure in Maine”
The work session scheduled for Thursday, January 11, 2024 at 2:30 PM in the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee was postponed until Tuesday, January 16th, time to be determined. The PLC testified in support of this bill in 2023 and has actively engaged the sponsor to amend it and include ALL renewable energy options into the bill, which would ensure consideration of wood energy sources.
Next Week’s Public Hearing and Work Sessions (January 16-19, 2024):
LD 122, “An Act to Authorize the Efficiency Maine Trust to Establish a Program to Support the Uptake of Medium-duty and Heavy-duty Zero-emission Vehicles by Maine Businesses and to Establish a Medium-duty and Heavy-duty Zero-emission Vehicle-to-grid Pilot Project”
Work Session – Tuesday, January 16, 2024, 1pm in the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee. The PLC testified with qualified support for this bill on February 14th of last year. Where this is a concept draft, we will continue to monitor for any updates to language going forward.
Summary: Concept Draft
This bill is a concept draft pursuant to Joint Rule 208.
This bill would authorize the Efficiency Maine Trust to:
- Establish a program using federal or other funding sources to support the uptake of medium-duty and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles by businesses in the State in collaboration with other state agencies, including, but not limited to, the Department of Transportation, the Governor's Energy Office and the Office of Policy Innovation and the Future. The program would be required to include, but would not be limited to, a rebate program to support the purchase of medium-duty and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles and associated charging or fueling infrastructure; and
2. Establish a vehicle-to-grid pilot project to evaluate the benefits of using battery electric medium-duty and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicles, such as electric school buses and freight trucks, as energy storage resources that can deliver electricity to the grid when the vehicles are not being used for their primary purpose.
LD 262, “An Act to Strengthen Maine's Workforce”
Public Hearing – Tuesday, January 16, 2024, 1pm in the Innovation, Development and Economic Advancement Committee. The PLC will monitor this bill as we believe it will have an impact on forestry related money the University of Maine receives.
Summary: This amendment replaces the bill, which a concept draft. It revises the Maine Development Foundation board term limits, permits governmental agencies and the University of Maine System to sole source contract activities to Maine Development Foundation that are within Maine Development Foundation’s statutory mission, and appropriates additional match funding for private contributions to the Maine Development Foundation.
LD 1487, “An Act to Ensure That Residents of the State Have the Right to Repair Their Own Electronic Devices”
Work Session – Tuesday, January 16, 2024, 2pm in the Innovation, Development and Economic Advancement Committee. The sponsor has offered an amendment, and it exempts off road equipment. The PLC testified Neither for Nor Against this bill in 2023 and monitor it. The membership feels strongly that information must be provided by the OEM’s but it should not be for free.
Summary: This bill establishes a requirement that a manufacturer of digital electronic equipment sold or used in this State make available on fair and reasonable terms to the owner of the equipment or to any independent repair provider parts, tools and documentation necessary to repair that digital electronic equipment, including any updates to information or embedded software. If the equipment contains an electronic security lock or other security-related function, the manufacturer must also provide any parts, tools and documentation needed to reset the lock or function when disabled in the course of diagnosis, maintenance or repair of the equipment. The bill does not apply to digital electronic equipment in motor vehicles.
Rule Making and Regulatory Issues
Maine Department of Labor: Paid Family and Medical Leave Listening Sessions
The Maine Department of Labor will soon hold informal listening sessions that will provide an opportunity for interested parties to share invaluable feedback about components of the new Paid Family and medical Leave legislation. All listening sessions listed below will be held online.
- January 25, 2024 from 5:30pm-7pm: Register for the listening session
- February 1, 2024 from 5:30pm-7pm
- February 12, 2024 from 5:30pm-7pm
- February 28, 2024 from 5:30pm-7pm
If you unable to access this meeting online, there will be access to watch at the Maine Department of Labor Frances Perkins Room, 45 Commerce Drive, Augusta.
Maine won’t pursue Aroostook I-95 extension for now – Bangor Daily News
FORT KENT, Maine – After meeting with residents in Fort Kent, Madawaska and Caribou, a MaineDOT stakeholder group has determined that it would not currently be feasible to extend the I-95 highway from Houlton to the St. John Valley.
In a final report submitted to lawmakers this week, the stakeholder group determined that the interstate extension would require a permitting process that would be drawn out over several decades in addition to “insurmountable construction costs.”
The stakeholder group, which includes state and county officials and business owners, instead made several recommendations for road improvements throughout Aroostook County.
Click here to view final report of the Aroostook County Advisory Stakeholder Group
Maine PLC Legislative Breakfast – Click Here to RSVP Today!
Have a great weekend, and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Best,
Dana