Good morning from Augusta,
As of today, there are three scheduled legislative days remaining in the 131st Maine Legislature. There have been a lot of fireworks over the last week, and we are hopeful the session will soon be coming to an end on Wednesday, April 17th.
Speaking of fireworks, last Friday, the Democrats on the Appropriations Committee took it upon themselves to combine the Highway Budget with the Supplemental Budget. This was a procedural step that hasn’t happened in Maine history, effectively removing the authority and process of the Transportation Committee and giving complete control of the Highway Budget to the Appropriations Committee. This unheard-of action by the Appropriations Committee sent the entire proceeding in a tailspin and there has been little movement on the Supplemental Budget since last Saturday, except for finger pointing and public arguments. It is unclear as of now, on what is included in the budget, but we are hearing that a compromise is likely, and the two budgets will be separated once again before moving forward.
In other thoughts, we are busy tracking our priority initiatives and working with stakeholders to ensure they are included in final Supplemental Budget bill or moved to the Governor’s desk.
On Wednesday, the Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee held its first work session on LD 1985, An Act to Authorize Removal of Requirements of Forest Certification Systems from the State's Forest Management Plans.
You can watch the work session by clicking here and fast forward to 3:30 pm for the start.
This bill, sponsored by Senator Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook) would:
- It holds the Department of Agriculture Conservation and Forestry accountable by requiring landowners to pay service contractors within 30 days of the contractor fulfilling the contract and placing the wood roadside.
- Protect the due process, confidentiality, and privacy for small businesses like yours. The bill ensures records obtained by the Maine Forest Service during an investigation or work with your employees remain confidential, and that these records only become public upon conclusion of an investigation. The Maine Forest Service should not be sharing information with anyone outside of state government.
- It ends the relationship between the state of Maine and the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI).
During the work session, the committee was able to ask questions to interested parties and gather information to help them come to a decision. However, after more than an hour of back and forth they decided to table the bill, because the House was still in session and the work session kept getting interrupted by votes happening in the House Chamber. After talking with committee members, there seems to be a consensus on two of the three pieces of the bill, but more important deliberations need to take place once the committee meets again, which looks like early next week.
The Presiding Officers must give permission for the ACF Committee to meet again and resume its business, so they have yet to set a new time to finish the bill. However, with only three legislative days remaining, the most likely scenario is the bill will have its work session on Monday. There is no way to know for sure until the Speaker of the House and the Senate President agree on a path forward.
LD 1985 had its public hearing a couple of weeks ago, where the PLC testified in support of . You can watch the public hearing here. The committee started late, so you will need to skip ahead to 3:05 on the video player to get to the beginning of the hearing.
You can find more information on legislation from our bill tracking spreadsheet here.
Last Week’s Legislative Activity April 8 – April 12, 2024
Wednesday, April 10, 2024
LD 1985, An Act to Authorize Removal of Requirements of Forest Certification Systems from the State's Forest Management Plans, (Support) Work Session, 1pm – Agriculture Conservation and Forestry Committee
More information on the bill can be found above.
Next Week’s Legislative Activity April 15 – April 19, 2024
TBD
LD 1985, An Act to Authorize Removal of Requirements of Forest Certification Systems from the State's Forest Management Plans, (Support) Work Session, – Agriculture Conservation and Forestry Committee
More information on the bill can be found above.
Bills the PLC is Following on the House and Senate Floor
LD 2212, An Act to Strengthen Maine's Agriculture, Food System and Forest Products Infrastructure Investment, LD 2212 is sponsored by Speaker of the House, Rachel Talbot-Ross (D-Portland) and is one of the initiatives that we are very supportive of this session. LD 2212 provides a $10 million appropriation to the Maine Agriculture, Food, and Forest Products Investment Fund and makes changes to who appoints members of the advisory board. The PLC recently testified in support of the bill as it could provide new opportunities for our members to get grants and low interest loans for their businesses for equipment and reinvestment. The bill was passed to be enacted and placed on the Special Appropriations Table where it will await funding.
LD 2261, An Act Designating New Motor Vehicle Emissions Rules as Major Substantive Rules, sponsored by Representative Mike Soboleski (R-Phillips). This bill will ensure rules adopted by the Department of Environmental Protection regarding new motor vehicle emission standards, including rules to establish zero-emission requirements, are major substantive rules. This is extremely important to require the rules to go before the full legislature for ratification before being implemented. If the rules remain routine technical, the Department of Environmental would be able to implement the rules unilaterally. The PLC testified in favor of this legislation. LD 2261 was passed to be enacted in both the House and Senate and is awaiting the Governor’s signature.
LD 2191, An Act to Provide Relief to Small Businesses Affected by Severe Weather-related Events. The bill includes a one-time General Fund appropriation of $50 million in fiscal year 2023-24 to the program. The PLC testified in support of this bill during the public hearing. As amended, the bill includes assistance to loggers for income replacement and dedicated funding to establish a Wood Salvage and Reclamation Program in the Department of Economic and Community Development to provide grants to landowners and contractors effected by the recent severe weather events. LD 2191 was passed to be enacted and has been placed on the Special Appropriations Table where it will await funding.
The PLC testified Neither for Nor Against this bill in 2023 and is monitoring it. The membership feels strongly that information must be provided by the OEM’s, but it should not be provided for free. The committee passed a majority report along party lines concentrating on home appliances and personal devices such as cell phones, tablets, computers, etc. The Republican members of the committee wanted the bill more simplified and opted to vote for a different amendment to only incorporate personal hand-held devices. Both reports have exempted off-road and heavy equipment from the bill. This bill was engrossed in the Senate and awaiting action by the House.
LD 2279, An Act to Promote Equity in the Forest Products Industry by Allowing Commercial Wood Haulers to Be Eligible for Certain Sales Tax Exemptions and Refunds. This bill, sponsored by Senate President Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook), aims to include commercial wood hauler’s tractors, trailers, and semi-trailers in the sales tax exemption list, similar to wood harvesting equipment. The PLC testified in qualified support of this bill. LD 2279 is in the process of having its final language review with the Taxation Committee.
LD 1648, An Act to Make Changes to the Farm and Open Space Tax Law, This bill, sponsored by Rep. Boyle (D-Gorham) establishes a new method for the valuation of land under the farm and open space tax law. Last year, PLC testified in qualified support, but insisted that changes be made to encourage forest management on open space to encourage the growth and harvest of more wood, not less, and not make land a haven for carbon management (no harvest). A revised version of the bill was presented to the Taxation Committee by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), the primary supporter of the bill. TNC presented the bill on behalf of the stakeholder group the PLC is part of that had been collectively working on the new language. The PLC is in support of the working group’s recommendation. LD 1648 was enacted in the House and will go to the Senate for enactment.
Have a great weekend, and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Best,
Dana