Good morning from Augusta,
After a long, dysfunctional week in Augusta, the 131st Maine Legislature adjourned early Thursday morning at about 6 am after one last marathon session that lasted almost 20 hours. During the day and into the late-night hours on Wednesday, Senate President Jackson and Speaker Talbot-Ross, seemed to be playing a game of chicken as the statutory adjournment deadline was fast approaching, which certainly doesn’t show party unity. Each of the presiding officers had important priority bills left on the table, and they were essentially holding each other hostage as the House and the Senate battled over budget priorities. Government efficiency at its finest.
The House and the Senate finally reached an agreement in the early morning hours on Thursday, which included $60 million in disaster relief funding for the physical damages caused by the winter storms, among many other initiatives that can be found here. Income replacement from the storms, which we advocated for throughout the session, was not included in the final budget.
With the Legislature finishing the bulk of their work, unfortunately, LD 1985, An Act to Authorize Removal of Requirements of Forest Certification Systems from the State's Forest Management Plans will remain in committee and may die upon official adjournment, although we won’t know for sure until the Legislature comes back to town for veto in a few weeks. This bill, sponsored by Senator Troy Jackson (D-Aroostook) was caught in the crossfire of disagreement between the Speaker and the Senate President. Knowing this was a priority to Senator Jackson, Speaker Talbot-Ross refused to allow LD 1985 to have its final work session where it would have been voted on. LD 1985’s new amendment proposed by Senator Jackson included the following provisions:
- 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).
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, is another bill sponsored by Senator Jackson that we are in support of, whose future is unknown. This bill seeks to add commercial wood haulers, including tractors, trailers, and semi-trailers, to the sales tax exemption list, similar to wood harvesting equipment. On Wednesday, the bill started on the Senate Calendar, but was quickly tabled, and remained there for the balance of the day. We suspected that it would be brought up at some point, however, in order to allow it to not be voted down, Senator Jackson kept it on the table. LD 2279 will have another opportunity to be voted on during Veto Day, when the legislature will take up any vetoes and other business, before being adjourning for the year.
You can find more information on legislation from our bill tracking spreadsheet here.
Bills the PLC is Following on the House and Senate Floor
LD 372, An Act to Increase Enforcement and Accountability for Wage and Hour Violations. The PLC testified in opposition to this bill as it aims to increase enforcement by expanding the scope of wage and hour violations, doubles the penalty for liquidated damages, and allows the director of the Bureau of Labor Standards to assess forfeiture up to $1000 against an employer who violates any provision of Title 26 Chapter 7 and Chapter 15 of the employment practices statute. Current law only pertains to Chapter 7, sections 1 – 4 and this bill would expand the enhanced penalties to ALL of Chapter 7 and ALL of Chapter 15. The bill goes above and beyond what is in federal law and would make Maine an outlier. LD 372 was passed in both the House and the Senate and is awaiting action by Governor Mills.
LD 513, Act Regarding Overtime Protections for Certain Maine Workers. The PLC testified in opposition to this bill last year. Sponsored by Senator Tipping (D-Penobscot), this bill will require an employee that works in an executive, administrative, or professional capacity must earn $55,086 beginning January 1, 2025, to be exempt from the laws governing minimum wage and overtime pay. Includes and annual adjustment starting January 2026 based on the percentage of annual increase in certain earnings published by the US DOL. This bill was passed by the House and the Senate and was placed on the Special Appropriations Table. There is almost a $3 million fiscal note attached to the legislation and is unlikely to be funded.
LD 1487, An Act to Ensure That Residents of the State Have the Right to Repair Their Own Electronic Devices. 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 has been placed on Unfinished Business in the House. The bill will most likely stay on the table and die upon official adjournment.
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 passed in the House and Senate and was placed on the Special Appropriations Table.
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. This bill will not receive funding as the Supplemental Budget included a storm relief package tailored toward infrastructure improvements and not income replacement. This bill will likely die upon adjournment.
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. This bill will likely not receive funding, however it is the Speaker’s bill and she may have an opportunity to find a new funding source to get the bill across the finish line.
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 became law with the Governor’s signature on April 12th.
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 had its final language review and was put on the senate calendar Wednesday morning and was tabled. The Senate President and the Speaker of the House were at odds on the Supplemental Budget and this bill, a priority for Senator Jackson, was essentially held hostage during negotiations. We are hopeful it may be moved off the table during the upcoming Veto Day.
Have a great weekend, and please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.
Best,
Dana