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Good morning from Augusta,
This week at the State House, there was partisan drama revolving around the Governor’s Supplemental Budget. After a bipartisan unanimous vote in the Appropriations Committee, the Republicans in both the House and the Senate voted against the spending bill, which didn’t provide the 2/3rd’s majority vote necessary for the Supplemental Budget to go into effect immediately. There were critical pieces they felt were left out and they believe it is necessary to go back to the negotiating table to fix the issues. The Supplemental Budget would fix the almost $120 million revenue shortfall in the 2024 – 2025 Biennial Budget that was passed by the 131st Legislature in 2024.
On Thursday this week, the Governor closed all State Offices due to the winter storm. LD 195, An Act to Create the Small Business Capital Savings Account Program was scheduled for its first work session in the Housing and Economic Development Committee that day. The Legislature will be on a break next week for the school vacation week, so we are uncertain on when LD 195 will be rescheduled. It will likely be two to three weeks before we have a firm date of when a new work session will be held.
Earlier in the week, another one of our priority bills, LD 417, An Act Regarding the Confidentiality of Certain Records Belonging to the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Related to the Bureau of Forestry, was scheduled for a public hearing on Thursday, February 27th at 1pm. This bill ensures that records acquired by the Maine Forest Service during an investigation or from service to the public will remain confidential. A public service in this instance would include specific trainings that you or your employees attend that are provided by the Department of ACF or by affiliated organizations. We have seen many instances over the past 10 years where contractor and contractor employee information has been shared without the knowledge of the contractor. We feel the bill will provide parity for loggers so you have the same rights as other members of the supply chain already in law.
If you are interested in testifying on any piece of legislation no matter the subject, please reach out to Ben and he would be happy to assist you. He can be reached on his cell at 207-598-6223 or his email at ben@plcloggers.org. Senators and Representatives like to hear from the people in their districts as it helps provide knowledge to shape policy decisions.
Please do not hesitate to reach out to us with your questions or concerns. You can follow along this session with our most recent bill tracker that can be found here. If there are issues affecting your businesses, big or small, we want to hear about them.
Best Regards,
Dana
Last Week’s Legislative Activity – February 10th – February 14th
Tuesday, February 11th
LD 261, “An Act Regarding the Authority of Municipalities to Regulate Timber Harvesting”, (Rep. Stephen Bunker (D-Farmington)) Public Hearing, – Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee. (Support)
On Tuesday, the PLC provided testimony in support of LD 261.
This bill clarifies that the definition of "timber harvesting activities" under the forest practices laws does not include activities that result, within 5 years of the completion of such activities, in a change of land use.
The bill provides that a municipal timber harvesting ordinance must adopt definitions for forestry terms that are consistent with definitions in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 12, section 8868 and with forestry terms adopted by the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Title 12, chapter 805, subchapter 3-A. Additionally, all municipal ordinances will be subject to review by the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Bureau of Forestry are limited to ordinances that regulate timber harvesting activities. The bill provides that a timber harvesting ordinance adopted on or after September 1, 1990 and prior to January 1, 2026 must meet the requirements of Title 12, section 8869, subsection 8 by June 30, 2029. A municipal timber harvesting ordinance may also only be adopted after certification by the bureau that the municipality adopted the timber harvesting ordinance in accordance with Title 12, section 8869, subsection 8. The bill also requires a municipal timber harvesting ordinance to be pursuant to and consistent with a comprehensive plan adopted by the municipal legislative body.
Thursday, February 13th
LD 195, “An Act to Create the Small Business Capital Savings Account Program”, (Sen. Trey Stewart (R-Aroostook)) Work Session, Housing and Economic Development. (Support)
The work session on LD 195 was postponed due to a snowstorm and has not been rescheduled yet.
Next Week’s Legislative Activity – February 17th – February 21st
**Legislature will be on break for school vacation week**