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Good morning from Augusta,
On Thursday, of the PLC’s top priorities of the session, 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, had a public hearing. LD 417 would ensure records acquired by the Maine Forest Service (MFS) 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 Agriculture Conservation and Forestry (ACF) or by affiliated organizations.
The sponsor, Representative Jen Poirier (R-Skowhegan), presented our bill to the Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee and did a great job describing the issues that logging contractors are facing due to the lack of confidentiality. Dana Doran testified shortly after and provided multiple examples of how the MFS has been a habitual offender of sharing contractor information with outside entities who leverage this information against contractors.
The video from the public hearing can be found here. LD 417 started at the 2:09pm mark.
You can read all the testimony that was presented during the hearing here.
This bill will have its first work session next week, on Thursday March 6th, at 11am in the ACF Committee. You can tune-in to the ACF Committee meeting and check the schedule here.
I want to take a moment to thank PLC members, Tom Cushman and Gabriel Rioux for being willing to come forward and share their experiences. It makes a huge difference for the committee members to hear it firsthand from contractor experiences and we cannot thank you enough for taking the time out of your day to testify.
Also scheduled for a work session next week is our small business savings account bill. LD 195, An Act to Create the Small Business Capital Savings Account Program, sponsored by Senator Trey Stewart (R-Aroostook), creates a pilot program for businesses in the farming, fishing, and forestry industries to set aside revenue tax-free, up to $250,000 at one time in a savings account to be used in the future for capital expenditures. By creating these accounts, your business can save and later re-invest without paying state income taxes and not be forced to spend that money all in the same tax year. The PLC testimony can be found here.
Next Thursday will be a very busy day with these two bills up for work session after our Legislative Breakfast and Board Meeting. We are hopeful to have legislators of the respective policy committees in attendance at our Legislative Breakfast that morning to be able to share some more information with them.
If you haven’t already, I encourage you to RSVP below to the Legislative Breakfast and PLC Board/Member Meeting on Thursday, March 6 beginning at 7:00 AM.
Last call to RSVP for the PLC Legislative Breakfast!
- All members are invited to enjoy breakfast and engage in important policy discussions for the 2025 Maine legislative session, free of charge.
- Following the breakfast, we will hold a PLC Board/Membership Meeting, and luncheon. All members are encouraged to attend.
Details:
- Date & Time: Thursday, March 6 at 7:00 am
- Location: The Governor Hill Mansion 136 State St Augusta, ME
- RSVP by March 3rd
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
If you are interested in testifying on any piece of legislation no matter the subject, please reach out to Ben Grant 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.
Last Week’s Legislative Activity – February 24th – February 28th
Thursday, February 27th
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”, (Rep. Jennifer Poirier (R-Skowhegan) Public Hearing – Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee. (Support)
More information on this bill above.
LD 232, “An Act to Impose a Vehicle Weight Limit on Route 46 in the Town of Eddington”, (Rep. Dick Campbell (R-Orrington)) Public Hearing, Transportation Committee. (Oppose)
This bill prohibits a motor vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of more than 33,000 pounds from operating on Route 46 in the Town of Eddington beginning January 1, 2026.
The bill never had an official public hearing. The sponsor decided to have the bill be unanimously voted ought not to pass so it is dead.
LD 192, “An Act to Exempt from State Sales Tax Utility Vehicles Purchased for Use in Commercial Fishing, Agricultural Production, Aquacultural Production and Wood Harvesting”, (Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) Work Session, Taxation Committee. (Support)
This bill provides that utility vehicles, as defined in the bill, are eligible for the refund of sales tax on depreciable machinery and equipment used in commercial agricultural production, commercial fishing, commercial aquacultural production and commercial wood harvesting.
The PLC testified in support of this bill. Rep. Faulkingham introduced this bill to the legislature last session and was passed in the House and Senate but ended up not being funded by the Appropriations Committee.
During the work session on Thursday, LD 192 was voted ought to pass unanimously by the Taxation Committee.
Next Week’s Legislative Activity – March 3rd – March 7th
Tuesday March 4th
LD 54, “An Act to Require Employers to Disclose Pay Ranges and Maintain Records of Employees' Pay Histories”, (Rep. Amy Roeder (D-Bangor) Work Session, Labor Committee. (Oppose)
This bill requires an employer with 10 or more employees to include on a job posting a statement that lists the prospective range of pay the employer will offer to a successful applicant. The bill also requires an employer, upon request of an employee, to disclose the range of pay it offers for the position the employee holds and requires the employer to maintain a record of each position held by an employee and the employee's pay history during the employee's employment and for 3 years after the employee's termination of employment.
The PLC testified in opposition to LD 54.
LD 60, “An Act to Allow Employees to Request Flexible Work Schedules”, (Rep. Amy Roeder (D-Bangor) Work Session, Labor Committee. (Oppose)
This bill does the following:
- It allows an employee to request in writing, including by electronic means, a flexible work schedule.
- It requires an employer, which may be a private employer or public employer, to consider an employee's request for a flexible work schedule and whether the request may be granted in a manner that is not inconsistent with employer operations.
- It specifies that an employer and an employee must mutually agree on the duration of time and terms of a flexible work schedule.
- It allows an employer to rescind a flexible work schedule with as much notice to an employee as is practicable.
- It prohibits an employer from retaliating against an employee for exercising rights given by the bill.
- It specifies that a collective bargaining agreement may provide an employee with rights more expansive than rights established by the bill.
The PLC testified in opposition to LD 60. This is an unnecessary piece of legislation as there is nothing in the bill that cannot already done. It is just increasing administrative work for a small business.
LD 61, “An Act to Regulate Employer Surveillance to Protect Workers”, (Rep. Amy Roeder (D-Bangor) Work Session, Labor Committee. (Oppose)
This bill specifies that an employer may use employer surveillance only 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 requires that an employer notify a prospective employee during the interview process that the employer engages in employer surveillance. It gives rule-making authority to the Department of Labor. It also creates a private right of action for persons aggrieved by a violation by an employer.
The PLC Testified in Opposition to LD 61. The sponsor’s intention is to have this only apply to personal devices, but the language remained unclear. We are advocating that the telematics, gps, and audio/visual surveillance for safety purposes be explicitly excluded.
Thursday, March 6th
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”, (Rep. Jennifer Poirier (R-Skowhegan) Work Session – Agriculture, Conservation, and Forestry Committee. (Support)
More information in this bill above.
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)
More information on this bill is above.