2010 Legislative Documents

Through the session we'll post short descriptions of interesting bills (known as "Legislative Documents," or "LD's" for short). Every bill has a link to its full text. You can also find out a lot about public hearings, recent amendments and committee actions as a bill moves through the process by clicking here and typing in the LD number that you're interested in.

Come back often as we update this section one or more times a week.

Readers are reminded that our summaries are NOT complete or authoritive, and professional advice is necessary - never act in reliance on anything that appears here without learning more!

Here's a collection of selected bills that have been admitted to the 2010 legislative session, last updated 1-05-10:

Bills from the 2010 session worth knowing about

January 5, 2010 update:

LD 1500  An Act To Conform the Maine Tax Laws for 2009 to the United States Internal Revenue Code.  Taxation.  Updates references to federal tax law contained in Maine law. The bill primarily affects the State's income tax and estate tax laws.

LD 1504 An Act To Require That Expedited Wind Energy Development Projects Provide a Tangible Benefit to Maine Ratepayers in the Form of Discounts to Future Electric Rates.  Energy.  Requires that proposals for expedited wind energy development projects must, in addition to current applicable criteria, demonstrate to the siting authority that the proposed generating facility will provide a tangible benefit to Maine ratepayers in the form of a reduction in long-term electric rates.

LD 1524 An Act To Ensure Equity in Unemployment Compensation Claims. Labor.  Addresses the situation of 2 employers who both lay off the same employee within 30 days of each other. The bill requires that both employers be considered the claimant's last employer for purposes of the laws governing unemployment compensation.

LD 1530 An Act To Facilitate Recovery Zone Facility Bonds. Economic Development.  Facilitates the issuance of recovery zone facility bonds by county government as authorized by the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

LD 1535 An Act To Create a Smart Grid Policy in the State. Energy.  Establishes a state policy on smart grid infrastructure that ensures deployment of a smart grid is done in a manner consistent with applicable safety, security and reliability standards. Allows transmission and distribution utilities to recover reasonable costs associated with creating a smart grid. Also directs the Public Utilities Commission to examine the need for and feasibility of creating or designating a special entity in each transmission and distribution utility service territory to facilitate a rapid increase in the availability and use of smart grid functions.

LD 1539 An Act Concerning Technical Changes to the Tax Laws. Taxation.  Makes numerous technical and minor substantive changes to Maine tax law.

LD 1540 An Act To Amend the Tax Laws.  Taxation.  Makes numerous changes to Maine tax law including:  clarifies the procedure for apportionment of county taxes in the unorganized territory, provides that a credit or reimbursement allowed or paid that is recoverable by the State Tax Assessor is a tax, imposes interest on credits and reimbursements allowed or paid that are recoverable by the State Tax Assessor, repeals the requirement that a nonresident purchaser must have been employed or registered to vote in another state in order to qualify for exemption from Maine use tax on an automobile purchased and used in the other state, and provides that an insurance agency may elect to collect and pay the tax on surplus lines premiums on behalf of its employees who are surplus lines producers.

LD 1541 An Act To Protect Consumers from Charges after a Free Trial Period. Business Regulation.  Prohibits a merchant from offering a consumer product or service for a free trial period if the consumer is required to contact the merchant to avoid receiving additional products or services and incurring a financial obligation.

LD 1545 An Act To Protect Maine Workers.  Business Regulation/Labor.  Prohibits an employer from employing foreign laborers for 5 years if the employer violates the required proof of equipment ownership or foreign labor certification laws.

LD 1553 An Act To Facilitate Establishment of Watershed Districts. Environmental.  Amends the laws governing coastal and lake watershed districts to clarify that the laws provide one way of establishing a watershed district and that, alternatively, one or more municipalities may create a watershed district under municipal home rule authority or under interlocal cooperation authority. The bill is retroactive to July 1, 2009 to ensure that actions taken since that date to create watershed districts by interlocal agreement or by incorporation are valid.

LD 1559 An Act Regarding Liquor Licenses for Qualified Catering Services. Business Regulation.  Specifies that a qualified catering service that is eligible for a liquor license may host up to 12 events per year at a facility owned by the catering service and serve alcoholic beverages to be consumed on the premises.

LD 1565 An Act To Amend the Laws Governing the Knowing Misclassification of Construction Workers.  Business Regulation/Labor. Authorizes the Executive Director of the Workers' Compensation Board to issue a stop-work order if a hiring agent or construction subcontractor has knowingly misrepresented one or more employees as independent contractors, knowingly failed to provide a workers' compensation insurance policy or knowingly provided false, incomplete or misleading information to the board concerning the number of employees. This bill also prohibits that hiring agent or construction subcontractor from performing work on a public building or other public works for a period of 3 years.

LD 1568 An Act To Clarify Maine's Phaseout of Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers. Environmental.  Bans the manufacture and sale of shipping pallets and products manufactured from recycled shipping pallets that contain the "deca" mixture of polybrominated diphenyl ethers, effective January 1, 2011.

LD 1569 An Act To Clarify the Informed Growth Act.  Business Regulation.  Amends the Informed Growth Act by providing that the Informed Growth Act applies only to permits or approvals for new construction and that a change of use permit is not considered a land use permit requiring evaluation under the Informed Growth Act.

LD 1571 An Act To Ensure That Maine's Energy Corridor Policy Does Not Harm Maine's Renewable Power Development. Energy. Requires the Commission to Study Energy Infrastructure to make specific findings regarding the potential for the development of renewable and other energy projects in Maine before final adoption of an energy corridor plan that gives preference to energy project development in Maine. The commission is directed to also make findings of fact based on economic models developed by the Executive Department, State Planning Office to assess employment, taxation and other economic effects of power production in Maine and the development of different types of corridors in this State. The commission is required to assess and quantify the effect of the various options on consumers in this State in the short term and the long term. This bill also extends the commission's report deadline to May 1, 2010.

LD 1581 An Act Concerning Electricity Customers Whose Bills Increase as a Result of the Implementation of Energy Conservation or Energy Efficiency Measures. Energy.  Requires the Public Utilities Commission to ensure that there is no increase in an electricity customer's bill as a result of that customer's reduction in demand or consumption of electricity attributable to the implementation of energy conservation or energy efficiency measures.

LD 1588 An Act To Change the Penalties for Writing Bad Checks.  Criminal Law.  Increases the classification of certain crimes involving negotiating a worthless instrument, provides a statute of limitations of 18 months for filing a civil action for issuing a dishonored check and increases the amount that may be recovered in a civil action for issuing a dishonored check.

LD 1603 An Act To Amend Laws Administered by the Department of Environmental Protection.  Environmental.  Makes numerous changes to state environmental laws, including provisions dealing with mercury, well head protection and oil discharges.

LD 1620 An Act To Protect Health Care Consumers from Catastrophic Debt. Health Care.  Prohibits health plans covering Maine residents from including provisions that terminate payment of further claims after a defined maximum specified aggregate amount of health care claims has been paid on an annual, lifetime or other basis on behalf of an individual, family or group.

LD 1621 An Act To Increase Consumer Choice Regarding Service Contracts. Business Regulation.  Proposes creation of a legal framework within which service contracts may be sold in Maine by establishing standards for providers of service contracts and exempting these contracts from all other provisions of the Maine Insurance Code. It also exempts from the Maine Insurance Code:

1. Warranties;

2. Maintenance agreements;

3. Warranties, service contracts and maintenance agreements offered by public utilities on their transmission devices to the extent they are regulated by the Public Utilities Commission; and

4. Service contracts sold or offered for sale to persons other than consumers.

LD 1626 An Act To Amend the Unemployment Compensation Laws Regarding Vacation Pay. Labor.  Under current law, an individual is disqualified from receiving unemployment compensation benefits for any week in which the individual receives, is entitled to receive or has received remuneration in the form of vacation pay. This bill removes that restriction.

LD 1631 An Act To Provide Leadership Regarding the Responsible Recycling of Consumer Products.  Environmental.  Establishes a product stewardship law under the Department of Environmental Protection.  Requires the department to establish procedures for identifying products that are appropriate for a product stewardship program and to designate specific products and product categories that are subject to the product stewardship program requirements. Sets forth factors that must be considered by the department in making this determination, including, but not limited to, the degree to which the product poses an adverse impact to the environment and public health, opportunities for the development of business and opportunities for energy conservation and reduction of waste and toxicity.

Producers of the designated products must participate in product stewardship programs established and paid for by the producers of the products. If a producer of a designated product does not participate in an approved product stewardship program, that producer's product may not be sold in or into the State as of an implementation date to be established by the department.

Requires producers of designated products to submit to the department for approval product stewardship plans and proposed changes to established plans. The bill also authorizes the department to amend, suspend or cancel its approval of a product stewardship plan and requires product stewardship programs to submit annual reports.

LD 1636 An Act To Encourage Extended Stays in Maine Waters. Taxation.  Under current law, watercraft that are not within the State for more than 75 days during the year are exempt from excise tax. This bill extends that time period from 75 to 90 days.

LD 1639 An Act To Stimulate the Maine Economy and Promote the Development of Maine's Priority Transportation Infrastructure Needs. Transportation.  Allows the Department of Transportation to receive and solicit proposals and enter into agreements with private entities for the building, ownership, leasing or financing of certain transportation projects set forth in Maine law.

LD 1646 An Act To Establish a Broadband Policy for Maine.  Telecommunications.  Provides a definition of "broadband," using as a model the broadband baseline used by the United States Federal Communications Commission; establishes a goal of 100% deployment of baseline broadband service by the end of 2012 and establishes a policy of promoting sustainable private investment to increase broadband service that exceeds the minimum levels throughout the State; requires state agencies to assist in promoting private investment in broadband infrastructure to stimulate rapid and sustainable deployment of broadband services; and requires the ConnectME Authority to develop target prices for broadband services and establish competitively neutral discounts to customers in areas where services are more expensive than the average metropolitan rates.

LD 1647 An Act To Enhance Maine's Clean Energy Opportunities. Energy. Further implements the Efficiency Maine Trust, including requiring the Public Utilities Commission to direct investor-owned transmission and distribution utilities to enter into long-term contracts for capacity resources and any available energy associated with such resources to the extent necessary to meet the energy efficiency targets articulated in the Efficiency Maine Trust's triennial plan.

LD 1658 An Act To Increase Maine's High School Graduation Rates.  Education.  Establishes the state goal of achieving an average statewide secondary school graduation rate of 90% by the end of the 2015-2016 school year. Requires the Commissioner of Education and the State Board of Education to establish a stakeholder group to develop recommendations relating to increasing secondary school graduation rates in the State and to report its findings to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters by January 10, 2011.

LD 1666 An Act To Improve the Seed Capital Investment Tax Credit Program.  Economic Development.  Changes the seed capital investment tax credit program by increasing the existing credit from 40% of an eligible investment to 60% and applying it uniformly across the State rather than basing it on unemployment rates. Eliminates the up-front tax credit for investors in certain venture capital funds and makes changes to the conditions and restrictions related to business ownership by investors in private venture capital funds. Retains the current amount of $30,000,000 as the aggregate amount of credits that the Finance Authority of Maine may issue through the end of calendar year 2011 and then increases the amount to $50,000,000 starting in 2012. Allows investors entitled to the credit that are part of a partnership, corporation or similar entity to allocate the credit using an alternate allocation method rather than allocating the credit in direct proportion to their respective interests in those partnerships, corporations or similar entities. Adds the partners, members or equity owners of certain nonprofit, civic and charitable organizations to the list of those entitled to the credit and states that they must be treated as taxpayers for the purposes of this refundable credit. Provides an exception to the provision that specifies that 25% of the tax credit must be taken in the year the investment is made for certain time periods and provides a schedule that specifies what percentage must be taken in each taxable year. Makes the tax credit refundable to provide an incentive for investment in Maine businesses.

LD 1668 An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Initiative To Streamline State Government. Fiscal and Budget.  Proposes savings of $30 million dollars in one time structural changes to state government programs.

LD 1671 Act Making Supplemental Appropriations and Allocations for the Expenditures of State Government for the Fiscal Years Ending June 30, 2010 and June 30, 2011.  Budget.  The Governor's proposals to close a $438 million dollar shortfall in the existing 2-year state budget.

LD 1679 An Act To Create Jobs and Stimulate Economic Development by Making Captive Insurers Eligible for Pine Tree Development Zone Benefits for 10 Years.  Economic Development.  Makes captive insurance companies located anywhere in the State eligible for Pine Tree Development Zone benefits for a 10-year period and provides for a 100% state income tax credit during that 10-year period. Also extends the availability of the income tax credit for all qualified Pine Tree Development Zone businesses for 10 years until 2029.

LD 1681 An Act To Implement a Maine Unemployment Insurance Work-sharing Program. Labor.  Creates a work-sharing program that provides an alternative to layoffs during a temporary slowdown in business. Under a work-sharing plan, an employer elects to avoid layoffs by reducing the number of regularly scheduled hours of work for all workers in a specific unit or department or the business as a whole. Unemployment insurance benefits for the reduced hours of work are then payable as a proportion of the benefit amount for a full week of unemployment.  A work-sharing plan is voluntary on the part of the employer. A plan must be approved by the Commissioner of Labor or the commissioner's designee and, if the employees are unionized, by their collective bargaining agent.

LD 1682 An Act To Amend the Electric Utility Industry Laws as They Relate to Renewable Resources. Energy.  Amends various central definitions in Maine law relating to renewable resources.

LD 1690 An Act To Prevent Predatory Signature Gathering and Ensure a Clean Citizen Initiative and People's Veto Process. Ballot Procedures.  Requires the Secretary of State to make electronic lists of certified signatures from petitions for direct initiatives of legislation and people's veto referenda beginning December 2010. Extends the time period that a person has to examine petitions when challenging the decision of the Secretary of State from 5 to 10 days. Authorizes the Secretary of State to reject certification of signatures on a petition for a direct initiative of legislation or a people's veto if the person who signed the petition submits a written request to the direct initiative or people's veto applicant 15 days prior to the date when the petitions are due to the municipal clerk for verification. Requires registration of organizations that receive compensation to collect or support the collection of signatures on petitions for a direct initiative of legislation or people's veto referendum. Makes a technical clarification to the campaign finance and disclosure laws regarding ballot question committees.

LD 1692 RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine To Amend the Requirements Governing Direct Initiatives. Ballot Procedures.  Requires that the text of a direct initiative of legislation identify the amount and source of revenue required to implement the initiative and, if applicable, identify the program or programs whose funding must be reduced or eliminated to implement the initiative.

LD 1693 An Act To Protect the Environment and Natural Resources of the State by Regulating the Discharge of Certain Substances into the Environment. Environmental.  Prohibits ocean-going vessels from discharging ballast water that contains any detectable living organisms into the coastal waters of the State after January 1, 2021. Defines "ocean-going vessel" as any vessel operating within the coastal waters of the State that is equipped with ballast tanks capable of taking on and discharging water for the purposes of controlling or maintaining the vessel's trim, draft or stability or to control stresses on the vessel. Establishes interim standards in effect from January 1, 2011 to January 1, 2021 that allow ocean-going vessels to obtain a permit from the Department of Environmental Protection to discharge ballast water that contains minimal amounts of living organisms, bacteria, viruses and microbes into the coastal waters of the State.

LD 1694 Resolve, To Increase Transparency and Accountability and Assess the Impact of Tax Expenditure Programs. Taxation.  Directs the Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services to convene a working group to define the purpose of certain tax expenditure programs, design a method to collect data that measure the economic impact of tax expenditure programs and recommend a reporting and review schedule of such programs.

LD 1697 An Act To Protect Universal Service. Telecommunications.  Prohibits instrumentalities, institutions or agencies of the State from providing telecommunications service or information service to any person other than itself or its tenants, and from procuring such services in a manner that constrains or limits alternative proposals to meet instrumentalities', institutions' or agencies' needs. Establishes a right of action for injunctive relief and damages for violation of these requirements. Repeals authority for the University of Maine to install lines on existing utility facilities within or along a right of way for the purpose of transmitting data and communications.

LD 1706 An Act To Create the Children's Wireless Protection Act. Telecommunications.  Provides that a manufacturer may not sell at retail in Maine a cellular telephone unless, at no cost to the Maine retailer or Maine distributor, the cellular telephone and its packaging bear a warning label relating to the potential for brain cancer associated with electromagnetic radiation of the form emitted from cellular telephones, with the recommendation that users, especially children and pregnant women, keep the device away from the head and body. A violation of this provision is a violation of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act.

LD 1708 An Act To Expand the Opportunity for Persons To Acquire Health Care Coverage under the State's "Mini-COBRA" Program. Health Care.  Modifies Maine's so-called mini-COBRA law to make persons permanently laid off from their employment eligible to maintain, at their expense, coverage under their former employer's group health plan. Currently, the law limits eligibility to persons who are temporarily laid off or who have a condition that makes them eligible for workers' compensation.

LD 1717 An Act To Increase the Affordability of Clean Energy for Homeowners and Businesses. Energy.  Allows a municipality, on its own or through agreement with other municipalities, counties, nonprofit organizations, private lenders or other entities, to establish a clean energy improvement financing program for clean energy improvements secured by a municipal lien on the property that takes precedence over all other claims on the property, excepting only claims for property taxes and liens for nonpayment of sewer or water utility services, and that is enforced by the municipality in the same manner as is a municipal property tax lien. Defines "clean energy improvement" as an energy efficiency improvement or energy generation system that relies on solar arrays and installations, geothermal installations or wind power installations as authorized by the municipality.