The Maine Legislature could vote as early as next Wednesday, May 19th on LD 553, An Act to End At-Will Employment. This bill, sponsored by Rep. Mike Sylvester (D-Portland), would end centuries of at-will employment in Maine by terminating the right of an employer to fire an employee without just cause. It received a favorable vote out of the Committee on Labor and Housing on May 7th, and your help is needed to ensure the full legislature does not adopt this misguided attempt to overhaul labor markets in Maine. 

This would mean employees could only be terminated following a progressive three-step disciplinary process, documenting each step in writing. Harmful impact of this bill include:

• LD 553 imposes a costly, complicated and burdensome termination process on employers that will inevitably lead to increased litigation. Every step of the three-step disciplinary process in this bill would be subject to endless dispute and litigation, making it harder for employers to terminate employees, even for the most egregious of offenses. 
• LD 553 gives no guidance to businesses on how to treat seasonal employees or other economic related layoffs. As written this bill would require employers to follow the "just cause" process even in these cases. 
• LD 553 removes an employer's ability to nimbly manage their workforce to ensure they can meet the demands of an ever evolving economy. If COVID-19 has shown businesses anything, it's the importance of hiring and terminating employees at will as economic and public health guidelines dictate. 
• LD 553 would make Maine one of just two states to lack the employment at-will doctrine. This would imperil our state's ability to recruit out of state jobs to Maine, and would severely impact the appetite for new entrepreneurs to start businesses in our state. 

​How can you help ensure this bill fails? Contact your legislator to share the adverse impacts this would have on your business. Given the favorable vote out of committee this will mean all hands on deck to share with legislators how harmful this bill would be.

Contact information for Greater Portland area legislators can be found at the following links:

• Sen. Anne Carney (D-Cape Elizabeth, South Portland, & Scarborough)
• Sen. Cathy Breen (D-Falmouth, Cumberland, & Westbrook)
• Sen. Stacey Brenner (D-Gorham & Scarborough) 
• Sen. Ben Chipman (D-Portland)
• Sen. Heather Sanborn (D-Portland & Westbrook)
• Rep. Chris Kessler (D-South Portland & Cape Elizabeth)
• Rep. Rebecca Millett (D-Cape Elizabeth)
• Rep. Stephen Moriarty (D-Cumberland)
• Rep. Teresa Pierce (D-Falmouth)
• Rep. Ed Crockett (D-Portland & Falmouth)
• Rep. Maureen Terry (D-Gorham)
• Rep. Kyle Bailey (D-Gorham & Scarborough)
• Rep. Benjamin Collings (D-Portland)
• Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland)
• Rep. Michael Sylvester (D-Portland)
• Rep. Michael Brennan (D-Portland)
• Rep. Grayson Lookner (D-Portland)
• Rep. Barbara Wood (D-Portland)
• Rep. Sam Zager (D-Portland)
• Rep. Chris Caiazzo (D-Scarborough)
• Rep. Sophie Warren (I-Scarborough)
• Rep. Lois Reckitt (D-South Portland)
• Rep. Victoria Morales (D-South Portland)
• Rep. Morgan Rielly (D-Westbrook)
• Rep. Suzanne Salisbury (D-Westbrook)

Read More on LD553 from the Maine State Chamber

This section is contributed by our exclusive Advocacy Update sponsor Verrill and their lobbying and communications group, Maine Street Solutions. 

​The Mills Administration has released a series of spending proposals that will now head to the Legislature for consideration, amendment, and eventual passage. See below for details on the Administration’s proposals for a) spending federal relief dollars; b) a supplemental budget for the upcoming biennium; and c) a bond package.

Maine Jobs & Recovery Act
The Maine Jobs & Recovery Act is the Mills Administration’s proposal to invest more than $1 billion in discretionary Federal relief funds allocated to Maine under the American Rescue Plan Act. The plan draws heavily on recommendations from the Governor’s Economic Recovery Committee and the State’s 10-Year Economic Development Strategy.

The primary goals of the proposal are:

• Immediate economic recovery from the pandemic;
• Long-term economic growth for Maine; and
• Infrastructure revitalization.

Biennial Budget “Part Two”
Given the recent positive revenue forecast from the State’s Revenue Forecasting Committee, the Administration has proposed a supplemental budget for the upcoming two years (starting July 1, 2021) that builds upon the biennial budget passed by the Legislature in March.

The “part two” budget proposal includes:

• Meeting the State’s obligation to fund 55% of local K-12 education costs;
• Enhanced municipal revenue sharing;
• Investments in MaineCare for increased reimbursement rates, payments to providers, and more;
• Property tax relief through the Property Tax Fairness Credit;
• Enhanced State Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), Child & Dependent Care Credit and employer-provided dependent care benefits;
• Infrastructure improvements;
• Funding for remediation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS);
• and more.
  
  

Bond Package
The Mills Administration has also released its bond package for the year. While Governor Mills initially laid out an ambitious bonding agenda back in January, she scaled back her approach after passage of the Federal American Rescue Plan.

The Administration’s bond package now includes:

• $100 million to maintain and upgrade Maine’s transportation system through the Maine Department of Transportation
• $40 million for the Land for Maine’s Future program.

These three spending proposals will now head to the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee for review.

Read More About the Maine Jobs & Recovery Act

This section is contributed by our exclusive Advocacy Update sponsor Verrill and their lobbying and communications group, Maine Street Solutions. Participating in the Maine Legislature in the Virtual Era

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we all work and the Maine Legislature is no exception. This legislative session is unlike any other in Maine’s history. The 186 members of the Maine Legislature have met together in-person for a total of 3 days so far this year. In a “normal” year, the full Legislature would hold sessions of the House and Senate twice a week starting in January and add additional session days as the legislative work built up. In addition, legislative committees would be meeting at the State House complex to consider and vote on bills. Given the risks of gathering that many people together, this year legislative committees have been meeting virtually, via Zoom.

Moving legislative committee work online has had drawbacks – legislators, lobbyists and advocates are missing out on the camaraderie they normally experience in the halls of the State House. But allowing virtual participation has also had benefits, namely that people from all across the State can take part in committee hearings, without having to travel to Augusta.

If you’re looking for ways to participate in Maine’s legislative process this year, we’ve compiled the steps and links here:
Submitting Written Testimony

Once a public hearing has been scheduled for a bill, you can submit written testimony to the committee via the State's online testimony submission system. On this page you will be asked to select the committee, the date of the hearing, and then the bill itself. You will then enter your testimony -- you can either upload a document or copy and paste into the testimony field. Using this online testimony submission portal ensures that all members of the committee, in addition to the clerk and analysts, receive your written remarks.

Presenting Live Testimony

You can register to give oral testimony using the same online testimony submission platform. When filling out the form, be sure to check the box for "I would like to present my testimony live." This will ensure you receive the Zoom link for the public hearing. You can find more information about what to expect when participating in a Zoom public hearing on the Maine Street Solutions website.

Monitoring Committee Meetings

If you simply want to watch committee proceedings, instead of giving oral testimony, you can choose to watch either live or at a later time.
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Watch committee meetings via the Maine Legislature's YouTube.

The Legislature's Committee on Labor and Housing will be holding a public hearing on Wednesday (3/21) at noon to consider several bills related to the minimum wage. 

Last week the Chamber testified in support of LD 455 and LD 774, both of which would pre-empt a municipality's ability to set a minimum wage different than the state. This legislation is critical to ensure an even playing field for employers across the state.

Contact the legislators on the Committee on Labor and Housing before Wednesday's work session to indicate your support of these bills! Contact information for these legislators can be found at the following links:

• Sen. Craig Hickman (D, Chair)
• Sen. Stacey Guerin (R)
• Sen. Dave Miramant (D)
• Rep. Mike Sylvester (D, Chair)
• Rep. Dick Bradstreet (R)
• Rep. Scott Cuddy (D)
• Rep. Gary Drinkwater (R)
• Rep. Traci Gere (D)
• Rep. Joshua Morris (R)
• Rep. Sarah Pebworth (D)
• Rep. Dwayne Prescott (R)
• Rep. Amy Roeder (D)
• Rep. Sophia Warren (I)

In addition to the bills we testified in support of, the committee will also be considering the following minimum wage bills in their work session on Wednesday:

• LD 543 (Cost of Living Adjustment): This bill would change the cost of living adjustment to the state minimum wage from once every year to once every three years. 
• LD 1047 (Training Wage): This bill would create a "training wage" for employees who are students of under 20 years of age, or 18 years of age for non-students, of $9.75/hour, adjusted annually for the cost of living. 
• LD 1279 (Minimum Wage Increase): This bill would raise the state minimum wage to $16/hour starting in 2025.