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This week was quiet on the legislative front for the Council; a welcome change of pace to help us gather our bearings in preparation for a next week. As you will see below, we will be testifying on several bills. Two of them - LD 1349 on and LD 2077 - are of particular concern.

Please consider joining us to testify (either remotely or in person) or submitting testimony. Instructions on how to do so are included below under the 'Public Hearings' section of this newsletter.

On Monday, the Council will testify in opposition to LD 1349, "An Act to Review State Lands and Waterways That Have Sacred, Traditional or Other Significance to the Wabanaki People." This bill seeks to establish a Commission to review the State's public land and water resources, develop a process to relinquish ownership of these resources to the tribes, and identify resources to pay for these transfers.

The Council is particularly concerned with the transfer of water resources. State-owned waters includes most of the land that is covered by water (coastal waters out to the three-mile territorial limit, tidal rivers, nontidal navigable rivers and streams, boundary rivers and great ponds.

The transfer of these valued resources would impact all Maine residents, and could be especially problematic for our pulp and paper mills, municipal treatment facilities and dam operations (two tribes are currently holding up the FERC relicensing process for the Shawmut Dam).

This bill is linked to the ongoing concern the Council has about the tribes seeking independent regulatory control of natural resources through a push for increased sovereignty.

Transferring public lands and waters to the tribes would mean that they would be governed by tribal ownership rights, and Maine residents and industries would be excluded from the process. For these reasons, we are opposing this bill, and we ask you to consider doing the same.

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Tuesday the Council will be testifying in opposition to two bills before the Energy, Utilities and Technology Committee (listed below). We are requesting your help in opposing one of them - LD 2077, "An Act Regarding Customer Costs and the Environmental and Health Effects of Natural Gas."

Submitted on behalf of the public advocate, this bill would prohibit any costs associated with new gas service mains or lines from inclusion in rates. It would also prohibit the PUC from approving a gas utility to furnish service or serve customers in municipalities that are outside of their current service area; and prohibit gas utilities from providing promotional offers to potential customers, among other things.

The Council has a number of concerns with this bill, but primarily we are concerned that it would threaten the viability of gas utility companies that service industrial consumers by limiting their residential client base, and therefore, their businesses. Industrial manufacturing requires reliable sources of baseload power (CHP, hydropower or natural gas) to power operations. We cannot rely on intermittent sources such as solar or wind to operate production; the technology simply isn't there yet. We are also limited by the high thermal needs in the operation of our lime kilns that, to date, can only be satisfied with biomass, natural gas or oil. The industry has moved away from oil, but will need natural gas until other sources of lower emitting energy can be developed.

If LD 2077 were to pass, it would have a chilling effect on our $8 billion forest products industry that sustains 33,500, and on collaborative efforts to attract new investments and businesses to the forest products industry. For these reasons, please consider joining us to testify in opposition to LD 2077.

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As always, if you have any questions about these bills or any others, please don't hesitate to reach out.

Best,

Pat and Krysta

Bills scheduled for a public hearing

Public hearings are livestreamed and archived here on the Legislature's Website. Testimony will be accepted in-person, via Zoom or in writing. Committee meeting guidance for public/interested parties can be found here.

To sign up to testify via Zoom or submit written testimony, click here.

LD 1349 - "An Act To Review State Lands And Waterways That Have Sacred, Traditional Or Other Significance To The Wabanaki People"

Public Hearing in ACF on Monday January 22, 2024 @ 11:00 AM in Cross Building, Room 214

MFPC Position: Oppose

Sponsored by Rep. Ben Collings, this bill stablishes the Commission to Review State-owned Lands and Waterways to identify which state-owned lands or waterways have sacred, traditional or other significance to the Passamaquoddy Tribe, Penobscot Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians or Mi'kmaq Nation and develop a process to return lands and waterways to the Passamaquoddy Tribe, Penobscot Nation, Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians and Mi'kmaq Nation. The commission must hold public meetings and hearings throughout the State and must accept testimony and written comments from the public in a manner determined by the commission. The commission must invite the participation of stakeholders as determined by the commission and also invite the participation of large private landowners, land trusts and conservation organizations. Beginning in 2024, the commission must submit a report no later than November 15th of each year to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over conservation matters, the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over inland fisheries and wildlife matters and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over marine resources matters. The joint standing committees may report out legislation related to the report of the commission.

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LD 2077 - "An Act Regarding Customer Costs And The Environmental And Health Effects Of Natural Gas"

Public Hearing in EUT on Tuesday January 23, 2024 @ 1:00 PM in Cross Building, Room 211

MFPC Position: Oppose

Sponsored by Rep. Zeigler, this bill provides that, beginning February 1, 2025, any charge for costs associated with new gas service mains and gas service lines for residential and commercial gas service is unreasonable for inclusion in rates and prohibited. It provides that, beginning January 1, 2025, the Public Utilities Commission may not approve a gas utility to furnish service or serve customers in a municipality that is outside of the utility's service area on June 30, 2024. Beginning January 1, 2025, it prohibits a gas utility from offering or providing a promotional allowance to customers or potential customers.

The bill requires the Public Utilities Commission to conduct inquiries related to district geothermal systems and costs associated with gas system expansion and to submit related reports to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over energy, utilities and technology matters. The bill also requires the Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration with other state entities, to submit a report on indoor air quality and health impacts of fossil fuel combustion and leakage to several joint standing committees of the Legislature.

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LD 2099 - "An Act To Make Changes To Certain Laws Governing Renewable Energy Projects"

Public Hearing in EUT on Tuesday January 23, 2024 @ 1:00 PM in Cross Building, Room 211

MFPC Position: Oppose

Sponsored by Sen. Mark Lawrence, this bill modifies the Distributed Solar and Energy Storage Program established within the Governor's Energy Office to permit the use of ratepayer funds if the Public Utilities Commission determines such use of funds is reasonably likely to achieve net benefits to electric ratepayers. The bill also authorizes the Department of Labor to adopt routine technical rules relating to the Maine emerging industry compensation threshold in the laws governing the State's offshore wind initiative.

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LD 1891 - "An Act To Support Maine Businesses Through A Child Care Tax Credit And A Pass-through Entity Tax"

Public Hearing in TAX on Thursday January 25, 2024 @ 1:00 PM in State House, Room 127

MFPC Position: Support

Sponsored by Rep. Maureen Terry, this bill establishes a business-supported child care tax credit to provide to an employer that provides early child care and education services to children of its employees, either by expending funds to build, furnish, license, staff, operate or subsidize a child care facility licensed by the Department of Health and Human Services or to contract with a child care facility licensed by or registered with the department. The credit is equal to the lower of $10,000 or $1,000 per child of an employee for whom the employer provides early child care and education services.

Bills scheduled for a work session

Work Sessions are livestreamed and archived here on the Legislature's Website.

LD 1648 - "An Act To Make Changes To The Farm And Open Space Tax Law"

Work Session in TAX on Tuesday January 23, 2024 @ 2:45 PM in State House, Room 127

MFPC Position: Originally Oppose, but in negotiations with affected parties.

Sponsored by Rep. James Boyle, LD 1648 establishes a new method for the valuation of land under the farm and open space tax law. It extends eligibility for a reduced valuation to land managed under a carbon conservation management plan, which is a written agreement between the landowner and the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry that describes strategies to be used on a parcel of land at least 10 acres in size to increase carbon storage or improve carbon conservation.

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LD 1685 - "An Act To Increase Acreage Eligibility And Change Requirements For Filing Plans Under The Maine Tree Growth Tax Law"

Work Session in TAX on Tuesday January 23, 2024 @ 2:45 PM in State House, Room 127

MFPC Position: Oppose

Sponsored by Rep. Ann Matlack, LD 1685 would amend the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law by increasing the acreage eligibility requirement from 10 to 25 acres of forested land beginning April 1, 2025. The bill authorizes municipal assessors and the State Tax Assessor to retain copies of required forest management and harvest plans and with assistance from the Director of the Bureau of Forestry within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to determine the sufficiency of a plan to meet the requirements of the law. Forest management and harvest plans retained by a municipal assessor or the State Tax Assessor are confidential and not public records.