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.

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LD 269 - "Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review Of Portions Of Chapter 375: No Adverse Environmental Effect Standards Of The Site Location Of Development Act, A Major Substantive Rule Of The Department Of Environmental Protection"

Public Hearing in ENR on Monday April 14, 2025 @ 10:00 AM in Cross Building, Room 216

MFPC Position: Oppose

This resolve provides for legislative review of portions of Chapter 375: No Adverse Environmental Effect Standards of the Site Location of Development Act, a major substantive rule of the Department of Environmental Protection.

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LD 1458 - "An Act Regarding Compensation Fees And Related Conservation Efforts For Solar And Wind Energy Development And High-impact Electric Transmission Lines Under The Site Location Of Development Laws"

Public Hearing in ENR on Monday April 14, 2025 @ 10:00 AM in Cross Building, Room 216

MFPC Position: Strong support

Under current law, the Department of Environmental Protection is required to establish and maintain a compensation fee program to offset the adverse effects of a renewable energy development project and to determine the compensation fee amounts based on criteria established by the department.

This bill removes the requirement that the department establish the criteria for compensation and instead requires a compensation fee equal to the average value of the undeveloped land occupied by the renewable energy development project, with certain exceptions. The bill also specifies which wildlife habitats the department may consider for purposes of determining an adverse effect. Finally, the bill changes rules adopted by the department to routine technical rules.

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LD 383 - "An Act To Facilitate The Consolidation Of The Department Of Environmental Protection And The Maine Land Use Planning Commission Into A Single Combined Entity"

Public Hearing in ENR on Monday April 14, 2025 @ 12:00 PM in Cross Building, Room 216

MFPC Position: Opposed

This bill implements statutory changes and other provisions necessary to transition the Maine Land Use Planning Commission from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to the Department of Environmental Protection. The bill also requires the Department of Environmental Protection, on or before January 1, 2026, to submit to the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources a report outlining recommendations, including necessary draft legislation, for the consolidation, by July 1, 2028, of the Department of Environmental Protection and the Maine Land Use Planning Commission into a single combined entity, to be known as the Maine Environmental and Land Use Commission. The new Maine Environmental and Land Use Commission must be designed to prioritize landowner rights, ensuring that private landowners are empowered to make use of their property subject to reasonable, well-established rules for the protection of the environment, and its activities and adopted rules must ensure sustainable land use development practices and not unduly or arbitrarily restrict landowner property use except as necessary to protect public health, safety and the environment. After reviewing the report, the committee may report out a bill relating to the report to the Second Regular Session of the 132nd Legislature.

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LD 191 - "An Act To Support Maine Businesses By Establishing A Pass-through Entity Tax And Tax Credit"

Public Hearing in TAX on Wednesday April 16, 2025 @ 11:00 AM in State House, Room 127

MFPC Position: Support

This bill establishes, for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2025, a pass-through 15 entity tax on the income of partners and shareholders of S corporations to permit certain 16 entities to elect to pay Maine income tax at the entity level. The effect of this is to allow a 17 member of a pass-through entity a credit of 90% of the member's share of Maine income taxes paid as a pass-through entity.

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LD 1555 - "An Act To Establish An Employer Tax Credit For Qualifying Child Care Costs"

Public Hearing in TAX on Wednesday April 16, 2025 @ 1:00 PM in State House, Room 127

MFPC Position: Support

This bill repeals the prior employer-assisted day care tax credit program under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 36, section 5217. It establishes a new tax credit program that authorizes a refundable tax credit for an employer that pays for or provides in-kind resources for child care for the children of its employees. The amount of the annual credit is 50% of the amount expended up to a maximum of $8,000 per child or a total annual credit of $80,000, whichever is lower. The credit is available for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026. The bill also provides that the credit is subject to ongoing legislative review beginning in 2030.

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LD 203 - "An Act To Provide An Income Tax Credit For Employer-supported Child Care"

Public Hearing in TAX on Wednesday April 16, 2025 @ 1:00 PM in State House, Room 127

MFPC Position: Support

This bill repeals the law governing the employer-assisted day care income tax credit, which by its own terms does not apply to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2016. The bill authorizes, for tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026, a refundable tax credit for an employer that pays or provides in-kind resources for child care for the children of its employees. The amount of the annual credit is 50% of the amount expended or $3,000 per child, whichever is lower. The bill also provides that the credit is subject to ongoing legislative review.

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LD 1529 - "An Act To Enhance The Protection Of High-value Natural Resources Statewide"

Public Hearing in ACF on Thursday April 17, 2025 @ 1:30 PM in Cross Building, Room 214

MFPC Position: Strongly opposed

This bill:

1. Directs the Land for Maine's Future Board to give preferential consideration in land acquisition projects that conserve late-successional forests and old-growth forests;

2. Requires the Director of the Bureau of Forestry within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to include information regarding late-successional forests and old-growth forests in the director's report on state forests;

3. Requires the Maine Land Use Planning Commission to adopt rules to reclassify all lakes that are currently undeveloped but high value into other management classifications; and

4. Directs the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to develop a comprehensive, statewide strategy to enhance the conservation of late-successional forests and old-growth forests.

Bills scheduled for a work session

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

LD 1251 - "Resolve, To Reduce The Cost Of Energy In Maine And Further Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions Through Energy Contracts"

Work Session in EUT on Thursday April 17, 2025 @ 1:00 PM in Cross Building, Room 211

MFPC Position: Support

This resolve requires the Public Utilities Commission to:

1. Issue a request for information after consultation with the Office of the Public Advocate, the Governor's Energy Office and the Efficiency Maine Trust regarding reasonable opportunities for the commission to explore and consider engaging in the execution of an energy cost reduction contract or a physical energy storage contract. The commission's request for information must also seek identification of existing and near‑term replacement energy sources for natural gas in commercial and industrial uses, including when the replacement energy sources are expected to be available, the cost of those replacement energy sources and the steps needed to develop a cost-effective and reliable supply of such replacement energy sources; and

2. Contact every gas utility and natural gas pipeline utility in the State and every state or province adjacent to this State to negotiate favorable terms for one or more energy cost reduction contracts, physical energy storage contracts or such other arrangements as the commission may find necessary or appropriate to reduce the costs of energy in the State and to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The commission must submit a report to the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology by December 3, 2025 that includes a summary of the responses the commission received from its request for information, any actions taken by the commission as a result of the information received and a summary of actions taken by the commission to negotiate favorable terms for one or more energy cost reduction contracts, physical energy storage contracts or other arrangements.

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LD 598 - "An Act To Require Minimum Pay For Reporting To Work"

Work Session in LAH on Tuesday April 15, 2025 @ 1:00 PM in Cross Building, Room 202

MFPC Position: Oppose

This bill provides that on any day an employee reports to work at the request of an employer and the employer cancels or reduces the number of hours in an employee's scheduled shift, the employee must be paid the lesser of 2 hours of pay at the employee's regular hourly rate of pay and the total pay for the shift for which the employee was scheduled. An employer that makes a documented good faith effort to notify an employee not to report to work is not liable to pay wages. If the employee reports to work after the employer's attempt to notify the employee has been unsuccessful or if the employer is prevented from making notification for any reason, the employee must perform whatever duties are assigned by the employer at the time the employee reports to work. The provision does not apply when an employee is not required to work due to adverse weather conditions, a natural disaster, a civil emergency, an illness or medical condition of the employee or a workplace injury of the employee. The bill does not apply to public employers or certain employers of seasonal employees. The bill applies to employers who employ at least 10 employees in the usual and regular course of business for more than 120 days in a calendar year.

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LD 1210 - "An Act To Regarding Renewable Electricity Generation By Hydropower Projects"

Work Session in ENR on Wednesday April 16, 2025 @ 12:00 PM in Cross Building, Room 216

MFPC Position: Support

This bill amends the laws regulating the Department of Environmental Protection's process for approving or disapproving a permit for a hydropower project and for issuing or denying a water quality certification for a hydropower project as required under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act. It requires the department, in determining whether to approve or deny a permit, or issue or deny a water quality certification, to consider the effect of that approval, disapproval, issuance or denial on the State's renewable energy, decarbonization and economic development policies and goals; the environmental and economic benefits to the State of the hydroelectric generation provided by the project; and, taking those factors into consideration, whether approval of the permit or issuance of the certification for the project is permissible notwithstanding the project's effect on wildlife habitat and aquatic life within the waters affected by the project, including affected waters downstream of the project.

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LD 1212 - "Resolve, To Study Opportunities For The Efficiency Maine Trust To Support The Promotion And Use Of Modern Wood Heating"

Work Session in EUT on Thursday April 17, 2025 @ 1:00 PM in Cross Building, Room 211

MFPC Position: Support

This resolve requires the Efficiency Maine Trust, in collaboration with the Department of Economic and Community Development, to work with representatives of the modern wood heating system industry to study and make recommendations relating to programs and incentives encouraging the promotion and use of modern wood heating systems in the State. The Efficiency Maine Trust must submit a report related to the study to the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology and the joint standing committee may report out a bill related to the report to the Second Regular Session of the 132nd Legislature.