MONDAY

9 a.m.

State and Local Government Committee; work sessions; room 214, Cross Building

L.D. 255, “An Act To Establish July 27th as Maine Korean War Veteran Recognition Day”: emergency bill, establishes July 27 of each year as Maine Korean War Veteran Recognition Day.

L.D. 274, “An Act To Preserve and Protect Ancient Burial Grounds and Burial Grounds in Which Veterans Are Buried”: authorizes a municipality to delegate to a caretaker their responsibilities and removes the requirement of war service that requires the municipality to care for the public burring ground.

L.D. 339, “An Act To Require Public Hearings by the Legislature To Be Recorded and Posted on the Internet”: requires that all joint standing committee public hearings are recorded and made accessible to the public as a written transcript, audio recording, video recording or other electronic recording on the Legislature’s website within 72 hours of a public hearing, beginning Jan. 1, 2014.

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L.D. 474, “An Act To Require Edible Landscaping in a Portion of Capitol Park”: requires edible landscaping in a portion of Capitol Park, subject to availability of funding.

10 a.m.

Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee; public hearings; room 436; State House

L.D. 111, “An Act To Restrict the Sale, Purchase and Use of Fireworks in the State”: repeals the law that permits the sale, purchase and use of consumer fireworks.

L.D. 168, “An Act To Establish Reasonable Restrictions on the Use of Fireworks”: restricts the sale and use of fireworks based on factors such as the fire danger level, presence of farm animals, interests of summer residents and tourists, interests of year-round residents, etc.

L.D. 456, “An Act To Protect Farm Animals from Noise from the Discharge of Fireworks or Explosives”: prohibits the use of consumer fireworks or explosives, either loose or contained in a tube or other enclosure, within one mile of a field or pasture that contains livestock.

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L.D. 478, “An Act To Require a Local Permit for the Use of Fireworks”: provides that a person who wishes to use consumer fireworks must obtain a permit from the same authority as those who issue open burning permits, and will be issued in the same manner as open burning permits.

L.D. 663, “An Act To Change the Time Restriction on the Use of Fireworks”: reduces the permissible hours when fireworks may be used to between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.

Taxation Committee; public hearings; room 127; State House

L.D. 614, “An Act To Adjust Fuel Taxes To Improve Sustainability”: changes the excise tax on gasoline, distillates and low-energy fuel to a formula that includes a fixed amount per gallon plus 5 percent of the retail value of that gallon.

L.D. 631, “An Act To Change the Taxes on Fuel Purchased for Use Other Than on the Highways”: changes the taxes on fuel purchased for use other than for vehicles used on the highways to 5 cents per gallon.

L.D. 698, “An Act To Provide an Exemption from Fuel and Sales Taxes to Persons Engaged in Snowmobile Trail Grooming”: emergency bill, makes the existing sales tax exemption for the purchase of snowmobiles and snowmobile trail grooming equipment by snowmobile clubs available to persons operating registered snowmobile trail grooming equipment .

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L.D. 720, “An Act To Eliminate Sales Tax Exemptions for Snowmobiles and All-terrain Vehicles Purchased by Nonresidents for Use in the State”: eliminates the sales tax exemptions for all-terrain vehicles and snowmobiles purchased in the state for nonresidents who are required to register and who store or use in the state the snowmobile or all-terrain vehicle.

Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee; public hearings; room 437; State House

L.D. 239, “An Act To Improve the Return to the State on the Sale of Spirits and To Provide a Source of Payment for Maine’s Hospitals”: emergency governor’s bill, repeals the privatization of the state’s wholesale liquor business, instead allowing the commissioner of administrative and financial services to enter an agreement for wholesale liquor activities, authorizes the treasurer of state to issue liquor operation revenue bonds $187 million and establishes the Health Care Liability Retirement Fund and the Liquor Operation Revenue Fund.

L.D. 644, “An Act To Strengthen the State’s Wholesale Liquor Business”: emergency bill, requires the state to continue privatization of its wholesale liquor operations beyond its current contract, outline the details for bidders, allows the commissioner of administrative and financial services to extend the current wholesale contract if the commissioner determines a new one cannot be bid or ratified before the current contract’s expiration for $34 million.

1 p.m.

State and Local Government Committee; public hearings; room 214, Cross Building

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L.D. 413, “An Act To Expand Eligible Project Costs in Development Districts”: permits tax-increment financing money to be used to fund projects approved by more than one municipality under an interlocal agreement.

L.D. 586, “An Act To Enable Municipalities To Establish Business Development Loan Programs Using Municipally Raised or Appropriated Money”: provides that municipalities may raise or appropriate money to establish revolving loan fund programs to assist local for-profit and nonprofit enterprises in their job creation and job retention efforts.

L.D. 613, “Resolve, Directing the Bureau of General Services To Erect a Memorial in Memory of Those Who Died at the Former Augusta Mental Health Institute”: directs the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of General Services to design and erect a memorial on the grounds of the former Augusta Mental Health Institute for the people who died at that hospital.

Taxation Committee; work sessions; room 127; State House

L.D. 341, “An Act To Provide a Tax Credit to Employers That Hire Certain Veterans”: provides a nonrefundable income tax credit to qualified employers that hire qualified veterans in an amount equal to 10 percent of each veteran’s compensation up to $1,500.

L.D. 430, “An Act To Amend the Laws Regarding Who May Appeal a Reconsideration Decision to the Maine Board of Tax Appeals”: changes the threshold for an appeal to the Maine Board of Tax Appeals to $250, changes the processing fee for petitions that proceed to an appeals conference to $25 when the request is less than $5,000 and $250 when the request is $5,000 or more.

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L.D. 436, ” An Act To Raise the Maximum 529 Plan Contribution Tax Deduction”: increases the maximum deduction for contributions to a qualified tuition program to $1,000 beginning in tax years on or after Jan. 1, 2013.

L.D. 440, “An Act To Support Community Health Centers through Tax Credits for Dentists and Primary Care Professionals Practicing in Underserved Areas”: extends a dental care access tax credit by eliminating the repeal date, and creates a similar credit for primary care professionals practicing in underserved areas.

L.D. 455, “An Act To Increase the State Earned Income Credit”: increases the state earned income credit to 50 percent of federal earned income credit beginning in 2013.L.D. 561, “An Act To Support Maine Farms and Alleviate Hunger”: Provides an income tax credit for a donation of agricultural products with a fair market value of up to $5,000 made by people engaged in commercial agricultural production to a nonprofit corporation that provides food to low-income people.

1:30 p.m.

Education and Cultural Affairs Committee; public hearings; room 202; Cross Building

L.D. 609, “An Act To Increase Suicide Awareness and Prevention in Maine Public Schools”: requires the Department of Education to adopt rules on standards for schools and school administrative units for suicide prevention education and training.

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L.D. 672, “An Act Relating to Exemption from Immunization for Schoolchildren”: requires that a school health care provider give to the parent of a child excepted from immunization requirements information about the benefits and risks of immunization and sign a statement saying the information was provided.

2 p.m.

Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee; work sessions; room 436; State House

L.D. 59, “An Act Relating to the Unlawful Cutting of Trees”: requires repeat offenders of unlawfully cutting trees to obtain a bond and seek approval from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry before being able to harvest trees again. It also makes knowingly and unlawfully cutting trees a class D misdemeanor.

L.D. 122, “An Act To Provide Assistance to Municipalities Recovering from a Municipally Significant Disaster”: authorizes the governor to declare municipally significant disaster cases. The municipality and the state must work together to figure out the estimated cost of the damage. The two then may enter into a cost-sharing agreement with the affected municipality and its neighbors coming from the Disaster Relief Fund.

L.D. 238, “An Act To Designate the Jail in Franklin County as a Jail Rather than a Holding Facility”: specifies the Franklin County Detention Center as a jail and not a holding facility.

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L.D. 296, “An Act To Equalize the Fire Investigation and Prevention Tax Paid by Insurers”: requires the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Bureau of Insurance, to determine every five years the basis percentage of fire risk and requires that fire insurance companies and associations pay the established percentage to ensure everyone collects and pays the same rate for fire insurance.L.D. 326, “An Act To Update the Maine Emergency Management Laws”: includes the coordination of homeland security for the Maine Emergency Management Act; defines homeland security and terrorism; adds training, planning and maintenance of the State Emergency Operations Center to the duties of the director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency; designates the Commissioner of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management as the governor’s homeland security adviser; changes the name of the Disaster Relief Fund to the Disaster Recovery Fund; provides that emergency management forces from the Emergency Management Assistance Compact and the International Emergency Management Assistance Compact are considered state employees; changes dam hazard evaluation to once every 12 years and the time frame for hazard evaluations to within 60 days of request; and changes dam inspections to once every six years.

L.D. 502, “An Act To Allow County Jails To Apply Savings to Debt Service without a Reduction in State Payments”: allows the county jails to apply savings from the county’s correctional budget to jail debt service without a reduction in payments from the State Board of Corrections.

3 p.m.

Education and Cultural Affairs Committee; room 202; Cross Building

L.D. 323, “Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review of Portions of Chapter 101: Maine Unified Special Education Regulation Birth to Age Twenty, a Major Substantive Rule of the Department of Education”: emergency bill, reviews the rules that govern the administration of the child find system for children up to age 20.

 


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