Monday

Closed for Patriots Day.

Tuesday

10 a.m.

Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee; public hearings; room 214; Cross Building

L.D. 749, “An Act To Prohibit the Taking or Possession of a Natural Resource That Is on the Land of Another”: makes taking, removing or possessing a natural resource from someone else’s property without written permission a civil violation and class E crime if the offense exceeds a $100 value or the offense is repeated.

Advertisement

L.D. 1239, “An Act To Clarify, Streamline and Promote Fair Animal Welfare Laws”: changes the definition of kennel to create personal kennel license, commercial boarding or training kennel license and commercial breeder kennel license; defines serious bodily injury; and removes the requirement a person to obtain a vendor’s license to sell a dog or cat.

L.D. 1283, “An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Animal Trespass”: makes the third or more violation of animal trespass law a class E crime; makes the second violation fine $1,000; the third or subsequent violation fine $2,500; requires repeat violators to pay the court costs and the attorney’s fees; and authorizes forfeiture of an animal of repeat violator if it is found the public health, safety or welfare is in jeopardy because of the repeat violation.

L.D. 1285, “An Act To Allow Law Enforcement Agencies Access to Animal Licensing Information”: requires the commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to create a statewide electronic database of dog licenses by Jan. 1, 2014 accessible to all law enforcement agencies in the state for use in animal control; establishes the Animal Licensing Database Fund as a nonlapsing account within the department; and authorizes the commissioner to establish by rule fees to fund and maintain the electronic database of dog licenses.

L.D. 1307, “An Act To Establish the Livestock Damage Compensation Fund”: establishes the Livestock Damage Compensation Fund as a nonlapsing fund within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to compensate eligible farmers for damage done to livestock by coyotes and other wildlife; requires the commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to establish rules governing the fund by Dec. 1.

Wednesday

9:30 a.m.

Advertisement

Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee; public hearings; room 208; Cross Building

L.D. 1179, “An Act To Create the Brunswick Landing Job Increment Financing Fund”: establishes the Brunswick Landing Job Increment Financing Fund to receive job tax increment payments after the calculation of payments to other required funds attributable to new employees employed in the former Brunswick Naval Air Station base area after 2013; transfers to the Brunswick Landing Tax Increment Financing Fund are paid to the town of Brunswick.

L.D. 1197, “An Act To Allow Stores under 10,000 Square Feet To Be Open on Certain Holidays”: allows stores having under 10,000 square feet of interior customer selling space to be open on Easter Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.

L.D. 1203, “An Act To Encourage Financing of Manufactured Housing for the Workforce”: specifies that a person is not required to be licensed as a mortgage loan originator if that person does not act as a mortgage loan originator in a commercial context habitually or is a government employee acting in their official capacity.

L.D. 1275, “An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Maine Economic Growth Council Regarding Prosperity”: outlines the recommendations of the Maine Economic Growth Council.

L.D. 1276, “An Act To Provide Stable Funding for Research and Development in Maine”: identifies and establishes a stable funding source to support and encourage research and development in the state.

Advertisement

1 p.m.

Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee; public hearings; room 208; Cross Building

L.D. 1154, “An Act To Establish the Maine Length of Service Award Program”: establishes the framework for a statewide pension-type program under which bona fide volunteers are paid length of service awards for performing qualified services; authorizes the state, political subdivisions and emergency services providers within the state as well as emergency services volunteers the option to participate in the funding the program; raises the sales tax on consumer fireworks to 10 percent and dedicates the revenue from the increase to the program; contracts the Maine Length of Service Award Program Board of Trustees with private sector firms to provide administration and investment services for the program; and the program is treated as deferred compensation.

L.D. 1250, “An Act To Revise Maine’s Unemployment Compensation Laws”: excludes the services provided by a temporary employee hired solely to fill in for a regular employee while the regular employee is on family medical leave in the definition of “employment”; an employer of a temporary employee in this situation cannot be charged for unemployment benefits for that temporary employee.

L.D. 1259, “Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review of Portions of Chapter 17: Rules Regarding Proof of Ownership and Recruitment by Employers Employing Foreign Laborers To Operate Logging Equipment, a Major Substantive Rule of the Department of Labor”: emergency bill, provides for legislative review of proof of ownership and recruitment of foreign laborers to operate logging equipment.

L.D. 1311, “An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Unemployment Compensation To Ensure Conformity with the Federal Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011”: provides that 15 percent of a penalty assessment paid due to unemployment misrepresentation or fraud must be placed directly into the Unemployment Compensation Fund; and prohibits an employer from being relieved of benefit charges for a benefit overpayment that was their fault if they have established a pattern of failing to provide timely or adequately requested information pertaining to an unemployment benefit claim.

Advertisement

1:01 p.m.

Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee; public hearings; room 208; Cross Building

L.D. 1368, “An Act To Temporarily Restore Boxing Rules”: emergency bill, provides that the rules and procedures concerning boxing that were in effect under the former Maine Athletic Commission are still in effect and the Combat Sports Authority of Maine is required to enforce those rules and procedures until the rules or procedures are rescinded, revised or amended.

Thursday

9 a.m.

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

Advertisement

L.D. 529, “Resolve, Directing the Department of Education To Develop Safety Standards for School Access”: emergency bill, directs the Department of Education to develop safety standards for entryways in existing and new school construction and report by Jan. 1, 2014.

L.D. 750, “An Act To Make the Completion of an Internship a Requirement for High School Graduation”: requires completion of an internship for high school graduation.

L.D. 823, “An Act To Require Institutions of Higher Learning To Comply with the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act”: requires all institutions of higher learning that receive state or federal funds to install on every door where a student or a member of the general public is permitted access a working push button automatic door opener.

L.D. 905, “Resolve, Directing the Department of Education To Develop School Building Security Plans”: directs the Department of Education to develop a plan for security measures that can be taken to improve the security of school buildings and instructional information available to administrators, teachers, students, parents and community leaders concerning proper procedures and measures to take in response to and preparation for an emergency or natural disaster.

L.D. 959, “An Act To Require That Seed Money Generated at an Individual College of the Maine Community College System Be Returned to That College for the Purpose of Enhancement”: requires that seed money received as a result of the efforts of an individual college of the Maine Community College System be returned to and used to benefit that college.

L.D. 1019, “An Act To Protect the State’s Property Rights in Maine State Museum Research”: emergency bill, exempts from the Freedom of Access Act historical research that includes an individual’s personally identifiable information such as medical, psychiatric, employment, counseling or law enforcement records or information directly related to that individual’s parent or child; and, unless authorized by the Maine State Museum’s director, museum draft research, publications and exhibit materials that are not yet completed and publicly presented.

Advertisement

L.D. 1096, “An Act To Amend the Laws Governing Students Experiencing Education Disruption”: outlines the process for the Department of Education in awarding a department diploma to a student who has experienced an education disruption and describes the responsibilities of the schools and interim programs about the education of a student who experiences an education disruption including when multiple disruptions occur.

L.D. 1100, “An Act To Update and Revise the Laws Governing the Maine Arts Commission”: allows the Director of the Maine Arts Commission to expend endowment funds with the approval of the Maine Arts Commission; repeals the Maine Student Artist Awards Program, the arts outreach program and the Arts in Education Program and adds more general references to those programs; requires the commission to conduct research on arts education in schools and operate arts education and outreach programs to combine the presentation of art with arts education.

L.D. 1290, “An Act To Require High School Students To Complete Community Service”: requires a high school student to complete community service in order to graduate.

L.D. 1301, “An Act To Create the Maine Education Investment Board”: establishes the Maine Education Investment Board to develop and enter into annual achievement compacts with the state’s educational entities that receive public funds and oversee the progress of the entities to ensure that all public school students reach the education outcomes.

9:30 a.m.

Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee; public hearings; room 208; Cross Building

Advertisement

L.D. 237, “An Act To Establish Uniform Quorum, Meeting and Chair Requirements for Professional and Occupational Licensing Boards”: establishes a uniform majority of the members serving on the licensing boards requirement for the 31 licensing boards within the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Office of Professional and Occupational Regulation.

L.D. 788, “An Act To Provide Vehicle Owners and Repair Facilities Access to Vehicle Diagnostic and Repair Information and Equipment”: requires motor vehicle manufacturers to make available to owners of their motor vehicles repair facilities, diagnostic and repair information, and equipment at fair market value and in a way that does not unfairly favor the manufacturer’s dealers and authorized repair facilities.

L.D. 1196, “An Act To Amend the Postgraduate Education Requirements for Physicians Who Have Completed an Accredited Residency Program in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery”: amends the postgraduate training requirements for medical licenses to allow certain oral surgeons to qualify for a medical license that is limited to the practice of oral and maxillofacial surgery and provides that the license of a licensee who was issued an unrestricted license before Jan. 1, 2010 will remain unrestricted.

L.D. 1199, “An Act Regarding Mobile Home Ownership”: provides a mobile home owners’ association with the right to make a competing offer to purchase a mobile home park upon notice from the owner of the mobile home park that the owner has received an offer to purchase the park and intends to accept it; limits restrictions mobile home park rules may place on the activities of tenants and prohibits mobile home park rental agreements and rules from forbidding the formation of mobile home owners’ associations or tenants joining those associations and from limiting certain activities of those associations.

L.D. 1217, “An Act To Modify Franchise Territories for Personal Sports Mobile Dealerships”: exempts from the 30-mile radius requirement from adding a new personal sports mobile dealership near an existing dealership an addition of a new personal sports mobile dealership or the relocation of an existing one when there are no existing dealerships selling all the same products within 15 miles around the new dealership to be added.

1 p.m.

Advertisement

Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee; public hearings; room 208; Cross Building

L.D. 1238, “An Act To Improve Professional Training for Licensed Mental Health Clinicians”: requires that, beginning Jan. 1, 2020, applicants for licensure for psychologists, clinical professional counselors and clinical social workers demonstrate that they have successfully completed a minimum of 15 contact hours of course work in spousal or partner abuse screening and referral and intervention strategies and requires that applicants for licensure renewal in these categories demonstrate successful completion of a minimum of 15 contact hours of course work in spousal or partner abuse screening and referral and intervention strategies.

L.D. 1267, “An Act To Recodify the Land Surveyor Licensing Laws”: reorganizes existing provisions in the law for professional land surveyors; permits a land surveyor-in-training from another jurisdiction to qualify for a similar license in Maine; and replaces the current statutory requirement for continuing education to adopt continuing education standards by rule.

L.D. 1281, “An Act To Provide for Licensing of Recreational Therapists”: establishes a requirement for licensure of recreational therapists and a board to oversee the process of licensure and the conduct of licensees.

L.D. 1310, “An Act To Improve Access to Dental Care through the Establishment of the Maine Board of Oral Health”: renames the Board of Dental Examiners the Maine Board of Oral Health made up of two dentists, two dental hygienists, two denturists and three public members; changes the board’s major roles are to perform administrative duties as a coordinating body for the board’s subcommittees and to advise, ratify and carry out the subcommittees’ recommendations; and establishes a new subcommittee on dentists and defines the membership for each subcommittee and its duties, functions and responsibilities.

L.D. 1313, “An Act To Amend Licensing Requirements for Professional Engineers”: adds defined terms for various accreditation and licensing entities for professional engineers, removes references to the form and length of examinations, removes provisions that provide alternative methods of licensure, removes references to examination fees, removes the requirement that examinations be held at the determination of the State Board of Licensure for Professional Engineers, amends the laws governing the re-examination of a person who fails an examination, removes the requirement that a notice of the expiration of a license be mailed and changes the provisions regarding the process for a retired licensee to be reinstated to active status.

Advertisement

Friday

9 a.m.

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

L.D. 723, “An Act To Ensure the Proper Treatment of Bullying Situations in Schools”: requires that school policies on bullying be developed and established by each school board in consultation with teachers; includes procedures for investigating and attempting to resolve an allegation of bullying involving a person without any prior history of bullying, under which the incident, if it can be informally and satisfactorily resolved among the affected individuals, does not require written documentation; and requires the commissioner of Education to modify their model policy to address bullying and cyberbullying and provide this to each school administrative unit in the state and post it on the publicly accessible portion of the department’s website along with training and instructional materials related to the policy.

L.D. 783, “An Act To Change the Voting Requirements for the Withdrawal of a Municipality from a Regional School Unit”: emergency bill, allows a municipality to withdraw from a regional school unit by a majority vote and eliminates the requirement regarding the total number of votes cast; and requires that a facilitator to oversee negotiations be appointed if, after 90 days of its formation, the withdrawal committee that is selected by the municipality seeking to withdraw from the regional school unit fails to reach an agreement with the regional school unit.

L.D. 843, “An Act To Promote the Financial Literacy of High School Students”: requires each student to study and become proficient in personal finance and takes effect beginning with the 2014-2015 school year and requires all secondary schools to include the personal finance course as part of the mathematics instruction required to obtain a high school diploma.

Advertisement

L.D. 963, “An Act To Expand Access to Early Postsecondary Education”: creates a permanent Commission on Expanding Early Postsecondary Access for High School Students; clarifies that adult education students, home-school students and students from private schools are eligible for state subsidy for postsecondary courses; requires high schools to grant academic credit for postsecondary courses; requires postsecondary institutions to provide information to students on the transferability of academic credit between postsecondary institutions; requires the Department of Education to pay 50 percent of tuition for up to 12 credit hours in an academic year; adds instructors of postsecondary education courses that are offered in secondary schools to the list of personnel that are subject to the fingerprinting and background check requirements; and requires career and technical education centers to serve as sites for the administration of assessment tests to determine college-level academic skills.

L.D. 1055, “An Act To Create a Maine Financial Education Portal”: expands the financial literacy program operated by the Commissioner of Education to require the development and maintenance of a publicly accessible website that serves as a portal to program information on financial literacy resources and services statewide.

L.D. 1083, “Resolve, Directing the Department of Education To Develop a Process To Provide Alternative Pathways To Learning for Certain High School Students”: directs the commissioner of Education to review the issues presented when secondary school students, after repeated school interventions and individualized, targeted efforts, continue to be habitually disruptive in the classroom who, because of the students’ recurring discipline issues, might benefit from exemption from the laws governing compulsory school attendance and identify potential options for alternative pathways to successful learning for such students.

L.D. 1131, “An Act To Improve Professional Development Opportunities for Teachers and Other Public School Employees”: adds $4 million to support up to 50 percent of the cost of up to an additional 10 days annually of professional development for teachers and other education professionals.

L.D. 1132, “An Act To Achieve Economic Growth by Enhancing Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Education and To Meet Workforce Needs”: adds $500,000 to provide funding for the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Council to establish the office of executive director to provide leadership and management expertise.

L.D. 1143, “An Act To Develop Young Readers”: requires the commissioner of Education to establish a program to encourage the early exposure of infants and children in the State to books and reading; directs the commissioner to coordinate any other agency of government, individual, group, foundation or corporation that has established a program to encourage early reading; authorizes the acceptance of any funds for these purposes; and requires school units that offer kindergarten programs provide full-day kindergarten programs.

L.D. 1322, “An Act To Amend the Laws Governing the Withdrawal of a Municipality from a Regional School Unit”: emergency bill, provides for a process of final offer arbitration as a means to resolving a dispute between a withdrawal committee and the directors of the regional school unit board regarding an agreement for withdrawal from a regional school unit for a municipality that seeks to withdraw; eliminates that requirement that the total number of votes cast for and against the withdrawal agreement must equal or exceed 50 percent of the municipal votes cast for a candidate for governor in the last gubernatorial election; and removes changes that would have reinstated the 2/3 vote requirement for approving a withdrawal agreement on Jan. 1, 2015.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.