Part A also applies the same requirements to individual and group accidental injury and disability insurance.

Part B of the bill requires an employer to reimburse an employee eligible for workers' compensation benefits for the costs of obtaining a medical marijuana certificate and the costs of medical marijuana.

• 1. Repealing the provision that prohibits public employees from stopping or slowing work, striking or blacklisting public employers to prevent the employers from filling vacancies; and
• 2. Requiring both parties to collective bargaining to have an individual present who is authorized to reach a tentative agreement.

• 1. It specifies that, as a condition of a joint tribal entity's receiving a license, a casino must be located:
• A. On land that on January 1, 2019 was owned by the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation, the Aroostook Band of Micmacs or the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians or land held in trust by the United States or by any other person or entity for the Passamaquoddy Tribe, the Penobscot Nation, the Aroostook Band of Micmacs or the Houlton Band of Maliseet Indians;
• B. On land located in the unorganized territory; or
• C. On land in a municipality and that municipality approves of the operation of the casino in that municipality, either by vote of its legislative body or in a referendum of the voters of the municipality.
• 2. It exempts a casino licensed to a joint tribal entity from the provision in current law that prohibits a new casino or slot machine facility from being located within 100 miles of an existing casino or slot machine facility. It provides that a casino licensed to a joint tribal entity may not be located within 50 miles of an existing facility.
• 3. It provides that a change in the composition of a joint tribal entity does not invalidate a casino license issued to the entity as long as the change occurs no sooner than 6 months after the license is issued and the entity still consists of at least 2 federally recognized Indian tribes in the State who own equal shares of the entity in its entirety.
• 4. It changes the provision in current law that states that distributions of net slot machine revenue from the casino located in Oxford County to the Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe revert to the operator if one or both tribes operate or receive distributions from a newly licensed casino. It provides that the distribution of that slot machine revenue would instead be deposited into the General Fund if either the Penobscot Nation or the Passamaquoddy Tribe operated or received distributions from a newly licensed casino.
• 5. It establishes a distribution rate of 25% of net slot machine income and 16% of net table game income for a casino operator that is a joint tribal entity. The slot machine income is used to fund education for kindergarten to grade 12 and the table game income is deposited to the General Fund.

The bill prohibits a rail corridor from being converted into or operated as a trail, used as a pathway or space for walking or biking, used for any other form of nonmotorized travel or recreation or used as a bus line without first being evaluated for passenger railroad service.

Online sports pool operators may accept wagers on all professional or amateur sports events except high school sports events or other events in which a majority of the participants are minors. Online sports pool operators may not accept wagers from persons whose identity they cannot verify; persons under 21 years of age; the director, officers and employees of the online sports pool operator and relatives living in the same household as those persons; athletes, coaches, referees and umpires participating in the sports event; other interested persons if the sports event upon which the wager is placed is overseen by the person's league or sports governing body; persons with confidential information that could affect the outcome of the sports event; persons who voluntarily request to be prohibited from making online sports wagers; and persons who make wagers on behalf of another person.

The bill requires the board to adopt rules regulating the operation of online sports pools, including rules restricting the types of wagers permitted, establishing the maximum wagers that may be accepted from any one person on a single sports event, imposing requirements for servers and other equipment used to operate the online sports pool, establishing methods for verifying the identity and age of persons placing wagers online and prohibiting the acceptance of wagers from outside the State as required by federal law.

The bill further requires that 1% of net online sports pool income be used for administrative expenses of the board and that 10% of net online sports pool income be distributed to the Treasurer of State to be credited to the Department of Education for essential programs and services for kindergarten to grade 12.

An increase in a premium rate may not be implemented until approved by the bureau or until the effective date of the premium rate increase, whichever is later.

The amendment also newly prohibits the Governor, a member of the Legislature or the staff or agent of these officials from soliciting or accepting contributions from a lobbyist or lobbyist associate when the Legislature is not in session, unless the lobbyist or lobbyist associate is eligible to vote or will be eligible to vote on the day of the election in a district where the Governor or member of the Legislature will appear on the ballot. Similarly, the amendment prohibits a gubernatorial or legislative candidate and the staff or agent of these persons from soliciting or accepting contributions from a lobbyist or lobbyist associate at any time unless the lobbyist or lobbyist associate is eligible to vote or will be eligible to vote on the day of the election in a district where the gubernatorial or legislative candidate will appear on the ballot.

The amendment further clarifies the authority of the Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices to undertake investigations to determine whether any person has improperly solicited, accepted, given or promised a contribution. A contribution made in violation of the law must be returned to the contributor.

• 1. It requires a public school that provides free and reduced-price meals or other meals to students pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 20-A, chapter 223, subchapter 7 or otherwise provides to students meals eligible for reimbursement under a program administered by the United States Department of Agriculture to provide such a meal to a student who requests the meal and is otherwise eligible for the meal regardless of the student's inability to pay for the school meal or failure in the past to pay for school meals. It also requires the school to take certain actions to assist the parent or guardian of a student who requests such a meal.
• 2. It prohibits a public school from punishing a student in certain ways solely because of the student's inability to pay for a meal or because of any payments due for previous meals. It also prohibits a public school from refusing a meal to a student as a form of or as part of a disciplinary action.
• 3. It prohibits a public school from openly identifying or stigmatizing a student who cannot pay for a meal or who has payments due for previous meals by requiring the student to wear a wristband, hand stamp or other identifying mark or sign noticeable by others.
• 4. It requires a public school to communicate about a student's meal debts directly to the parent or guardian of the student rather than to the student. A public school may ask a student to carry to the student's parent or guardian a letter regarding a student's meal debt.

• 1. It strikes the requirement that a school take certain actions to assist the parent or guardian of a student who requests a meal.
• 2. It retains the prohibition that a public school may not openly identify or stigmatize a student who cannot pay for a meal or who has payments due for previous meals but strikes specific examples of ways students could be stigmatized.
• 3. It provides that a public school's communication about a student's meal must be made to the parent or guardian of the student rather than to the student directly except that, if the student inquires about the student's meal debt, the school may answer the student's inquiry.
• 4. It requires the Department of Education to develop guidance for school administrative units relating to the collection of student meal debt, including, but not limited to, best practices and information on how to create an online system for the payment of student meal debt. The amendment requires the department to post this information on its publicly accessible website.
• 5. It adds a mandate preamble.

The bill requires the Commissioner of Labor to create a list of employers who have relocated a call center, or a facility or operating unit handling at least 30% of call volume within a call center, from the State to a foreign country. An employer appearing on the list is ineligible for a state grant, loan or tax benefit for 5 years and is required to pay back the unamortized value of a state grant, loan or tax benefit previously issued to the employer. The bill requires that call center work for executive branch agencies of the State be performed in the State.

Amendment H-149
This amendment strikes the bill and replaces it with changes to the law governing the notification requirements for an employer that proposes to close or relocate an industrial or commercial facility that employs 100 or more people. It changes the notification period from 60 days prior to the closure or relocation to 90 days prior, changes the civil penalty from a maximum $500 fine to a $500 per day fine and it applies this civil penalty to both failure to notify the Department of Labor and failure to notify the employees and the municipal officers of the municipality where the facility is located.

LD 201 Chaptered Law
LD 201 Chaptered Law fiscal note

This bill proposes to provide funding to update screening equipment at courthouses located throughout the State and to replace outdated screening equipment that may be causing exposure to radiation. It proposes to establish a protocol for testing and repairing existing screening equipment. It also proposes to develop a long-range plan for testing and replacing screening equipment in a timely manner.

• 1. It creates the civil violation of the sale or transfer of a firearm to a prohibited person and provides that a 2nd or subsequent offense is a strict liability Class E crime. The bill also creates an affirmative defense to prosecution under this new civil violation and crime that the seller or transferor of the firearm requested a federally licensed firearms dealer to conduct a computerized background check under the Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Instant Criminal Background Check System on the purchaser or transferee prior to the sale or transfer of the firearm and the background check indicated that the purchaser or transferee was not a prohibited person.
• 2. It creates the Class D crime of the sale or transfer of a firearm to a prohibited person. A person is guilty of this crime if that person intentionally or knowingly sells or transfers a firearm to another person that the seller or transferor knows or believes is prohibited from possessing a firearm.
• 3. It increases the fine from $50 to $1,000 for the civil violation of giving a false or fictitious name to a firearms dealer and makes the fine mandatory.
• 4. It requires the Chief of the State Police to convene a study group to review and make recommendations regarding the so-called blue paper process as it relates to persons admitted to a psychiatric hospital on an emergency basis who are temporarily prohibited from possessing firearms. Representatives from the following are invited to participate in this review: the Office of the Attorney General, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Maine Prosecutors Association, Disability Rights Maine and any other interested parties that the Chief of the State Police determines appropriate. The Chief of the State Police is required to report the recommendations of the study group to the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety by January 30, 2020. Following receipt of the report, the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety may report out a bill to the Second Regular Session of the 129th Legislature.

• 1. Transferring jurisdiction over violations of a tribal ordinance from the State to the Passamaquoddy Tribe and the Penobscot Nation over a person who is not a member of either tribe or nation in accord with and to the extent authorized by federal law;
• 2. Increasing the level of certain criminal offenses from a maximum period of imprisonment of one year and a maximum amount of $5,000 to a maximum period of imprisonment of 3 years and a maximum amount of $15,000 over which the Penobscot Nation has the right to exercise exclusive jurisdiction as authorized by the federal Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010; and
• 3. Clarifying that the Penobscot Nation has concurrent jurisdiction with the State over criminal offenses as authorized by the federal Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013.

The Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary has authority to report out legislation to the Second Regular Session of the 129th Legislature concerning the extension of tribal court jurisdiction to felony domestic violence offenses consistent with the federal Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 and the Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010.

The tribal courts are required to participate in uniform crime reporting by reporting certain information to the Department of Public Safety, State Bureau of Identification, and the bureau will share its annual reports with tribal law enforcement agencies.

• 1. Current law makes convictions of only certain Class E crimes eligible for special restrictions on dissemination and use of criminal history record information. This bill expands eligibility to include convictions of both certain Class E crimes and certain Class D crimes;
• 2. Current law allows eligibility for restrictions on dissemination and use of criminal history record information only for persons who at the time of the commission of the crime were 18 to 20 years of age. This bill expands eligibility to a person who at the time of the commission of the crime was 18 to 25 years of age; and
• 3. This bill removes the provision repealing the current law October 1, 2019.

• 1. Removing the word "acquire" from the enumeration of the elements of an individual's right to food and removing the language limiting the exercise of acquisition;
• 2. Removing language establishing a fundamental right to be free from hunger, starvation and the endangerment of life due to scarcity of or lack of access to food; and
• 3. Specifying that the right to food does not allow an individual to abuse private property rights or abuse public lands or natural resources in the harvesting of food.

The bill also requires that health insurance carriers that provide coverage for maternity services also provide coverage for abortion services. The bill applies this requirement to all health insurance policies and contracts issued or renewed on or after January 1, 2020, except for those religious employers granted an exclusion of coverage. The bill authorizes the Superintendent of Insurance to grant an exemption from the requirements if enforcement of the requirements would adversely affect the allocation of federal funds to the State.

Amendment H-210
This amendment is the majority report of the committee. The amendment adds language exempting the provisions of the bill from the provisions of the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 24-A, section 2752. The amendment reallocates the section of the bill requiring the Department of Health and Human Services to pay for abortion services for MaineCare members and adds language to authorize the department to adopt rules using the emergency rule-making provisions of the Maine Administrative Procedure Act.

Amendment S-275
The amendment adds an appropriations and allocations section. This amendment also makes technical corrections.

LD 820 Chaptered Law
LD 820 Chaptered Law fiscal note

This bill proposes to amend the laws governing the Maine Public Employees Retirement System to provide the same retirement benefits as are provided to law enforcement officers to state employees working in law enforcement, including these job classifications:

• 1. Emergency dispatchers;
• 2. Staff in the Maine State Police computer crimes unit;
• 3. Staff in the Maine State Police Crime Laboratory;
• 4. Law enforcement staff at the Attorney General's office; and
• 5. Forest rangers.

This bill proposes to provide funding for additional case managers in the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management, Bureau of Maine Veterans' Services to provide information and assistance to veterans regarding the availability of benefits and services for veterans such as health care, home financing, property tax exemptions and income tax credits.

• 1. It makes clear that the fee for a temporary license must be established in accordance with existing law.
• 2. It clarifies that an applicant for a temporary license must provide documentation of professional liability insurance.
• 3. It removes the requirement for an applicant to demonstrate good moral character as that requirement is not required for applicants for other licenses issued by the board.
• 4. It removes the language authorizing the board to adopt rules related to exceptions to licensure.
• 5. It clarifies that, if there is a change in the supervision of a chiropractic intern, the intern must immediately cease to practice and must notify the board within 10 days.
• 6. It specifies that a chiropractic intern may not provide services without the written informed consent of the individual receiving chiropractic services.
• 7. It removes the requirement that an intern display the intern's license to be consistent with the requirements for other license categories.

The bill also prohibits the Department of Environmental Protection and the Director of the Bureau of Parks and Lands within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry from permitting, approving or otherwise authorizing any oil or natural gas exploration, development or production in, on or under the submerged and intertidal land owned by the State.

It is the intent of this legislation to generally prohibit activities relating to offshore oil and natural gas exploration, development and production within the boundaries and jurisdiction of the State, which place the State's coastal communities at economic and ecological risk from oil spills, and from the pollution caused by routine drilling operations and onshore industrialization, and threaten the quality of life and livelihoods of Maine citizens and economically significant industries, including tourism, recreation and commercial and recreational fishing, and small businesses that rely on a clean and healthy ocean and clean and healthy beaches.

Amendment H-425
This amendment, which is the majority report of the committee, amends the bill to clarify the prohibition on oil or natural gas exploration, development or production activities as follows.

• 1. It amends certain definitions to more clearly delineate the activities regulated and to specify that the transfer of oil or natural gas resources to or from the waters of the State, including both on-loading and offloading of oil or natural gas resources between an oil terminal facility and a vessel or between vessels, is not prohibited under the bill.
• 2. It removes language specifically prohibiting exploration, development or production activities that may adversely affect the waters of the State.

This bill as emergency legislation proposes to make unified appropriations and allocations for the expenditures of State Government, Highway Fund and other funds and change certain provisions of the law necessary to the proper operations of State Government for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2019, June 30, 2020 and June 30, 2021, as submitted by the Governor pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5.

The documents submitted by the Governor may be found here: https://legislature.maine.gov/ros/9634.

Amendment H-624
PART A
This Part makes allocations of funds for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2020 and June 30, 2021.

PART B
This Part recognizes an increase in the attrition rate for the 2020-2021 biennium from 1.6% to 5% for judicial branch and executive branch departments and agencies.

PART C
This Part requires the State Controller to carry forward any unexpended balances in the Personal Services and All Other line categories in the Department of Secretary of State, Administration - Motor Vehicles program, after all financial commitments for salary, benefits and other obligations and budgetary adjustments have been made, at the end of fiscal year 2018-19 to fiscal year 2019-20 and at the end of fiscal year 2019-20 to fiscal year 2020-21, to the All Other line category in the Department of Secretary of State, Administration - Motor Vehicles program to be used for the procurement and implementation of an automated driver's license testing system.

PART D
This Part allows the Commissioner of Transportation to use funds in the Multimodal Transportation Fund to make loans to counties, municipalities, state agencies and quasi-state government agencies for multimodal forms of transportation.

PART E
This Part allows the Maine Municipal Bond Bank to issue up to $75,000,000 of GARVEE bonds for highway and bridge needs.

PART F
This Part requires the State Controller to transfer amounts exceeding $100,000 from the unallocated balance in the Highway Fund, after all commitments have been met, to the Highway and Bridge Capital, Highway Light Capital and Maintenance and Operations programs within the Department of Transportation for capital needs.

PART G
This Part authorizes the Commissioner of Transportation to transfer Highway Fund Personal Services balances available at the end fiscal years 2019-20 and 2020-21 to the Department of Transportation, Highway and Bridge Capital, Highway Light Capital and Maintenance and Operations programs for capital or all other needs. The funds may be allocated by financial order upon the recommendation of the State Budget Officer and the approval of the Governor.

PART H
This Part requires the State Controller to transfer $6,345,967 in fiscal year 2019-20 and $6,404,253 in fiscal year 2020-21 from the unallocated surplus of the Highway Fund to the TransCap Trust Fund.

PART I
This Part allows TransCap Trust Fund nonbond funds to be used for capital projects with an anticipated useful life of 5 years or more.

PART J
This Part repeals the section of law that excludes the Marine Highway account within the Highway Fund from the Local Road Assistance Program calculation.

PART K
This Part provides allocations to increase by 5% the base salary of one Public Service Executive I position and one Public Service Manager II position within the Department of the Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles. This Part also requires the Department of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Human Resources to make a corresponding change to the bureau's rules governing compensation.

LD 1002 Chaptered Law
LD 1002 Chaptered Law fiscal note

• 1. Require investor-owned transmission and distribution utilities to provide customers annually, as an insert or attachment to customer bills, an informational chart showing a 10-year history of transmission, distribution and standard-offer service rates available to the customer's rate class, along with a statement of the total percentage change in those rates over the 10-year period;
• 2. Require a customer bill issued by an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility to display clearly and prominently the toll-free telephone number for the commission's consumer assistance and safety division and a statement of the consumer assistance services available by calling the division; and
• 3. Establish a process for the commission, upon finding that an investor-owned transmission and distribution utility has distributed information to customers that is misleading, deceptive or inaccurate, to require the transmission and distribution utility to provide customers a statement that corrects the misleading, deceptive or inaccurate information.
  
  The amendment also requires the commission to post informational charts showing a 10-year history of electricity rate components on the commission's website.

• 1. It defines "conversion therapy" as any practice or course of treatment that seeks or purports to change an individual's sexual orientation or gender identity, except for any practice or treatment that assists an individual undergoing a gender transition; any practice or treatment that provides acceptance, support and understanding to an individual; and any practice or treatment that facilitates an individual's coping, social support or identity exploration and development, including any therapeutic intervention that is neutral with regard to sexual orientation or gender identity, and that seeks to prevent or address unlawful conduct or unsafe sexual practices, as long as the counseling does not seek to change the individual's sexual orientation or gender identity.
• 2. It prohibits certified school psychologists and guidance counselors, nurses, doctors, physician assistants, psychologists, psychological examiners, alcohol and drug counselors and aides, social workers, pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, professional counselors, marriage and family therapists, pastoral counselors, speech-language pathologists and assistants and audiologists from advertising, offering or administering conversion therapy to individuals under 18 years of age. Advertising, offering or administering conversion therapy to an individual under 18 years of age in violation of this prohibition is grounds for discipline of the professional by the department or board that issued the professional's license, certification or registration, including but not limited to suspension or revocation of the license, certification or registration.
• 3. It prohibits MaineCare reimbursement for conversion therapy administered to an individual who is under 18 years of age.
• 4. It includes a statement of legislative findings and intent.

The bill provides for compensation payments to be made in a lump sum, and only in a lump sum in the case of a deceased person, or as an annuity.

A person is eligible to seek compensation if the person has served in whole or in part a sentence of imprisonment under the laws of this State and the person has:

• 1. Received a full and free pardon on the basis of innocence for the crime for which the person was sentenced;
• 2. Has been granted relief in accordance with a writ of habeas corpus that is based on a court finding or determination that the person is actually innocent of the crime for which the person was sentenced; or
• 3. Has been granted relief in accordance with a writ of habeas corpus and the court in which the person was convicted has entered an order dismissing the charge. The court's dismissal order must be based on a motion to dismiss in which the district attorney or the Attorney General states that no credible evidence exists that inculpates the defendant and, either in the motion or in an affidavit, the district attorney or the Attorney General states that the district attorney or Attorney General believes that the defendant is actually innocent of the crime for which the person was sentenced.

The bill repeals the existing law providing a maximum payment of $300,000 for wrongful imprisonment that is based on a pardon granted on the basis of innocence.

• 1. License up to 11 agency liquor stores in a municipality with a population over 60,000. Under current law, the maximum number of agency liquor stores that may be licensed in a municipality with a population over 45,000 is 10; and
• 2. License up to 7 agency liquor stores in a municipality with a population over 15,000 but less than 20,001 and 6 agency liquor stores in a municipality with a population over 10,000 but less than 15,001. Currently, 5 agency liquor stores are allowed in a municipality with a population over 10,000 but less than 20,001.

The amendment establishes a panel of 15 members. The following are ex officio members, although each may appoint a designee to attend meetings and participate as a panel member: the Commissioner of Public Safety; the Director of Investigations for the Office of the Attorney General; the Director of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy; and the Chief Medical Examiner. The remaining members are appointed by the Attorney General: an attorney who represents plaintiffs in actions under 42 United States Code, Section 1983; a municipal police chief; a county sheriff; a mental health professional; a representative of a statewide collective bargaining law enforcement organization; a representative of a statewide civil rights organization; an attorney who represents defendants in actions under 42 United States Code, Section 1983; a criminal prosecutor; and 3 citizens, each of whom is not and has never been a sworn law enforcement officer.

The panel is directed to select a chair and a vice-chair and must meet at least quarterly. The Attorney General must call the first meeting before January 1, 2020.

The panel examines deaths and serious injuries that result from a law enforcement officer's use of deadly force. The panel will wait to conduct its examination until the Attorney General conducts the investigation of the use of deadly force by a law enforcement officer as required in current law. The purpose of the examinations is to identify whether there was compliance with accepted and best practices under the particular circumstances and whether the practices were sufficient for the particular circumstances or whether the practices require adjustment or improvement. The panel must recommend methods of improving standards, including changes to statutes, rules, training, policies and procedures designed to ensure incorporation of best practices that demonstrate increased public safety or officer safety.

The panel may request information and records that are necessary and relevant to the review. Persons providing information or records are not criminally or civilly liable for disclosing or providing information or records as directed by the panel. The panel may consult with content experts and other professionals and discuss necessary information or records within the scope of the consultations.

The proceedings of the panel are not public proceedings and records of the panel are confidential and are not subject to subpoena, discovery or introduction into evidence in a civil or criminal action. To ensure oversight, the Legislature may inspect and review the records, but it must be under conditions that ensure the information is not further disclosed. The Office of the Attorney General shall disclose conclusions of the review panel but may not disclose information, records or data that are otherwise classified as confidential.

The bill also directs the Governor's Energy Office to convene an electric vehicle task force, which is charged with reviewing a number of matters relating to electric vehicles and electric vehicle infrastructure. The director of the office is required to report by February 15, 2020 to the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology and the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation regarding any recommendations of the task force, including proposed legislation. After reviewing the report, the committees may report out legislation to the Second Regular Session of the 129th Legislature.

The bill also directs the Commissioner of Transportation to take a number of actions regarding short-term and long-term planning for road infrastructure and highway funding, including a review of potential new vehicle or road use fees. The commissioner is directed to report by February 15, 2021 to the joint standing committees of the Legislature having jurisdiction over energy, utilities and technology matters and transportation matters regarding those actions and including any findings and recommendations and proposed legislation necessary to implement those recommendations. After reviewing the report, the committees may report out legislation to the First Regular Session of the 130th Legislature.

This bill also provides funding to the Department of Transportation to support and expand local volunteer driver networks; to create a pilot purchase of service program in a selected region of the State to provide senior citizens and persons with disabilities vouchers to purchase their own transportation services; and for regional transportation providers throughout the State, split evenly between rural and urban areas, to expand their services, including addressing regional workforce needs.

Amendment H-453
This amendment provides funding to the Department of Transportation from the General Fund instead of the Highway Fund to support and expand local volunteer driver networks and for regional transportation providers through the State to expand their services. Resources must be distributed evenly between urban and rural areas.

LD 1258 Amendment H-453 fiscal note

The bill requires a municipality or group of municipalities to select the borders of the transportation corridor district. The bill requires that the formation of a transportation corridor district be approved by voter referendum in each participating municipality. The bill authorizes a district's board of directors, with approval from all municipalities in the district, to change the borders of the district. The bill also provides that a transportation corridor district, if approved by voter referendum in each municipality participating in the district, may borrow money temporarily and issue its negotiable notes for that money and issue securities of the district.

LD 1266 Chaptered Law
LD 1266 Chaptered Law fiscal note

• 1. Promotes effective communication between the state agency and federally recognized Indian tribes in the State;
• 2. Promotes positive government-to-government relations between the State and federally recognized Indian tribes in the State; and
• 3. Enables federally recognized Indian tribes in the State to consult with the state agency in a meaningful and timely manner regarding the development of legislation, rules and policies proposed by the state agency on matters that significantly or uniquely affect the tribes.

This bill recognizes that market forces that affect the marketing and bargaining position of individual farmers similarly affect the marketing and bargaining position of individual harvesters and haulers of forest products, and it expands application of the Maine Agricultural Marketing and Bargaining Act of 1973 to include harvesters and haulers of forest products.

Specifically, this bill amends the laws governing agricultural marketing and bargaining to:

• 1. Expand the definition of "independent agricultural contractor" to include a person who harvests or hauls forest products under contract;
• 2. Expand the legislative findings provision to include findings concerning independent agricultural contractors, which include harvesters and haulers of forest products; and
• 3. Include in the definition of "producer" a person engaged in the production of forest products.

In addition, the bill sets forth the Legislature's finding that, with respect to loggers and forest products haulers, the inequity of power in determining compensation and the lack of opportunity to join together in bargaining over compensation can result in unfair contract rates for their services and that it is in the public interest to expand application of the Maine Agricultural Marketing and Bargaining Act of 1973 to include harvesters and haulers of forest products.

LD 1459 Chaptered Law
LD 1459 Chaptered Law fiscal note

Specifically, the bill directs the Board of Trustees of the Maine Criminal Justice Academy to establish policies and procedures to eliminate profiling and require mandatory training and anti-profiling education by all law enforcement agencies in the State. All law enforcement agencies must adopt written policies on profiling. The bill requires law enforcement agencies to implement procedures for receiving, investigating and responding to complaints of profiling. The bill also directs the Attorney General to adopt rules and guidelines for collecting and reporting data regarding profiling. Rules must define what data must be collected, how it must be collected and how the data may be reported and used to eliminate profiling and inform law enforcement, the public and the joint standing committees of the Legislature having jurisdiction over judiciary matters and criminal justice and public safety matters.

Amendment H-581
The bill prohibits profiling on the basis of actual or perceived race, gender, ethnicity, religion, socioeconomic status, ancestry or national origin by law enforcement and requires data collection to provide information about whether profiling is occurring and, if so, the extent to which it is occurring. This amendment retains the prohibition on profiling on the basis of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, socioeconomic status, age, national origin or ancestry by requiring the establishment of anti-profiling policies but removes the data collection requirement and instead directs the Attorney General to explore data collection techniques and report to the Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary findings and recommendations by March 15, 2020. The committee may report out legislation to the Second Regular Session of the 129th Legislature.

The amendment requires that training of law enforcement officers include anti-profiling education and instruction.

• 1. It establishes a tax of 3/4¢ per pound for wild blueberries shipped from outside the State for processing in the State.
• 2. It requires detailed reporting of the wild blueberry transactions subject to the tax.
• 3. It requires the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to conduct periodic random inspections of wild blueberry shippers and processors so that each shipper and processor is inspected at least once in a 3-year period.
• 4. It requires the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine to maintain and periodically update a detailed survey of the wild blueberry industry acreage, assets and other industry data.
• 5. It requires the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine to submit an itemized report of its yearly revenue and expenditures to the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over agriculture matters.
• 6. It requires shippers and processors to maintain permanent records of the origin of wild blueberries received by the shippers and processors.
• 7. It prohibits the mixing or commingling of wild blueberries harvested from a field with wild blueberries harvested from another field and requires each field from which wild blueberries are harvested to have a unique identifying number and shippers and processors to record for each lot of wild blueberries shipped, received, transported or processed the unique identifying number of that lot.
• 8. It changes the penalty for a 2nd violation of the record-keeping requirements within a 5-year period from up to $10,000 to $10,000.
• 9. It allows the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to audit a shipper or processor at its own discretion.

The amendment strikes detailed reporting, for processors, of wild blueberry transactions subject to the tax.

The bill requires the State Tax Assessor to forward an annual report containing information pertinent to the collection of the blueberry tax to the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine. The amendment specifies that the report must include the total number of pounds of: wild blueberries grown in the State, wild blueberries processed in the State, unprocessed wild blueberries imported into the State and unprocessed wild blueberries exported from the State.

The bill requires the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to conduct periodic random inspections of wild blueberry shippers and processors. The amendment strikes the requirement that each shipper and processor be inspected at least once in a 3-year period.

The amendment strikes the requirement that the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine maintain and periodically update a detailed survey of the wild blueberry industry acreage and assets and other industry data.

The amendment strikes the requirement that the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine submit an itemized report of its yearly revenue and expenditures to the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over agriculture matters.

The amendment removes the repeal of the current law that provides an exception for wild blueberries harvested outside the State to the prohibition on the transport of wild blueberries in quantities exceeding 25 pounds without first obtaining a transportation permit from the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine.

The amendment removes the provision in the bill that changes the penalty for a 2nd violation of the record-keeping requirements within a 5-year period from up to $10,000 to $10,000.

The amendment removes from the bill the prohibition on mixing or commingling of wild blueberries harvested from a field with wild blueberries from another field and the requirement that each field from which blueberries are harvested have a unique identifying number and for shippers and processors to record for each lot of wild blueberries the unique identifying number of that lot. Instead, the amendment provides that wild blueberries must be uniquely identified by the field from which they were harvested during transportation to a receiving facility.

The amendment provides an effective date for this legislation of January 1, 2020.

LD 1482 Chaptered Law
LD 1482 Chaptered Law fiscal note

Sports pool operators may accept wagers on all professional or amateur sports events except high school sports events and other events in which a majority of the participants are minors. Sports pool operators may not accept wagers from persons whose identity they cannot verify; persons under 18 years of age; the director, officers and employees of the sports pool operator and relatives living in the same household as those persons; athletes, coaches, referees and umpires participating in the sports event; other interested persons including persons who own more than 50% of the legal or beneficial interest in any team if the sports event upon which the wager is placed is overseen by the person's league or sports governing body; persons with confidential information that could affect the outcome of the sports event; persons who are on a list of persons who are to be excluded or removed from a sports wagering lounge established by the board, including persons who voluntarily request to be excluded; and persons who make wagers on behalf of another person.

The bill requires the board to adopt rules regulating the operation of sports pools, including rules restricting the types of wagers permitted, establishing the maximum wagers that may be accepted from any one person on a single sports event, regulating the design and minimum security standards for in-person sports wagering lounges located within a commercial track or off-track betting facility and establishing record-keeping, reporting and auditing requirements.

The bill further requires that 18% of net sports pool income be transferred to the board for distribution as follows: 1% for administrative expenses of the board; 2% for primary and secondary school education in the State; 2% for the Maine Community College System's scholarships program; 2% to the Agricultural Fair Support Fund; 2% to the fund used to supplement harness racing purses; 2% to the Fund to Encourage Racing at Maine's Commercial Tracks; 2% to the Fund to Stabilize Off-track Betting Facilities; and 5% to be divided equally among the tribal governments of the federally recognized Indian tribes in the State.

Finally, the bill provides that the laws governing unlawful gambling and games of chance do not apply to sports pool operators that comply with the laws governing sports pools.

A benefit corporation may be subject to a benefit enforcement proceeding for failing to pursue or create general public benefit or a specific public benefit as set forth in its articles of incorporation, or for a violation of any obligation, duty or standard of conduct imposed.

A benefit corporation must make its annual benefit report available publicly.

LD 1519 Chaptered Law
LD 1519 Chaptered Law fiscal note

This bill as amended creates a sustenance fishing designated use as a subcategory of the applicable fishing designated use for certain specified water body segments within Maine's water classification program where there is or may be sustenance fishing or increased fish consumption by members of the Indian tribes in Maine or other Maine citizens. This bill as amended also requires that the Department of Environmental Protection adopt routine technical rules no later than March 1, 2020 that calculate and establish water quality criteria protective of human health for toxic pollutants and the sustenance fishing designated use as established by this bill. This bill as amended limits the scope of the sustenance fishing designated use created by this bill by providing that, for all purposes, including for the purposes of the State's water classification program, the federal Clean Water Act and related rules, regulations and guidance, the sustenance fishing designated use created by this bill as amended is deemed protected through water quality criteria for human health calculated and established for the identified water body segments using, in addition to the other assumptions used in developing human health criteria generally under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 38, section 420, subsection 2 and rules adopted by the department, a fish consumption rate of 200 grams per day and a cancer risk level of one in 1,000,000, except for inorganic arsenic, the risk level for which is governed by Title 38, section 420, subsection 2, paragraph J. The designation in this bill as amended of specific waters subject to a sustenance fishing designated use is not intended to preclude a future designation of other such waters through a similar legislative process or as otherwise provided by law.

• 1. It clarifies the motorcycle rider education course provisions.
• 2. It clarifies that a motorcycle rider education school must continually comply with the requirements to obtain or renew a motorcycle rider education school license.
• 3. It clarifies which records must be retained by a motorcycle rider education school for 5 years.
• 4. It clarifies the penalty provisions contained in the bill and makes failure to comply with motorcycle rider education instructor standards and requirements a traffic infraction.

It amends the enforcement provision governing dealers, transporters and automobile graveyards to change investigators to motor vehicle detectives to match the current job title.

It replaces the requirement that an applicant for an original motor vehicle registration submit a dealer's certificate with the requirement that the applicant submit a properly completed bill of sale. It replaces the requirement that a municipal official retain from the use taxes collected a fee of $1.25 for each vehicle with a requirement that the Secretary of State be reimbursed by the State Tax Assessor $1.25 per use tax certificate processed. It requires registration certificates to be forwarded to the Secretary of State as well as the State Tax Assessor.

It amends the law allowing the Secretary of State to refuse to issue or to recall a vanity plate having language that encourages violence or may result in an act of violence or other unlawful activity to remove express language stating that it is the Secretary of State who makes the finding regarding the language.

It repeals the requirement that the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife submit a new sportsman registration plate design every 6 years.

It repeals the trailer transit plate provision from the law regarding temporary registration plates and enacts the language of the provision in the law regarding special dealer licenses and plates. It makes a violation of that provision a traffic infraction and specifies a trailer transit plate expires annually at the end of March.

It removes the 10-year authorization period for recognition license plates.

It reduces the minimum number of registrations required for eligibility for the 25-year permanent registration program for semitrailers from 30,000 to 20,000.

It repeals the moratorium on commemorative veteran decals, which ran from October 1, 2009 to October 1, 2014.

It clarifies that International Registration Plan credentials may be presented in electronic format.

It changes the retention period for information pertaining to a scrapped vehicle from one year to 5 years to bring it into compliance with the record requirements for salvage vehicle recyclers. It adds an accuracy requirement to allow for a penalty for recyclers who incorrectly record information for scrapped vehicles of model years 1995 to 1999 and makes a violation a traffic infraction.

It amends the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 29-A, section 667, regarding salvage vehicles, to change the reporting requirements due date in the provisions regarding surrender and cancellation of a certificate of title or certificate of salvage from "immediately" to within 30 days. It adds scrap processors to the list of persons to whom an owner must have transferred a vehicle for which a certificate of salvage has not been issued in order for that vehicle to be deemed declared by the owner to be a salvage vehicle. It also allows a salvage dealer, recycler or scrap processor to retain possession of a certificate of salvage until the recycler scraps or dismantles the vehicle and requires that 30 days after the scrapping or dismantling of the vehicle the certificate of title or certificate of salvage must be delivered to the Secretary of State for cancellation. It repeals the current requirement regarding the surrender of the certificate of title or certificate of salvage.

It requires a salvage dealer, recycler or scrap processor to obtain the vehicle seller's name and address from a government-issued photograph identification document or credential. It requires a licensed mobile crusher to maintain an operator log for each of its locations, which must include the make, model, model year and vehicle identification number of each vehicle crushed and the date of the action.

It adds the requirement for recyclers to use the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System as required by federal law and regulation.

It provides for the issuance of a commercial learner's permit for one year.

It provides a motorcycle driver education instructor a hearing pursuant to Title 29-A, chapter 23, subchapter 2, article 3 when refused an instructor's license or the instructor's license is suspended or revoked.

It allows the Secretary of State to suspend, revoke or refuse to issue or renew a driver education school or instructor license or deny a driver education program certificate of completion for just cause or for noncompliance with statutory or regulatory requirements.

It provides that a driver's license or non-driver identification card of a person under 21 years of age must bear a distinctive layout or marking rather than a distinctive color code.

It eliminates the sticker designation for a deaf or hard-of-hearing person and replaces it with a distinctive marker or code on the person's driver's license or non-drive identification card.

It clarifies that when any change is made to a driver's license, non-drive identification card, registration certificate or learner's permit that requires that an updated credential be issued, it is considered a duplicate for processing purposes.

It includes vehicles of the Attorney General's office and the Secretary of State's office in the definition of "police vehicle" in the law governing emergency and auxiliary lights.

• 1. Extending the criminal jurisdiction of the Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe to persons who are not members of any federally recognized Indian tribe, nation, band or other group when such persons commit certain crimes on the Penobscot Indian Reservation or the Passamaquoddy Indian Reservation;
• 2. Expanding the jurisdiction of the Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe from criminal offenses with a maximum period of imprisonment of one year and a maximum fine of $5,000 for any one offense to criminal offenses with a maximum period of imprisonment of 3 years and a maximum fine of $15,000 for any one offense but not to exceed a total penalty or punishment greater than imprisonment for 9 years, as authorized by the federal Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, Public Law 111-211; and
• 3. Ensuring that defendants prosecuted in the Penobscot Nation Tribal Court and Passamaquoddy Tribal Court have the rights afforded defendants by the federal Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, Public Law 111-211; 25 United States Code, Section 1302 (2019); and the United States Constitution.