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Good morning from Augusta,
This week marked a major transition in the legislative session, as policy committees have nearly completed their work for the first regular session. There are still a few stragglers with the Judicial and Energy Committees, but every other committee has completed their work.
Focus and attention has now almost exclusively shifted to the floor of the House and Senate, where an increasing number of divided reports are beginning to absorb an immense amount of time. Both chambers remained in session into the early evening on three days this week, because of the increased workload. The legislature will be in session Monday through Thursday next week, Monday through Friday the following week and three days the following week with the goal of adjourning by the 18th. Presiding officers have instructed members to prepare for morning and evening sessions from now on.
Additionally, this week, on Thursday, we attended a “Lunch and Learn” session where a proposed agriculture bond initiative that would include funding for both agriculture and forestry was introduced. The bond, estimated to range between $35 million and $55 million, would support infrastructure for farm, food, and forest products, with specific attention for dairy and working farmland. It remains unclear how the logging community might benefit until the official language is released, but we will continue to keep you informed as more details emerge.
Lastly, we are happy to report that LD 1212, Resolve, to Study Opportunities for the Efficiency Maine Trust to Support the Promotion and Use of Modern Wood Heating, was passed unanimously by the Senate and will now head to the House for its approval. This bill, sponsored by Senator Matt Harrington (R-York), would require 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. We anticipate this will be passed in the House as well and should move on to the Governor.
Paid Family Medical Bills
On Monday next week, all of the Paid Family and Medical Leave bills head to the floor of the House and the Senate. We will be in touch over the weekend with members that have key legislators that need to hear from you to ensure they vote the right way. Information on all of the bills up for initial votes is below and messaging will be sent out over the weekend to those we need assistance from.
SUPPORT the MINORITY REPORT to LD 894 - sponsored by Senate President Mattie Daughtry. The minority report includes her bill but also includes pro-business changes. This report makes improvements to the Undue Hardship provision, makes employer penalties more manageable, and includes a 120-day eligibility threshold.
SUPPORT LD 1307 - sponsored by Senator Dick Bradstreet. The PLC is in Support of LD 1307 because it would simply reimburse an employer for premiums paid into the program who then later received approval for a substitute plan. Additionally, if the employer deducted the employee portion of the premium from their wages, it would allow them to reimburse them for what was paid in. It is our opinion that if the employer has applied for an alternative plan and has no intention of enrolling in the state plan, they should be reimbursed for the overpayment, just like what is done with income taxes.
SUPPORT LD 1712 - sponsored by Representative Tiffany Roberts. This bill provides examples of what types of conditions constitute undue hardship for an employer and allows an employer to determine other conditions, based on that employer's specific business, that constitute undue hardship.
Although not perfect, this bill aims to correct one of the issues our organization identified during the rulemaking process. The undue hardship provision of the statute states specifically, “Use of such leave must be scheduled to prevent undue hardship on the employer as reasonably determined by the employer.”
SUPPORT LD 1333 - sponsored by Representative Jen Poirier. LD 1333 would require an employee to be employed with an employer for a minimum of 120 days before being eligible to take leave. This is a common-sense change and would allow the employee to be established with the employer and pay in the first quarter portion of the benefit program.
Second, it attempts to clear up an issue we brought up during the final rulemaking process by reducing the retroactive application for benefits window from 90 days to 30 days. The program must implement a system of checks and balances to ensure accountability.
Finally, LD 1333 would put important guardrails in place to prohibit an employee from receiving over 100% of the employees’ wages.
The opposition to these common-sense changes will say that this is "gutting the program" and "no changes should be made before benefits start in May of 2026". We feel as though these are modest changes that can be made before it is too late. There is no reason why changes shouldn't be made to the program that will help strengthen it in the future. There are also some Republicans that see these bills as making a terrible program better, therefore not wanted to vote for improvements. The reality is that this program isn't going anywhere any time soon and that these changes will help an already tough climate for the business community.
Update on remaining PLC Priority Bills (more below)
Our priority bills remain in a holding pattern as they await final language reviews from their respective policy committees. Despite numerous follow-ups with committee members, little progress has been made to get these bills out of Committee and on to the floor. We had expected reviews to occur this past week, but committee policy analysts are currently overwhelmed with a backlog of legislative work. At this stage of the session, committees must receive permission from the presiding officers to convene, which adds uncertainty to when bill language will be finalized and publicly reported. In the meantime, legislators on the committees will review and discuss bill language by email to ensure it meets their expectations.
As the backlog begins to resolve itself, bills will move quickly to the House and Senate for final consideration. With only 12 legislative days remaining, we will continue to keep you informed as additional legislation moves through the final days of the session. Please keep a close eye on your email as we may reach out at a moment’s notice for your assistance in reaching out to legislators in your area.
Have a great weekend and let me know if you have any questions.
Best,
Dana
Bills we are tracking this session can be found here.
Priority Bills Awaiting Final Language Review - not yet officially scheduled.
LD 195, “An Act to Create the Small Business Capital Savings Account Program”,Sen. Trey Stewart (R-Aroostook), Housing and Economic Development. (Support)
LD 195 is our bill to create a pilot program for businesses in the farming, fishing, and forestry industries to set aside revenue tax-free, up to $250,000 at one time in a savings account to be used in the future for capital expenditures. By creating these accounts, your business can save and later re-invest without paying state income taxes and not be forced to spend that money all in the same tax year. The PLC testimony can be found here.
On Thursday, May 22nd, LD 195 had its final work session in the Housing and Economic Development (HED) Committee. The HED committee voted ought to pass/ought not to pass on a vote of 6-6 on the original bill but amended it to lower the size of the small business included in the policy from 99 employees down to 49 employees. While this is a positive step forward, there's still a significant amount of work ahead to get this bill across the finish line because even though it was a bi-partisan vote in favor, there is a an equal number in opposition.
LD 1313, An Act to Promote Equity in the Forest Products Industry by Allowing Commercial Wood Haulers to Be Eligible for Certain Sales Tax Exemptions and Refunds, Sen. Brad Farrin (R-Somerset) – Taxation Committee (Support)
On April 22nd, the Taxation Committee voted unanimously ought to pass as amended. LD 1313 will provide a permanent sales tax exemption for log trucks, trailers, service trucks, and pick-up trucks used primarily in intrastate commerce for commercial wood harvesting companies. Currently, we are working with the committee analyst to refine the language around the definition of “hauling.” Clarifying this language will simplify the bill and ensure Maine Revenue Services understands what equipment is considered sales tax exempt. The next step is a formal language review, after which the bill will head to the Senate for an initial vote. The PLC testimony can be found here.
LD 1664, An Act to Repeal the Dirigo Incentives Program, Sen. Mike Tipping (D-Penobscot) – Housing and Economic Development Committee (Support)
This legislation, sponsored by Senator Mike Tipping (D-Orono) was an attempt to eliminate the program, which was just created in 2023 to replace the Pine Tree Development Zone program and is targeted toward natural resource-based industries in the state.
In the background, the PLC has been working with the Mills Administration for the last year to correct an issue for logging and trucking companies that have more than 20 employees. Currently, these companies cannot qualify for Dirigo if they lay off employees seasonally. The only way to correct this issue was to amend the statute. The PLC then worked with the bill sponsor and the committee to amend the bill and strip everything out of it, except to include language to correct the issue for logging companies with 20 or more employees that must lay off their employees during mud season.
We’re proud to report that LD 1664 was voted Ought to Pass as Amended by a bi-partisan majority of the Committee to correct this issue and allow logging companies with 20 or more employees to qualify for the program.
LD 1733, An Act to Provide Reduced Interest Rates for Logging and Fishing Operations, Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford) – Housing and Economic Development Committee (Support)
This bill would create a revolving loan program for logging contractors and commercial fishermen to purchase harvesting equipment with a 2% or lower interest rate.
On Thursday, May 15th, the bill received unanimous support from all committee members present. The next challenge will be addressing the funding component, but we’re optimistic about advancing the policy this session and pursuing funding in a future session, once the statute is in place. LD 1733 now heads to the Senate and will go before the full Legislature for a vote following a formal language review. The PLC testimony can be found here.