CHANGES PROPOSED TO ANIMAL WELFARE LAWS

Thursday, March 28th, the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee held a public hearing on LD 1362-An Act to Improve the Administration of Animal Welfare. The bill sweeps through animal welfare laws to remove inconsistencies, clarify language, streamline enforcement and make changes to reflect input from the Animal Welfare Advisory Committee. Because of the scope of this bill, the Committee will address this bill by section in multiple work sessions.

The bill:

• Makes the Department of Agriculture responsible for the fees incurred by animal shelters for providing food and shelter to a stray dog for the first six days after the stray is found.

Although the intention of this bill is to shift the financial burden of stray dogs from the municipality to the State, the municipal savings are likely to be minimal. Typically, municipalities enter into flat rate contracts with animal shelters and do not pay the per-diem fees addressed in this section.

• Increases in fines for repeat offenders of animal welfare laws.

The bill would establish progressive fines for repeat offenders of animal welfare laws.

The bill:

• Shifts the authority to order animal euthanasia from veterinarians to ACOs.

Under current laws veterinarians order the euthanasia of severely sick or injured animals. Under the bill, the responsibility would shift to the ACOs, with a veterinarian’s written recommendation. This bill adds a clause protecting the veterinarian from liability. This section also adds "extreme viciousness" as a reason for euthanasia, but provides no guidelines for making that judgment.

• Removes the section of the statue that addresses the finding of stray animals.

The elimination of this language may impair the ability of ACOs trying to explain to the finders of a stray animal that they are not entitled to immediate ownership.

• Exacerbates unfunded mandate enacted in 1993.

In 1993 a bill was enacted that required ACOs to be the respondents to all rabies calls. The enactment was done by a "super majority" vote of the legislature and is therefore a legal unfunded mandate. This bill strengthens that mandate by holding "the municipality" responsible for all rabies response, if for any reason the ACO fails to respond. As will be seen immediately below, the bill also increases the financial penalty by five-fold on municipal officials for failing to comply with animal welfare laws.

• Increases fines on municipal officials.

Under current law, any mayor, municipal officer, clerk, town or city manager, administrative assistant to the mayor, town or city councilor, dog recorder of unorganized territories, constable, police officer, sheriff or animal control officer who fails to carry out his/her animal welfare control duties is subject to a fine that ranges from $10 to $50. Under the bill the range of fines would increase to $50 to $250.

• Removes criteria for appropriate shelter during inclement weather.

Under current law, the criteria for determining that a dog has inadequate shelter may be indicated by the shivering of the dog due to cold weather for a continuos period of 30 minutes. This bill removes this criteria and raises concerns among ACOs that without the criteria the law could be broadly interpreted and applied inconsistently.

• Omits redefining prevention of cruelty.

As written, ACOs feel that the criteria for defining cruelty to animals is vague, and that this bill does not take the opportunity to properly define the act of animal cruelty.

If you are interested in attending any of the work sessions, you should contact Committee Clerk Jean Davenport at 287-1312 for dates and times of the work sessions. We urge you to contact Agriculture Committee members to express your views and concerns on LD 1362.

The Natural Resources Committee unanimously approved a bill that relaxes the "undue hardship" standard as it currently must be used by Zoning Boards of Appeal in their consideration of applications for a variance from dimensional zoning requirements, such as lot size, length of frontage, or property line setbacks.

Under present law, the "undue hardship" standard is one of four standards that have to be met before an applicant can be granted a variance from a zoning ordinance.

The "undue hardship" standard has been interpreted by the courts as the equivalent of the "takings" standard; i.e., the variance must be granted only if failing to grant a relaxation of the local code would result in the loss of all reasonable use of the property.

Because the "undue hardship" standard is such a difficult test to pass, variance requests for minor deviations from the local rules put appeal boards in a bind. Should they apply the "undue hardship" standard and deny otherwise reasonable requests for de minimus variation from an established standard, or should they grant the variance even though they would be ignoring the law in so-doing?

LD 1074, as presented to the Committee several weeks ago, would have simply substituted the "undue hardship" standard with a standard of "practical difficulty." Under the printed bill, instead of showing that application of the local code would render the property effectively useless, the "practical difficulty" standard would only require a showing of "significant economic injury." As printed, LD 1074 would have applied to all "dimensional" zoning standards but it would not apply to "use" variances. In order to obtain permission to put a property to a certain "use" not permitted by ordinance, the "undue hardship" variance would still have to be obtained.

Environmental advocates and the Department of Environmental Protection opposed LD 1074 primarily for the reason that the new variance standard was imprecise and could lead to a substantial relaxation of any dimensional standard established in Maine’s shoreland zones.

MMA’s Legislative Policy Committee supported LD 1074 under certain conditions. Those conditions were taken into account by the Committee, and the amended version of the bill does the following:

• The practical difficulty standard cannot be applied in the shoreland zone;

• The practical difficulty standard will not be established as a matter of statute; instead, each municipality is authorized under the amendment to adopt the practical difficulty standard by amending their ordinance accordingly;

• As was the case with the printed bill, the "practical difficulty" standard would only apply to dimensional standards. The amendment goes further to limit the dimensional standards for which a variance can be granted under the new "practical difficulty" standard to lot area, lot coverage, frontage, and setback requirements;

• Municipalities that choose to adopt the new practical difficulty standard are expressly authorized to limit the degree to which the dimensional variance may be varied. The municipality may choose, for example, to limit the dimensional variances to 10% or 20% of the dimensional requirement established by ordinance.

The "practical difficulty" standard, should municipalities choose to adopt it, would read as follows: "The strict application of the ordinance to the property precludes the ability of the petitioner to pursue a use permitted in the zoning district in which the property is located and results in significant economic injury to the petitioner."

The Committee’s positive report on LD 1074 should be coming before the House within the week.

At long last, the Act To Comprehensively Realign the Tax Structure of the State is a printed bill!

Legislative Document 1742, sponsored by Representative Marc Vigue (Winslow) and cosponsored by Senator Jill Goldthwait (Hancock), has finally worked its way through the process to become an active legislative proposal. It has been referred to the Committee on Taxation, and should be scheduled for its public hearing within the next few weeks. We are extremely appreciative of the willingness of Representative Vigue and Senator Goldthwait to sponsor this important piece of legislation.

As has been previously reported in the Bulletin, the Committee on Taxation is taking comprehensive tax reform very seriously this session. A great number of tax bills have been moved through the Committee already, and it now is in a position to devote some time to the many complex issues associated with significant reform. Apparently, the Committee intends to devote at least two days a week to work on a tax reform proposal which may blend elements from a number of proposals into a "Committee bill."

On a related note, an Ad Hoc subcommittee of MMA’s Legislative Policy Committee (LPC) met this week to review a draft of the Governor’s Revenue Targeting legislation.

In summary, the Revenue Targeting bill would require the Legislature to make conscious decisions about how much revenue the state and the municipalities together should raise over the course of any given biennium as a percentage of the state’s Total Personal Income. In addition, the Legislature would consciously decide how much of that revenue should be raised by the property tax and how much should be raised by state-level taxation. Once those decisions are made, revenues that are raised over the targeted amounts are redirected back to the taxpayers.

After giving the draft proposal a serious review, the "On Target" subcommittee met with the Director of the State Planning Office, Evan Richert, and presented Evan with a number of suggestions that would improve the legislation from the municipal perspective. The subcommittee is going to continue reviewing the Governor’s proposal, and will be presenting a recommendation to the LPC at its meeting on April 17.

Members of the On Target subcommittee are Bruce Benway (Biddeford), Carl Betterley (Scarborough), Paul Bird (Gray), Gary Brown (Vassalboro), David Cole (Gorham), Dinnie Thorndike (Lincolnville), Clem Wilson (Brunswick), and Gary Wood (Portland).

The Governor’s Task Force on Intergovernmental Structure, after meeting several times, is beginning to identify areas of service delivery that could be delivered through an interlocal effort.

At the Task Force’s third meeting last Friday, the members examined a matrix of service delivery and funding sources and reviewed the results of a survey on the use of interlocal agreements between municipalities. The Task Force also heard presentations from the State Board of Education and the Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments on various models and examples of regional service delivery.

The Maine Development Foundation (MDF) conducted the interlocal agreement survey. Contacting a sample of 85 communities identified as "service centers" and Maine’s 16 counties. MDF reported a 58% response rate of 49 municipalities and 9 counties.

The findings of the survey included:

• The 58 respondents reported a total of 349 interlocal agreements. Most of these were in the form of mutual aid agreements for the delivery of public safety and public works. Others included: contractual agreements, memos of understanding, and special purpose districts.

• Most of the agreements were entered in order to save money and to share facilities. Few agreements were created to address a state or federal mandate.

• Barriers to entering into agreements were described as: unfavorable discussions with other communities and the need for local control. The "lack of time" was listed as the next most common barrier. It was noted that while so-called unfavorable discussions are claimed as a barrier, it is important to recognize that the fact that discussions took place is important.

• Funds for planning and technical assistance were listed as incentives needed to encourage intergovernmental cooperation.

The types of agreements between municipalities and counties were commonly limited to contracts for law enforcement patrols and solid waste recycling programs.

While there is increasing interest in agreements between municipalities, few municipalities are looking to the counties to participate in a regional service delivery system. Several Task Force members described the primary barrier to counties becoming more active in regional service delivery as a sense of a lack of accountability to local communities. Several other barriers were discussed, including a significant "cultural barrier," but a lack of faith with county government as an efficient service provider is a significant obstacle to expanding the level of cooperation.

Counties were described as having the potential to offer contracts to provide regional services for purchasing, payroll, public safety dispatching, specialized fire units, and law enforcement, but several Task Force members felt some changes are needed to ensure a more accountable and efficient level of administration before they would be willing to participate in a regional system managed by county government.

Out of the discussion came the conclusion that "Ten years ago communities did not talk with each other, today towns are talking and anxious to find ways to work together."

The Director of The Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments described the role the regional COGs play in the delivery of services for local governments. While many of the COGs have traditionally offered planning and economic development assistance on a regional basis they are empowered to offer a much broader range of services.

COGs, as quasi-government organizations, are similar to municipalities in having the capacity to deliver services. The significant difference is that COGs do not have the authority to raise revenues through taxation. However, COGs can be contracted by local communities to manage the delivery of any particular service a community may want.

Representatives from the State Board of Education provided the Task Force with a presentation of a model for consolidating education services on a regional basis. Describing a system today that has 720+ buildings and 150 superintendents they outlined a plan that would regionalize services under specialized administrative units.

The plan would consolidate an area with 9 districts into one administrative unit for the delivery of support services, i.e. busing, meals, facilities and health services, plus two administrative units for the delivery of instructional services. The model would operate with 3 superintendents in a region that presently has 9 separate districts.

The presenters report they are receiving mixed reactions as they travel around the State. However, the model offers a well thought out plan to consolidate the delivery of services with the possibility of significant cost savings.

The Task Force concluded their day's work with a brainstorming session to identify possible areas of service delivery and funding that could be changed. With topics as broad as the delivery of corrections services and the accountability of governments, a sub-committee was appointed to filter these ideas and report back to the Task Force, recommended changes to the way we deliver services.

An amended bill governing the procedures and standards that would apply in the case of a subdivision that crosses over town lines has received a favorable report from the Natural Resources Committee.

As printed, LD 866 would have required the Planning Boards of both communities to jointly review the subdivision and use the "stricter" standards of the two municipal ordinances.

As amended, the bill would not require the melding of two planning boards into a single board, with all the attendant problems of weighted voting and merging contradictory procedural steps. Instead, the two boards would only be required to hold their meetings together in the same place at the same time, without each board relinquishing its own jurisdiction over the subdivision. Language is also being developed that would allow the two planning boards to waive the joint meetings by mutual agreement.

Instead of the bill’s original language concerning the "stricter" ordinance standards, the amendment creates a new subdivision review standard that would require each board, as it reviews a two-town subdivision, to consider the traffic impacts of the subdivision on the adjoining town where the subdivision is also located.

The Judiciary Committee took up a couple of "takings" bills on Wednesday, two weeks after the proposals were given public hearings at the Civic Center. In different ways, both bills, LDs 475 and 1257, deal with the issue of "regulatory" taking, which occurs under current law when a land use regulation so severely limits the use of a person’s property that it no longer provides any reasonable return.

The first bill taken up by the Committee in work session, LD 475, would put out to the voters a proposed amendment to Maine’s Constitution that would add a line asserting that there is a right to private property and that the "right shall never be questioned." In a lopsided 9-1 vote of Committee members present, LD 475 received an "ought not to pass" report. Most Committee members felt the legal impact of the proposed constitutional amendment was unclear, especially with the phrase "shall never be questioned," and that the rights of the community to impose regulations upon itself may in some cases legitimately interact with any "absolute" right of property ownership.

Representative Paul Waterhouse (Bridgton), the sole Committee member in favor of the proposed amendment, argued that the same language is found in the Maine Constitution with respect to the right to bear arms.

LD 1257 would deal much more specifically with the takings issue. This bill would require that state and local governments compensate any landowner whose property is devalued by more than 50% of its pre-regulatory fair market value. An almost identical bill was brought before the Legislature two years ago, which resulted in a between-sessions working group of interested parties and the enactment of a law in 1996 that created a formal mediation process to deal with takings complaints. The mediation system, which is up and running and has successfully resolved the first and only case that has come before it thus far, is designed to resolve takings complaints whenever possible, and monitor the actual incidence of "takings" in Maine.

LD 1257 has not been reported out of the Judiciary Committee as of yet, although the work session discussion indicated that it may get the same lopsided report as LD 475. One Committee member who generally favors the compensation-for-takings concept thought the mediation process should be given more time to be tested. Many of the other Committee members expressed even deeper concerns with the one-sidedness of LD 1257, which doesn’t address those circumstances where regulation enhances the value of property and seems to ignore the complexity of the interrelationship between the rights of the individual and the rights of the community.

Since many of the examples of "takings" that get discussed occur in the shoreland zone, Representative Waterhouse asked for the bill to be tabled in Committee so that he could prepare an amendment that would exempt the shoreland zone from the compensation requirement.

IN THE HOPPER

(The bill summaries are written by MMA staff and are not necessarily the proposed bill’s statement of fact or an excerpt of the statement of fact.)

LD 1427 – AN ACT to Create Quality Employment and Business Ownership Opportunities for Social Assistance Recipients (Sponsored by Sen. Pingree of Knox; additional cosponsors)

This bill establishes the Quality Employment Opportunities and Business Ownership Opportunities program, a demonstration project. The Department of Human Services and the Department of Economic and Community Development will administer the program. Grants will be made by the departments to eligible organizations under the program. These eligible organizations must have demonstrated effectiveness in targeting new jobs, building partnerships, coordinating services and providing opportunities for employment to individuals receiving public assistance.

LD 1670 – AN ACT to Limit Indemnification in Construction Contracts (Sponsored by Rep. Plowman of Hampden; additional cosponsors)

This bill prohibits "broad form" and "intermediate" hold harmless provisions in construction contracts.

LD 1707 – AN ACT to Repeal the Requirement of Concealed Weapon Permits (Sponsored by Rep. Mack of Standish; additional cosponsors)

This bill repeals the provisions requiring concealed weapon permits and makes changes to other laws consistent with the repeal.

LD 1719 – AN ACT Concerning Firearm Purchase Background Checks (Sponsored by Sen. Hall of Piscataquis; additional cosponsors)

This bill makes it mandatory that a background check, pursuant to the federal Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, must be done before a permit to carry a concealed weapon may be issued. The bill exempts a person from the "Brady" law if that person had a concealed weapon permit issued within the past 5 years and at that time submitted to a background check.

LD 1637 - AN ACT to Authorize the Appleton, Camden, Hope, Lincolnville and Rockport Community School District to Construct School Facilities (Sponsored by Sen. Pingree of Knox; additional cosponsors)

This bill authorizes the Lincolnville-area Community School District, to issue bonds or notes for school construction purposes to build a high school serving grades 9 to 12 in those communities.

LD 1688 – RESOLVE, to Promote School Choice by Establishing a Voucher Program (Sponsored by Rep. Mack of Standish; additional cosponsors)

This resolve requires that elementary and secondary education be provided by means of a voucher system that allows students and parents to choose in which schools or programs they want to receive an education. The resolve requires the Department of Education to develop a plan to implement the voucher system beginning for school year 1998-99.

LD 1699 – AN ACT to Expand the Law Pertaining to Nepotism (Sponsored by Rep. Ahearne of Madawaska)

This bill expands the prohibition on employment by a school administrative unit of spouses of school board members to include children and parents of school board members and the spouse of the children and parents.

LD 1725 – AN ACT to Authorize Interlocal Agreements for Construction and Operation of Public Education Fiber-optic Transmission Systems (Sponsored by Sen. Paradis of Aroostook; additional cosponsors)

This bill authorizes school administrative units, including municipalities, school administrative districts, community school districts and applied technology regions to enter into interlocal agreements and to form nonprofit corporations in order to construct and operate fiber-optic cable systems for educational purposes to provide interactive audio-visual communication among school administrative units.

LD 1691 – AN ACT to Significantly Reduce Smoking and Tobacco Use Among the Young People of Maine (Sponsored by Rep. Mitchell of Portland; additional cosponsors)

This bill establishes an oversight board to provide policy guidance in efforts to reduce the use of tobacco products in this state, and it creates the Tobacco Tax Health Protection Fund.

Money for this fund is raised by an increase of 50.0 mills per cigarette in the cigarette tax, thus increasing the cost of a package of cigarettes by $1, and is used for the following purposes: (1) to fund the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program in the Bureau of Health (components include an ongoing major media campaign; grants for funding community-based programs aimed at tobacco prevention and community-based enforcement of smoking laws; and community-based programs of smoking prevention and cessation counseling and medication); (2) to fund state costs associated with enforcement related to sales of unstamped and under-stamped cigarettes, through the Bureau of Taxation and the State Police; (3) to provide a reimbursement to the General Fund to replace the loss of current cigarette tax revenues caused by the raising of the excise tax on cigarettes and the resultant decline in the number of packs of cigarettes currently sold and taxed in this state; and (4) to fund three other potential state programs involving health care and tax relief for the people of this state, and a transitional financial assistance program to certain businesses of this state that experience a significant and documented loss of sales of tobacco products as a result of this legislation and that have no record of violating the state’s tobacco control laws.

LD 1611 – AN ACT to Amend Snowmobile Registration Fees and Promote Snowmobile Club Participation (Sponsored by Rep. Belanger of Wallagrass; additional cosponsors)

This bill makes the annual snowmobile registration fee $35 for both residents and nonresidents. It also provides a $10 discount on the registration fee for members of a snowmobile club recognized and approved by an incorporated statewide snowmobile association, such as the Maine Snowmobile Association, and allocates $10 of the $35 registration fee for nonmembers of such a club to an incorporated statewide snowmobile association. The bill exempts residents of New Brunswick, Quebec and New Hampshire from having to register snowmobiles in this state if they have registered the snowmobiles in their home states or provinces.

LD 1614 – AN ACT to Amend the Freedom of Access Laws (Sponsored by Rep. Brooks of Winterport; additional cosponsors)

This bill requires the motion for an executive session to include the specific language of Title 1 MRSA section 405, subsection 6 that is relied upon as the foundation for the executive session. This bill also requires boards or agencies to hold discussions in regular sessions to discuss the employment, duties, promotion, demotion, compensation, evaluation, disciplining, resignation or dismissal of those individuals who are either elected or appointed.

This bill also requires notice of all public proceedings to include the day, time, place and agenda of topics likely to be discussed and to be posted in 2 public places in the municipality. It requires that minutes of all public proceedings be kept and available for public inspection, and establishes a mechanism to make minutes of executive sessions also available for public inspection when the circumstances requiring the executive session no longer apply.

The bill sets a time limit when the written record of the denial or approval of an application, license, certificate or any other permit and of the dismissal or refusal to renew a contract of any public official, employee or appointee must be available for public inspection.

LD 1679 – AN ACT to Assist the Law Enforcement Community in Locating Missing Children (Sponsored by Sen. Small of Sagadahoc; additional cosponsors)

This bill requires a law enforcement agency that receives a report of a missing child who was a student at a school in this state to inform an administrator of that school of the missing child report. The administrator must identify the file or any other records of the missing child in the custody of the school as pertaining to the missing child, and if a request for the file or records is made, the administrator of that school must notify a law enforcement agency of this request immediately. This bill also requires the law enforcement agency to inform the municipal clerk of the municipality in which the child’s birth records are kept of the missing child report. The municipal clerk must identify the birth records of the missing child, and if a request for these records is made, the municipal clerk must notify a law enforcement agency of this request immediately.

LD 1713 – AN ACT Relating to Compensatory and Punitive Damages Under the Maine Human Rights Act (Sponsored by Rep. Thompson of Naples)

This bill makes the remedies available in proven cases of unlawful discrimination under the Maine Human Rights Act the same as those now available under the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1991, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and the Federal Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988.

LD 1731 – AN ACT to Amend the Election Laws (Sponsored by Sen. Daggett of Kennebec; additional cosponsors)

This bill makes minor technical changes in the election laws to correct statutory references and maintain consistency with changes to other sections of law. Substantive changes include: (1) changing the timing of appointment of the registrar of voters, requiring municipal officers to appoint the registrar on a 2-year cycle beginning January 1st of the off-election year; (2) clarifying that voters with a nontraditional residence, such as homeless voters, do not have to provide a mailing address to be registered to vote; (3) changing the cutoff date for mail-in voter registrations from 15 regular days before the election to 10 business days; (4) changing the hours that the registrar’s office must be open during the last 5 business days that the clerk’s office is open before an election, requiring that the registrar be open for 2 hours in the evening, anytime between 5 and 9 p.m., on 3 of those days; (5) changing the deadline for parties to hold their municipal caucuses and certify them to the Secretary of State from April 15th to March 20th; (6) changing the method of announcing an election by replacing the warrant signed by the municipal officers with a notice of election attested by the municipal clerk; (7) allowing a handicapped voter whose voting place is not accessible to vote either by absentee ballot in the clerk’s office or other location that has been designated handicapped accessible, or to vote by regular ballot at the central voting place if the municipality uses a central voting place; (8) allowing any voter to cast an absentee ballot in any election; (9) clarifying the law that allows a member of a voter’s immediate family to make a written request for an absentee ballot for the voter; (10) allowing the voter or the voter’s immediate family to submit an absentee ballot application or written request by facsimile; (11) clarifying the restrictions on political activities within 250 feet of the clerk’s office during the time that absentee voting is occurring, so that it is consistent with the restrictions around the polling place on election day; and (12) allowing candidates or their representatives, upon prior notification, to inspect the applications and envelopes of absentee ballots which have not yet been processed for 30 minutes after the declared processing time.

LD 1730 – AN ACT to Implement the Recommendations of the Great Pond Task Force (Sponsored by Sen. Treat of Kennebec; additional cosponsors)

This bill implements the recommendations of the Great Ponds Task Force, including: (1) it establishes the Lakes Heritage Trust Fund in the Executive Department to protect, preserve and enhance the quality and value of the state’s great ponds. The fund is capitalized in part from 2 revenue sources proposed in the bill: a one-time registration fee for motorless watercraft and an annual $10 water quality impact fee assessed on residential dwellings on lots within the watershed of a great pond; (2) it directs the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to adopt rules governing the use, operation and type of watercraft that may be used on great ponds less than 200 acres in surface area; (3) it increases the registration fee for the first motorboat registered by a person in a year from $4 to $15; (4) it prohibits a person from operating a motorboat on certain waters on Mt. Desert Island and from operating a motorboat within 1000 feet of the intake of a public drinking water supply; (4) it prohibits the use of personal watercraft on great ponds located wholly within the unorganized territories except as provided in rules adopted by the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. The bill allows the use and operation of personal watercraft on great ponds less than 200 acres in the organized areas. On and after June 1, 1999, the use of personal watercraft on those great ponds will be prohibited unless the commissioner has adopted rules prior to that date specifying the use and operation of personal watercraft on those waters; (5) it limits the liability of a lake association from personal injury, property damage or death caused by the placement or maintenance by the association of navigational aid markers; (6) it changes from $2.20 per $500 in value to $2.42 per $500 in value the transfer tax that applies to property located within the watershed of a great pond. The additional revenue generated by this tax is targeted for watercraft enforcement, education and training and the protection and enhancement of water quality in Maine lakes; (7) it assesses an annual $10 water quality impact fee on each residential dwelling unit located within the watershed of a great pond. Revenues from this assessment are targeted at education and training of code enforcement officers and for the Lakes Heritage Trust fund; and (8) it increases from 200 to 1,000 feet the allowable radius of the protection zone around intakes of public drinking water supplies.

LD 1561 – RESOLVE, to Establish a Devolution Review Board (Sponsored by Sen. Jenkins of Androscoggin)

This resolve establishes a task force to examine the impact of federal downsizing on state programs, including the following: the ability to increase the efficiency with which programs are managed to make reduced funds go further; shifting funds from other parts of the state budget to maintain service levels; shifting responsibilities to lower levels of government; and raising new state revenue to substitute for the withdrawal of federal funds.

LD 1705 – AN ACT Regarding Just Compensation for Private Waste Companies (Sponsored by Rep. Kerr of Old Orchard Beach; additional cosponsor)

This bill prohibits a municipality, city or county from prohibiting a private person from providing solid waste services within that municipality, city or county when those services are also provided by that governmental body.

The bill also prohibits a municipality from displacing an existing business that provides solid waste collection services, unless certain procedures are followed. The procedures include holding a public hearing, providing notice of the hearing to all businesses that provide the services and to the public, and providing 5 years’ written notice before displacing a business. As an alternative to the 5-year delay, displacement may be commenced after payment to the business of an amount equal to the business’s preceding 12 months’ gross receipts for providing the services in the area.

LD 1720 – AN ACT to Repeal the Requirement That Victualers Be Licensed by a Municipality (Sponsored by Sen. Goldthwait of Hancock)

This bill repeals the requirement that a victualer be licensed by a municipality.

LD 1623 – RESOLVE, to Implement a Single State Tax System (Sponsored by Rep. Bigl of Bucksport)

This resolve creates a study commission to develop a single tax for the state, to suggest ways to fund education, to develop legislation to phase in the single tax over 4 years, and to help local governments adjust their revenue collections.

LD 1631 – AN ACT to Reduce the Property Tax Burden for Maine Families (Sponsored by Sen. Treat of Kennebec; additional cosponsors)

This bill amends the Maine Residents Property Tax Program to increase the maximum rebate for qualifying households to $1,000 from $700, allow a person, on the individual income tax form, to request the Bureau of Taxation to determine the person’s eligibility and claim amount, and requires the State Tax Assessor to refund the claimants any excess funds allocated to the program but not claimed.

LD 1662 – RESOLVE, Establishing a Task Force to Propose Targeting of Revenue Sharing Dollars to Communities That Accept Community-based Services (Sponsored by Sen. Small of Sagadahoc)

This bill requires the Department of Education, the Bureau of Taxation, the Department of Corrections, and the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services to meet with a representative from the Maine Municipal Association to examine ways to provide funding for municipalities that accept community-based services such as group homes.

LD 1692 – AN ACT to Establish Municipal Cost Components for Unorganized Territory Services to be Rendered in Fiscal Year 1997-98 (Reported by Rep. Tripp for the Administrator of the Unorganized Territory)

This bill establishes municipal cost components for state and county services provided to the unorganized territory that would be paid for by a municipality. The municipal cost components constitute the property tax for the unorganized territory.

LD 1702 – AN ACT to Change the Method of Taxing Borrow Pits (Sponsored by Rep. Goodwin of Pembroke)

This bill provides a method of assessing property tax on borrow pits based upon the amount and value of material available for extraction from the property.

LD 1690 – AN ACT to Allow Law Enforcement Agencies Access to Motor Vehicle Insurance Information (Sponsored by Rep. Labrecque of Gorham; additional cosponsors)

This bill requires the Secretary of State to create the uninsured motorist identification database program to allow state and local law enforcement agencies to verify compliance with a motor vehicle owner’s obligation to maintain liability insurance.

LD 1423 – AN ACT Regarding Sewer District Upgrades (Sponsored by President Lawrence of York; additional cosponsors)

This bill changes the percentage from 5% to 4% of a utility’s prior fiscal year revenues as the threshold of cost of a utility relocation project making that utility eligible for interest-free loans from the DOT to implement that relocation.

Room 427, State House, 1:30 p.m.

Tel. 287-1314

LD 1540 – An Act to Establish a State Disaster Relief Trust Fund (Sponsor: KERR)

LD 1530 – An Act to Require Banks to Forward Copies of Mortgages to the Municipalities in which the Property is Located (Sponsor: STANLEY)

Room 120, State Office Building, 1:00 p.m.

Tel. 287-3125

LD 1436 – An Act to Amend School Construction Laws (Sponsor: TREAT)

LD 1544 – An Act to Amend the Process by Which School Construction is Approved (Sponsor: TRUE)

LD 1643 – RESOLVE, Directing the State Board of Education to Add Consolidation to the School Construction Rating System (Sponsor: COWGER)

LD 1637 – An Act to Authorize the Appleton, Camden, Hope, Lincolnville and Rockport Community School District to Construct School Facilities (Sponsor: PINGREE) (EMERGENCY)

Room 113, State Office Building, 1:00 p.m.

Tel. 287-1317

LD 1427 – An Act to Create Quality Employment and Business Ownership Opportunities for Social Assistance Recipients (Sponsor: PINGREE)

Room 436, State House, 1:30 p.m.

LD 1701 – An Act to Promote Economic Independence for Low-income Families (Sponsor: GREEN)

Room 425, State House, 1:30 p.m.

Tel. 287-1310

LD 898 – An Act to Repeal the Presidential Primary (Sponsor: LOVETT)

LD 1515 – An Act to Allow Unenrolled Voters to Serve as Election Workers at Polls (Sponsor: CLUKEY)

LD 1520 – An Act to Amend Various Election Laws (Sponsor: BELANGER, D.)

Room 334, State House, 1:00 p.m.

Tel. 287-1330

LD 601 – An Act to Provide Municipal Notification of Utility Services (Sponsor: DAGGETT)

Room 122, State Office Building, 1:30 p.m.

Tel. 287-4148

LD 1422 – An Act to Abolish the Maine Turnpike Authority (Sponsor: RUHLIN)

LD 1298 - An Act Regarding Restrictions Placed on Certain Motor Vehicles that Travel on a Public Way (Sponsor: PENDLETON, P.)

LD 1451 – An Act to Encourage the Planning and Implementation of Municipal Ordinances Concerning Bicyclists and Pedestrians (Sponsor: GIERINGER)

Room 124, State Office Building, 1:30 p.m.

Tel. 287-4143

LD 1423 – An Act Regarding Sewer District Upgrades (Sponsor: LAWRENCE)

LD 1598 – An Act to Provide for Enforcement of the Laws Regarding the Protection of Underground Utility Facilities (Sponsor: PENDLETON, P.)

Room 120, State Office Building, 1:00 p.m.

Tel. 287-3125

LD 1355 – An Act to Fully Fund Local Education with Income and Sales Tax Revenues (Sponsor: GOODWIN)

LD 1459 – An Act to More Equitably Distribute General Purpose Aid to Schools Based on Property Values (Sponsor: BELANGER, I.)

LD 1632 – An Act to Improve Taxpayer Equity in School Funding (Sponsor: PENDLETON, P.)

LD 1416 – An Act Concerning Eligibility for Service on a School Board (Sponsor: KILKELLY)

Elks Club, Augusta, 1:00 p.m.

Tel. 287-1317

LD 530 – An Act to Extend Medicaid Coverage to Certain Children (Sponsor: KANE)

LD 572 – An Act to Implement Recommendations of the Commission to Study Poverty Among Working Parents Concerning Medicaid Eligibility (Sponsor: POVICH)

LD 1691 – An Act to Significantly Reduce Smoking and Tobacco Use Among the Young People of Maine (Sponsor: MITCHELL, J.)

Room 109, State Office Building, 1:00 p.m.

Tel. 287-1338

LD 1611 – An Act to Amend Snowmobile Registration Fees and Promote Snowmobile Club Participation (Sponsor: BELANGER, D.)

Room 113, State Office Building, 1:00 p.m.

Tel. 287-1312

LD 1235 – Resolve, to Convene a Study Group to Identify Access to Public Landings and Their Facilities by Persons Engaged in Commercial Fishing (Sponsor: LAWRENCE)

Room 425, State House, 1:30 p.m.

Tel. 287-1310

LD 971 – An Act to Protect Private Enterprise from Tax-subsidized Competition (Sponsor: GOOLEY)

Room 120, State Office Building, 9:00 a.m.

Tel. 287-3125

LD 1353 – An Act to Establish a Pilot School Choice Program (Sponsor: PERKINS)

Room 436, State House, 9:30 a.m.

Tel. 287-1317

LD 913 – An Act to Provide Funding for Mental Health Services for Homeless Shelters (Sponsor: MITCHELL, E.)

LD 1575 – An Act to Make Health Provider Data More Accessible to the Public (Sponsor: BUCK)

Room 436, State House, 1:00 p.m.

LD 1411 – An Act to Facilitate Disbursement of and Accounting for Issuances of Food Supplement Benefits (Sponsor: DUNLAP)

Room 113, State Office Building, 9:30 a.m.

Tel. 287-1333

LD 1472 – An Act to Modify the Work Search Requirements for Workers’ Compensation Recipients (Sponsor: MILLS)

LD 1567 – An Act to Reinstate Limited Rehabilitation Benefits under the Maine Workers’ Compensation Act of 1992 for Those with Long-term Disabilities (Sponsor: MILLS)