Instead of the comprehensive tax reform proposal the Taxation Committee has been working on over the last 5 months, a tax relief bill has been reported out by the Committee with a unanimous endorsement.

The tax relief plan:

• Expands the "circuit breaker" program by 25%;

• Exempts 150,000 very-low-income Maine residents from the obligation to even file an income tax return;

• Creates two new sales tax exemptions;

• Creates two additional income tax exemptions for "high tech" industries; and

• Provides funds for the Committee to meet several times over the Summer and Fall to continue to study tax reform.

The elderly and non-elderly "Maine Residents Property Tax Program" (a.k.a., the "circuit breaker" program) provides rebate checks to eligible low-income Maine homeowners and renters for the purpose of blunting their exposure to high property taxes and rent payments.

The rebate is based on the homeowner’s or renter’s property tax or rent obligation as a proportion of the household’s income.

For the purpose of determining eligibility, a homeowner’s property tax is considered to be the property tax on the principal residence and the first 10 acres of land upon which that homestead is located. The property tax burden of a renter is considered to be 15% of a non-elderly person’s rental obligation, and 25% of an elderly person’s rental obligation.

The circuit breaker program would be expanded by the Committee’s tax relief proposal as follows:

1) Income Threshold. Under current law, the income of a single homeowner or renter must be less than $25,700 for that person to be considered as eligible. The maximum income of a multi-person household is currently $36,000. The income maximums are indexed annually for inflation.

The proposed expansion would not change the income threshold for single-person households, but it would raise the maximum income threshold for multi-person households to $40,000, making more households in the lower-middle income range potentially eligible for these benefits.

2) Benefit Determinants. If the household income falls under the maximum threshold, the next step is to determine the size of the benefit to be rebated. Under current law, households are eligible for 50% of the property tax obligation that exceeds 5% of the household income, and 100% of the property tax obligation that exceeds 10% of the household income.

The proposed expansion would lower the 5% and 10%-of-income benefit determinant levels to 4% and 8%, respectively. This change would both extend a benefit to some households that currently do not quite reach the 5%-of-income threshold, and expand the size of the benefit that is provided to previously eligible households.

3) Maximum Benefit. The maximum benefit under current law is $700. The Committee proposal would increase the maximum rebate check to $1,000.

4) Additional Changes. The Committee’s proposal would also make a few additional changes to the circuit breaker law. Provisions would be made for applicants to apply for the program by telephone, and AFDC recipients receiving the $50-per-month Housing Special Needs supplementary benefit because of high housing costs would again be potentially eligible for circuit breaker benefits. For the last two years, those households were categorically ineligible for circuit breaker benefits on the theory they were already receiving enhanced housing benefits under the AFDC (now TANF) program.

5) Cost. The combined elderly and non-elderly circuit breaker program as designed by current law is budgeted to issue approximately $20 million in circuit breaker benefits in FY 98 and $22 million in FY 99. The changes proposed by the Committee’s tax relief package would add over $5 million in program costs for FY 98, and over $5.8 million for FY 99. At approximately $25 million a year in total costs, the circuit breaker program might be compared in scope to the BETR personal property tax rebate program provided to businesses, which is budgeted to require $13 million in state revenues in FY 98 and $20 million in FY 99.

Low Income Filers. An income tax credit would be provided that equals the state income tax obligation of any Maine resident whose total state taxable income is $2,000 or less. This personal income tax credit would not be allowed to create an income tax liability of less than zero, but it would reduce the state income tax liability to zero for that group of low-income Mainers, and they would not be obligated to file an income tax return. This income tax credit is projected to remove an income tax filing requirement for 150,000 Maine households. It would also reduce state revenues by nearly $2.4 million over the biennium.

Sales Tax Exemptions for Bio-Tech and High-Tech Industries. Two additional retail transactions to which the state’s 6% sales tax currently applies would be exempt from taxation under the Committee’s proposal.

One would be equipment and machinery purchased by the "bio-tech" industry. These are equipment purchases the proponents claim should be treated no differently than the equipment and machinery purchased by the manufacturing industry, which is currently exempt from the sales tax. This new exemption is projected to cost the state approximately $75,000 a year in lost sales tax revenue.

The other new exemption would be the service of computer programming. Under Maine’s current sales tax code, few services are taxed. Only seven are listed under the pertinent section of the state’s sales tax code, one of which is computer programming. This new exemption of the computer programming service from the sales tax is expected to cost the state approximately $720,000 a year in lost sales tax revenue.

High-Tech Income Tax Exemptions. The Committee proposal also includes the creation of 2 new or expanded income tax credits for the benefit of the state’s "high tech" industries.

The "Super Credit." The first new income tax credit would be called a "super credit" and it would apply to qualifying expenses a company makes in research and development in the field of computer technology. The super credit would piggy-back on top of an existing "research expense" tax credit.

The High Technology Investment Tax Credit. This new income tax credit would be available to companies that purchase or lease computer and communications equipment for the purposes of manufacturing computer or communications equipment or providing communications services.

The combined income tax credits being proposed by the Committee would cost the state’s General Fund approximately $1.5 million a year.

Between-Session Meetings. Between sessions of this Legislature, the Committee intends to meet several times to consider 4 tax reform issues that it was unable to resolve this session, for lack of time or for lack of consensus.

The list of issues on the Committee’s agenda for these between-session meetings include:

• Broadening the sales tax base for the purpose of reducing the volatility of state revenues and for the further purpose, presumably, of either reducing the sales tax rate or providing structural property tax relief, or both.

• A variety of income tax issues, including a review of the personal income tax rates and brackets, the corporate income tax, and the variety of income tax credits provided to the business community.

• The Revenue Targeting system proposed by the Governor; and

• The manner by which the sales tax is applied to property that is rented.

The total cost of the Committee’s "tax relief" package is slightly over $16 million over the biennium. The Committee’s intention is to fund the package with revenues that are scheduled to be placed into a "Taxpayer Relief Fund" created in the state’s biennial budget enacted on March 26th. The budget bill created the Taxpayer Relief Fund to accept 75% of all excess General Fund revenues received during the current fiscal year (FY 97) in excess of "accepted estimates." In subsequent state fiscal years, the Taxpayer Relief Fund would receive revenues in excess of projections of the individual income tax line only. Projections have placed the amount of revenues falling into the Tax Relief fund in the $26 - $30 million range.

Among the several issues facing the Legislature with respect to the Committee’s $16 million tax relief package, there will be at least 3 questions regarding the proposed funding source.

First, the budget bill that creates the Tax Relief Fund is not yet effective law, and whether at least $16 million will actually fall into the Taxpayer Relief Fund to fund the Committee’s proposal is speculative at this point in time. Normally, legislation that creates a hole in the state’s balanced budget cannot be enacted unless funded by guaranteed new revenues.

Another problematic issue is that the enactment of the Committee’s package would be funding an ongoing program with one-time revenues, thereby almost assuring a future "structural deficit" in the state budget.

Finally, it seems something of a stretch to fund income and sales tax breaks to the bio-tech and high-tech industries with proceeds from a Taxpayer’s Relief Fund that as a matter of law "must be used solely for tax relief for Maine citizens."

On Wednesday evening the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee made decisions on 22 bond issues, excluding the $39 million transportation bond. The value of the bonds package for this session ranges from $18 million (minority package) to $31 million (majority package).

LD 85 - An Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue in the Amount of $8,000,000 for Reconstruction, Renovation and Safety Improvements at the Governor Baxter School for the Deaf. Committee Action Range: $0 (Minority Report) to $3 million (Majority Report).

LD 268 - An Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue in the Amount of $20,000,000 for Landfill Closure and Remediation. The Committee voted that this bond issue "ought to pass as amended." The amendment reduces the bond issue to $13 million and expands the uses of the fund to include the following:

• Construction of water pollution control facilities to provide the state match for $12.5 million in federal funds. $5.5 million.

• Grants to municipalities to close and clean up solid waste landfills. $4.5 million.

• Clean-up of tire stockpiles to protect the public health and safety and the environment. $2.0 million.

• Mitigation of storm water pollution through establishment of a comprehensive watershed protection program. $500,000.

• Address environmental health deficiencies in drinking water supplies to provide the state match for $2.5 million in federal funds. $ 500,000.

LD 558 - An Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue in the Amount of $8,500,000 to Fund Capital Expenses for Vocation High Schools. Committee Action: $5 million (unanimous report).

LD 1813 - An Act to Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue in the Amount of $10,000,000 to Address Federal and State Accessibility and Public Safety Issues. Committee Action Range: $ 0 (Minority Report) to $10 million (Majority Report).

LD 1804 – An Act to Restructure the State’s Electric Industry – received a unanimous "Ought to Pass as Amended" report from the Utilities Committee. The amended bill would provide for retail competition by moving from a regulated monopoly structure to a competitive marketplace. Important elements include:

• Customer choice of electricity (retail competition among generation providers) by March 1, 2000;

• Existing utilities remain as a regulated provider of transmission and distribution (poles and wires; delivery and repair) but must divest their electrical generation capacity beginning 2000;

• Existing utilities may continue to market electricity, but cannot own the generation facilities;

• A competitive "standard offer" will be available for those consumers who do not wish to select or "shop" for their own power supplier;

• The ability to aggregate (groups of consumers joining together for the purchase of electricity) by private businesses and public entities, including municipalities, is established to allow for the broadest opportunities to obtain benefit from competition;

• Any generation provider is required to have at least 30% of its portfolio of supply sources made up of renewable resource energy sources (hydro, biomass, tidal, waste-to-energy) to preserve and encourage the viability of renewable energy generation facilities;

• Consumer protection standards and standards of conduct for generation providers and utilities are included;

• Low-income assistance funding is continued;

• Stranded cost recovery will be allowed to a certain extent under the regulatory review and approval of the PUC;

• Transition provisions to support utility workers who may be displaced by the process of deregulation are also included.

Disposition: Committee report passed to be engrossed in both houses, pending final action.

Wednesday night the House voted 107 to 35 to "Indefinitely Postpone" action on LD 1705, An Act to Provide Just Compensation for Private Waste Companies, in effect defeating the bill.

The bill then moved to the Senate Thursday evening where it was similarly defeated in a 24 to 2 vote.

These lopsided votes send a strong message that the Legislature will stand by municipalities and preserve their local control authority to manage solid waste in the most cost-effective manner available.

The bill’s threat to local control clearly convinced an overwhelming majority of Legislators to vote against the proposal. The bill’s proposal to make local governments give a full year's notice before implementing any changes to their solid waste collection practices was just too much of an intrusion into local government’s right to manage their affairs and make timely policy financial decisions.

Every Senator and Representative we contacted said they had heard from several local officials opposed to LD 1705. Many Legislators said they had also heard from representatives from the commercial waste haulers industry but they sided with municipalities against giving these businesses unprecedented protections against local policy changes.

The credit for the overwhelming defeat of this threat to local control belongs to the municipal officials who answered our Action Alerts and contacted their Senators and Representatives. The calls and letters from municipal officials assured the defeat of LD 1705.

At the time this Legislative Bulletin went to press, LD 1614 - An Act to Amend the Freedom of Access Laws - had yet to be considered by the full Legislature.

As reported in last week’s Bulletin, the bill received a majority "ought not to pass" report by the Judiciary Committee. A minority report will be considered by the Legislature which would change Maine’s Right to Know law in three ways.

First, no member of a board or agency would be entitled to an executive session discussion regarding any evaluative or disciplinary matter that might be discussed, even if that open discussion would damage that person’s reputation. Unsubstantiated allegations or discussions regarding a board member’s absences or resignation (e.g., the board member’s medical or family problems) are examples of issues that would have to be discussed openly, regardless of any privacy or confidentiality interests that board member might have.

It is our view that this provision excluding the volunteer public officials who keep municipal government operating from certain very limited privacy and confidentiality protections fails to recognize the human problems that have to be dealt with from time to time in the administration of local government.

Second, minutes of executive sessions would be required. Those minutes would have to include a list of the board members present and a brief description of the "permitted deliberation" while in the executive session. If by a 2/3 vote of those board members present and voting in the public proceeding it is found that the release of the executive session minutes would not "adversely affect" anyone’s reputation (other than the reputation of any board member, which would not count), violate anyone’s right to privacy, or "otherwise render the proposed action" ineffective, the minutes of the executive session "may" be released.

This part of the minority report’s proposal could effectively require a board to create a document containing information that may not be released as a matter of law, and yet allow its release on the basis of a political judgment. To protect itself against law suits on breach of confidentiality grounds, those boards conducting executive sessions would have to be very careful about the wording of the written minutes.

It is our view that the provision authorizing the release of information that is potentially confidential places the largely volunteer-based group of folks that serve on local boards in an extremely unfair position.

Finally, minutes would have to be taken of every "open" meeting held by every municipal board. A board member or the member’s "designee" (a secretary or staff person) would be required to take those minutes and prepare them for public inspection. The minutes must include the names of the members present, the names of the persons appearing before the board, the text of any motion made, the vote on every motion made, and a brief description of the subject matter discussed. The minutes would have to be made available for public inspection within a "reasonable time" after the public proceeding.

The requirement to take minutes of open meetings is merely a mandate. If the Legislature is of the belief that municipal boards are failing to adequately record their activities by taking minutes of their proceedings, the mandate to do so could be enacted and the only issue is whether any increased local costs associated with the requirement should be paid for with property tax dollars or state dollars.

Because most of any town’s major boards (selectmen, school board, planning board, and board of appeals) already take minutes, the fiscal impact of the requirement with respect to those boards will not be great.

Because there are typically at least a half dozen other committees or boards in even the smallest communities, some of which may not be taking formal minutes presently, there could easily be municipal costs associated with this part of the proposal. As any Maine legislator is certainly aware, it takes some skill for people serving on a committee to pay full attention to the proceedings and take minutes at the same time. Over time, those boards and committees could likely seek some secretarial assistance to perform this function.

The sponsor of LD 1614, Representative Joe Brooks (Winterport), told MMA that he was preparing a floor amendment to the bill that would strip out all changes to the Right to Know law except the requirement that minutes be taken at all open (non-executive session) meetings. At the time the Bulletin went to press, Representative Brooks’ potential amendment had not been printed.

LD 1614 will be moving from the House to the Senate within the next day or so. Municipal officials who have any interest in this legislative proposal should contact their legislators and make their views known.

The Appropriations Committee, not willing to fund the full transportation bond package in the November 1997 referendum, plans to spread the highway and general fund bond proposal over the November 1997 and June 1998 election date ballots.

The November 1997 Bond package is now proposed to include a $29.85 million Highway Bond, with $13.5 for local road assistance, $13.35 for highway reconstruction, and $3 million for collector roads, and a General Fund Bond of $27 million for bridges, ferries, harbors, and rail projects. The total November bond package will be $56.85 million for local and state transportation projects.

Moved into the June 1998 Highway Bond are $9.75 million for local road assistance and $4.7 million for highway reconstruction. The June General Fund Bond will include at least $8.2 million for bridge, rail port, and aviation projects.

Although the bonded portion of the local road assistance program is split into two referendum proposals, the program remains fully funded. Furthermore, pushing part of the LRAP bond into June 1997 referendum opens the possibility to move the $9.75 million of local roads funds back into the Highway Fund when the supplemental budget is negotiated in the second session of the 118th Legislature.

The following are selected bills that have been approved by the Legislature, but since their enactment would have an impact on the state budget, they are sent to special "tables" - either the Appropriations Table or the Highway Table - where final fate rests with the decisions of the appropriate committee of jurisdiction (the Appropriations and Financial Affairs or the Transportation Committee, respectively). Because there is only a limited amount of money available to fund all of the legislation that has a final impact on the budget – reportedly only $3 million – many of the bills on the special Appropriations Table will die there or be amended so as not to have a negative fiscal note. Municipal officials with an interest in any of these legislative proposals should contact their legislators and urge them to support the measure so it will not die "on the table" for lack of funding. As the Legislature continues its work next week, more bills of municipal interest will be placed on the special tables.

LD 174 – State share increase for retired teachers’ health insurance – Committee Amendment "A" appropriates $454,754 in FY 97-98 and $691,952 in FY 98-99; House Amendment "A" states that the amendment may result in General Fund savings to the Retired Teachers’ Health Insurance account within the Department of Education if the health insurance costs of any retired teacher exceed 30% of the average cost of health insurance for a retired state employee.

LD 187 – Home-schooled students to be treated as Full-Time Equivalent students – allocations for home-schooled students will increase within General Purpose Aid for Local Schools by approximately $620,000 annually beginning in FY 97-98. The bill does not include additional funding for these increased costs; school subsidies will be redistributed from school units that do not have students participating in equivalent instruction programs to those that do.

LD 271 – Transfer proceeds from Real Estate Transfer Tax over to the counties over a period of 5 years, at 3% a year – the enacted version of this bill is described in the March 28, 1997, issue of the Legislative Bulletin.

LD 434 – Expanded year for veteran’s exemption for property taxes – additional General Fund appropriations of $28,560 annually will be required beginning in FY 99-00 for the reimbursement (to municipalities for 50% of the lost property tax revenue) due to the change in the year in which a veteran reaches the age of 62. Another $21,250 will be required, also in FY 99-00, for the reimbursements due to the change in the beginning date of the Vietnam War. The Bureau of Taxation will incur some minor additional costs to administer and audit additional claims for reimbursement beginning in FY 99-00, which can be absorbed within the bureau’s existing budgeted resources.

LD 474 – Extends date of zero reimbursement for landfill closure from Jan. 1, 1998 to Jan. 1, 2000 – the DEP is likely to incur additional annual costs of up to $500,000 in FY 97-98 and 98-99 for the estimated state share of costs for closing certain municipal landfills. These costs will have to be met by either additional General Fund appropriations, proceeds from General Fund bond issues, or by reduced spending on currently eligible projects. The DEP will require additional Other Special Revenue allocations of $31,408 and $98,528 in FY 97-98 and 98-99, respectively, for the costs of continuing an Environmental Specialist III position and an Environmental Specialist IV position. The Maine Solid Waste Management Fund has sufficient financial resources to cover this additional expense.

LD 787 – Children in need of services – appropriates $8,900 in FY 97-98 for the per diem and expenses of members and for miscellaneous costs, including printing, of the Task Force on Youth and Families. Other costs can be absorbed by existing budgeted resources.

LD 854 – Full funding adult education – the Department of Education may require additional General Fund appropriations beginning in FY 99-00, which cannot be determined at this time, in order to provide the same percentage increases for the state subsidy for adult education as are provided for General Purpose Aid for Local Schools.

LD 913 – Providing additional operating funds for homeless shelters – appropriates $1 million annually in FY 97-98 and 98-99 to the Maine State Housing Authority to provide funding to homeless shelters. The Department of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources, the Department of Economic and Community Development, and the Department of Education may realize some minor administrative savings from the removal of these departments from the membership of the Interagency Task Force on Homelessness and Housing Opportunities.

LD 1437 - Commission to encourage regionalization – includes a General Fund appropriation of $2,890 in FY 97-98 for the per diem and expenses of the legislative members and miscellaneous costs, including printing, of the Task Force on Regional Service Center Communities. Other costs can be absorbed by existing budgeted resources.

LD 1771 – Increases FAME’s capacity to loan and creates FAME’s ability to loan to waste-to-energy facilities to provide capacity to amend the PERC-Bangor Hydro contract – increasing the bond authority of the Finance Authority of Maine increases the moral obligation of the state; in case of a default by a borrower, future General Fund appropriations for debt service may be required. Minor administrative costs incurred by the Finance Authority of Maine and the Public Utilities Commission can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources.

Special Highway Table

LD 626 – Rehabilitation of access roads to bridges of historic significance – this bill affects 8.5 miles of roadway accessing 9 bridges of historical significance. The additional cost to the Department of Transportation is estimated at $37,500 for FY 00-01. This future funding requirement will be directed to the access road for the wire bridge in the Town of New Portland.

The Legislature is in the final weeks of the session. Most of the legislative day is now spent debating and taking action on the hundreds of bills that have not yet been considered by the full Legislature. The following listing identifies the bill, briefly describes the legislative proposal both in its printed form and as amended by the Committee of jurisdiction, if applicable, and explains what action the Legislature has taken on the measure at the time this issue of the Legislative Bulletin went to press.

"Final Ought Not to Pass" means the bill was killed either in Committee or by action of the Legislature.

The act of engrossment involves a preliminary acceptance of a Committee report for the purposes of preparing the legislative proposal for final enactment. Further action may be taken on the bill between the time of engrossment and the time of enactment.

Bills that are requested to be "carried over" are reviewed by the Legislative Council for final carry-over approval.

Other descriptions are self-explanatory.

LD 1362 – An Act to Improve the Administration of Animal Welfare Law – carry-over request.

Education and Cultural Affairs

LD 973 – An Act to Allow Towns within a Community School District to Vote on a School Budget by Referendum –final "Ought Not to Pass."

LD 1459 – An Act to More Equitably Distribute General Purpose Aid to Schools Based on Property Values – final "Ought Not to Pass."

LD 1536 – Resolve, Regarding Legislative Review of Chapter 131: Rules for Learning Results, a Major Substantive Rule of the Department of Education – majority "Ought to Pass as Amended." The majority amendment requires that, prior to final adoption of this rule, the Department of Education must amend the rule to add an application section. The purpose of this application section is to ensure that the rules do not conflict with the legislative intent expressed in the enabling legislation that established a statewide system of learning results.

Pursuant to PL 1995, c. 649, section 2, these rules may not require a school administrative unit to take any action that necessitates additional expenditures from local revenues unless the Department of Education pays for 90% of the additional costs. Should a school administrative unit determine that it is unable to implement the learning results in the 5 core subject areas within existing state and local resources, the unit shall present its findings and supporting evidence to the Department of Education. The department shall review the findings and evidence, and, if necessary, assist the unit in planning for implementation. The amendment restates the provisions of PL 1995, c. 649, section 3, that allow a school administrative unit to delay implementation of the system of learning results in the areas of career preparation, foreign languages and visual and performing arts if adoption in these areas cannot be achieved within the local unit’s existing resources.

The amendment removes the emergency preamble and clause from the original bill.

Disposition: Majority report passed to be engrossed in House, pending further action in Senate.

LD 475 – Resolution, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine to Affirm the Rights to Private Property –final "Ought Not to Pass."

LD 1254 – An Act to Restrict the Use of Social Security Numbers – final "Ought Not to Pass."

LD 1257 – An Act to Require Compensation for Loss of Property Value Due to State or Local Regulation – final "Ought Not to Pass."

LD 1400 – An Act to Provide Notice of Municipalities when a For-profit Corporation Intends to Obtain Nonprofit Status – final "Ought Not to Pass."

LD 1412 – An Act to Reinstate Municipal Courts for Specific Traffic Infractions – final "Ought Not to Pass."

LD 1713 – An Act Relating to Compensatory and Punitive Damages Under the Maine Human Rights Act – majority "Ought to Pass as Amended." The original 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.

The majority amendment makes the bill consistent with the Federal Civil Rights Act of 1991 and Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 with regard to compensatory and punitive damages for unlawful discrimination in employment. It retains the existing authorization for civil penal damages in all cases of unlawful discrimination in housing, credit, education and public accommodations, and it retains the same authorization for public entities and employers with fewer than 15 employees.

The amendment revises the new compensatory and punitive damages provisions to apply to only intentional employment discrimination, but will not be available against employers with fewer than 15 employees, which is consistent with federal law.

The amendment makes the Human Rights Act consistent with the Maine Tort Claims Act with regard to intentional employment discrimination. It prohibits punitive damages against an employee of a governmental entity when acting within the course or scope of the employment.

The amendment does not authorize the award of compensatory and punitive damages to a plaintiff who sued the employer in court directly without first pursuing a remedy through the Maine Human Rights Commission.

Disposition: Majority report passed to be engrossed in both houses, pending final action.

LD 624 – An Act to Expand the Family Medical Leave Laws – majority "Ought to Pass as Amended." The original bill required that leave be allowed for attendance at parent-teacher conferences, and expanded the coverage of the family medical leave laws by reducing the threshold for covered employers from those having 25 employees to those employers having 15 employees. The amendment strikes the parent-teacher conference provision from the authorized reasons for family medical leave.

Disposition: Enacted in the House and sent to the Appropriations Table 5/21.

LD 1018 – An Act to Strengthen the Sanctions for Failure to Respond to an Employee’s Request for Reason for Termination of Employment – majority "Ought to Pass as Amended." The amendment restores the $50 forfeiture and $500 total cap on forfeiture that are repealed by the original bill. It eliminates the provision in the original bill that the employer be ordered to pay liquidated damages of $50 per day to the employee and that the employee be authorized to recover the liquidated damages in a civil suit. The employee’s civil remedy is limited to injunctive relief. The provision in the original bill allowing the employee to recover costs of suit and reasonable attorney’s fees from the employer is limited to suits in which the employee receives a judgment in the employee’s favor.

Disposition: Enacted in the House and Senate 5/21.

LD 1454 – An Act to Amend the Prevailing Wage Laws – majority "Ought to Pass as Amended." Current law requires workers employed in the construction of public works to be paid at least the prevailing hourly rate of wages paid for work of a similar nature in the state. The original bill required that workers additionally be given at least the prevailing rate of benefits given for similar work performed in the state. It gave the Office of the Attorney General jurisdiction to investigate and enforce violations of the wage and benefits provision, which the majority amendment removes. Under current law, the Bureau of Labor Standards is responsible for investigations and the Office of the Attorney General is responsible for bringing enforcement actions.

Disposition: On Table in the House, pending initial action.

LD 89 – An Act to Prohibit the Gathering of Signatures at a Polling Place – Died Between Houses.

LD 381 – An Act to Restrict Circulators of Initiated Petitions From Being Within 250 Feet of Voting Places – Indefinitely Postponed.

LD 1731 – An Act to Amend the Election Laws – unanimous "Ought to Pass as Amended." The amended bill was fully described in the May 9, 1997 issue of the Legislative Bulletin.

Disposition: Committee report passed to be engrossed in both houses, pending final action.

LD 1837 – An Act to Authorize Shellfish Management Committees to Determine Fees for Clam Licenses (NEW DRAFT OF LD 436 – An Act Authorizing the St. George River Shellfish Management Committee to Determine Availability of and Fees for Clam Licenses) – This bill removes the $200 cap that a municipality may set for a local shellfish license. It also states that the Commissioner of Marine Resources may not withhold approval of a municipal ordinance based on shellfish license fee amounts specified in that ordinance.

Disposition: Enacted in the House 5/12; enacted in the Senate 5/13 (none of the three floor amendments were adopted).

LD 474 – An Act to Amend the Waste Management Laws Regarding Landfill Closure – unanimous "Ought to Pass as Amended." The original bill extended the date from January 1, 1998 to January 1, 2000, after which the State is not compensated for costs incurred for all work relating to landfill closure procedures.

The amendment replaces the bill. The amended bill is fully described in the April 25, 1997, issue of the Legislative Bulletin.

Disposition: Enacted in the House and sent to the Appropriations Table 5/20.

LD 923 – An Act to Amend the Tax Against Certain Casual Sales – majority "Ought to Pass as Amended." The amendment replaces the bill; it strikes the current law regarding municipal ordinances and community living arrangements in order to repeal provisions that violate federal law and to rewrite and clarify the remaining provisions. The amendment continues the requirement that municipalities consider community living arrangements to be single-family uses of property for purposes of zoning.

Disposition: Majority report passed to be engrossed in both houses, pending final action.

LD 1216 – An Act to Allow the Separation of Frye Island from the Town of Standish – majority "Ought Not to Pass;" minority "Ought to Pass as Amended." The bill allows Frye Island and 200 feet of surrounding waters in Sebago Lake to separate from the Town of Standish and incorporate as the Town of Frye Island, subject to local referendum. Under the original bill, the Town of Frye Island would remain in School Administrative District 6 and Cumberland County and the Frye Island Municipal Services Corporation would continue within the Town of Frye Island.

Disposition: Minority "Ought to Pass" report accepted in the House, pending further action in the Senate.

LD 1379 – An Act to Place Conditions on the Investment of Municipal Funds in Mutual Funds – unanimous "Ought to Pass as Amended." The amendment replaces and retitles the bill (An Act to Expand Options for Investment of Certain Municipal Trust Funds). It adds an option for investment of municipal trust funds to allow investment in mutual funds with portfolios of other than U.S. government bonds and repurchase agreements backed by U.S. bonds, provided the trust fund is governed by the U.S. Internal Revenue Code, Section 501(C)(3), municipal officers approve the investment at a public meeting, no more than 50% of the assets of the trust are invested in such mutual funds, and these investments are diversified.

Disposition: Amended bill passed to be engrossed in both houses, pending final action.

LD 1605 – An Act to Prohibit Towns from Canceling Health Insurance Provided to Retired Employees – majority "Ought to Pass as Amended." This bill requires a municipality to allow a retired former employee to continue to stay enrolled in the municipality’s health insurance plan if the retired employee pays the premiums. The amendment clarifies that the premium rate that retired municipal employees must pay in order to be kept on the municipality’s health care plan is the group rate. It adds a fiscal note and mandate preamble (municipalities are required to allow former retired employees to continue to receive health insurance at the employee’s own expense, resulting in minor additional costs).

Disposition: Majority report passed to be engrossed in the House, pending further action.

LD 1720 – An Act to Repeal the Requirement That Victualers Be Licensed by a Municipality – unanimous "Ought to Pass." This bill repeals the requirement that a victualer be licensed by a municipality, because eating establishments are already required to be licensed by the Department of Human Services, which has detailed licensing standards and an extensive inspection system.

Disposition: Committee report passed to be engrossed in both houses, pending final action.

LD 1851 – An Act to Amend the Laws Regarding Proposed Unaccepted Streets – unanimous "Ought to Pass." This bill clarifies that before a proposed unaccepted way is considered subject to vacation, both of the stated conditions must be met: the way may not have been constructed or used as a way, and the way may not have been accepted by the specified dates. The bill also allows a municipality to accept a proposed way as a public, utility or recreational easement as well as for motor vehicle purposes in order to avoid an order of vacation.

Disposition: Enacted in the House and Senate 5/22.

LD 11 - An Act to Clarify the Law Governing Property Tax Exemptions for Charitable and Benevolent Institutions and Literary and Scientific Institutions – majority "Ought Not to Pass."

Disposition: Majority "Ought Not to Pass" report accepted in the Senate, pending further action in the House.

LD 271 – An Act to Allow a Greater Share of the Transfer Tax to Remain in the Counties Where it is Collected – majority "Ought to Pass as Amended." The amendment increases the portion of the real estate transfer tax that is retained by the county by 3% each year for 5 years to a maximum of 25%, beginning 7/99.

Disposition: Enacted in the House and sent to Appropriations Table 5/20.

LD 755 – An Act to Amend the Watercraft Registration Laws – unanimous "Ought to Pass as Amended." As amended, this bill clarifies that watercraft are registered and taxed on a calendar year basis, from January 1st to December 31st of each year; municipalities are not required to provide a prorated reduction of 1997 watercraft excise taxes. It provides a 50% reduction in excise taxes due for watercraft registered to a new owner after September 1st of each year. The amendment removed an emergency preamble and clause.

Disposition: Enacted in the House and Senate 5/20.

LD 780 – An Act to Ensure That Only Taxes That Are Paid and Not Otherwise Reimbursed Are Eligible for Reimbursement under the State’s Business Property Tax Reimbursement Program – final "Ought Not to Pass."

LD 1702 – An Act to Change the Method of Taxing Borrow Pits – final "Ought Not to Pass."