District 8 Legislative Update - May 6th, 2009
May 6, 2009 -
This week has been unbelievable! I introduced two bills, had three of my bills in public workshops, and spent a lot of time reviewing the Governor's change package to the budget. There is a lot of good information below, so I hope you enjoy.
Last Week's Top Issues
1) LD 1020 - Marriage Equality;
2) LD 1407 - Children's Health Bill;
3) Paid Sick Day Legislation.
Thank you for your interest, and keep it coming!
Community Update - LD 1195 Hearing
On Monday, my bill LD 1195 was heard in front of the Legal and Veterans Affairs Committee. The room was packed, and the committee heard great testimony on both sides of the issue. I was joined by friends in the immigrant community from Portland, Westbrook, Lewiston, and other places around the state. It was an incredible day, one that makes me proud to be a legislator.
Click here to read
my testimony for LD 1195.
Captive Insurance
On Friday, I had the pleasure of writing an Op-Ed to the Waterville Morning Sentinel about LD 1436, "An Act to Create Economic Development in Maine by Modernizing Maine's Captive Insurance Laws." Then on Monday, I introduced this economic development bill to the Insurance and Financial Services Committee.
In general, a captive is an insurance company that provides risk-based coverage for its parent entity. The most commonly identified benefits of a captive include: coverage and premium stabilization, access to coverage not available in commercial markets, direct access to reinsurance, control of claims administration, and certain benefits available under the tax code.
If Maine builds a viable captive industry, it will add high-wage jobs and generate significant state revenues from licensing fees, examination fees, and tax revenue from the captive management service providers. In addition, annual meeting and administration requirements for out-of-state companies will increase exposure to other Maine industries, including corporate aviation, hospitality, and tourism.
Click
here to read the full Op-Ed.
Education: What does the change package do?
The Governor's change package removes another $572 million from the the last two months of 2009 and the next biennial budget. The budget is cutting deep into Education and Health Care (these two agencies make up 80% of the State Government's expenses), as the Governor is not making the same 10% cuts to every agency this round. For education, this means:
Funding from General Purpose Aid in 2010 will remain fully funded. This means that Portland schools will stay whole in 2010!
Funding from General Purpose Aid in 2011 will be reduced by $68,759,112. For Portland, this means that we will lose about $3,600,000 in state funds in 2011.
The forecast for 2012-2013 does not look good for the State and Portland, but hopefully the economy will be in a different place by then.
Other highlights:
* Higher Education does not get hit with any more reductions in the change package
* Laptops for High Schools still remain
* Penalties for schools that did not reorganize will be put into a reserve fund pending the repeal vote in November
Energy Policy
The Joint Select Committee on Maine's Energy Future has been meeting all session, and will soon release their decisions to the Legislature. Here are some of the highlights that are emerging:
1. Consolidate Efficiency Agencies/Programs into New Efficiency Trust:create a one-stop shop for all residential and business customers
2. Federal Stimulus:to be used for coordinated Workforce Development plan between Maine State Housing Authority, Public Utilities Commission and Department of Labor
3. Transmission Corridors: create a Legislative study group to explore leasing of Transmission Corridors in our highways
4. Affordable Housing: create $30 million revenue bond from Real Estate Transfer Tax to weatherize trailers and old housing across Maine
5. Weatherization/Efficiency Bond: recommend that in 2012 have a $30 million bond to assist when stimulus ends
6. Long-term Plan: charge the new Efficiency Trust to come up with a 20-year plan to weatherize all homes by 2012
Closing
As always, I look forward to hearing back from you on any of these topics or upcoming
bills. See you around town!
-Justin
