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Bills to Watch in the Maine Legislature: the following are summaries of bills introduced for consideration in the 2010 session of the Maine Legislature.
LD 1587 (retail competition) by Representative Pieh of Bremen would allow the commissioner of the Department of Agriculture to market and sell general merchandise to generate funds for animal welfare programs. In the past, Maine Merchants Association has fought sales tax increases for the funding for that purpose.
LD 1600 (pharmacy) by Senator Marrache of Kennebec would direct the Department of Health and Human Services to establish a program to allow consumers to safely dispose of medical supplies, including syringes and diabetic test supplies.
LD 1608 (business licensing) by Representative Smith of Monmouth would establish the office of administrative law judge for licensing boards.
LD 1615 (pharmacy) by Representative Lewin of Eliot would require the Department of Health and Human Services to reimburse pharmacies for dispensing covered drugs under the MaineCare program based on a formula that includes calculated wholesale acquisition cost plus 6.7 % and a dispensing fee of $3.35.
LD 1617 (pharmacy) by Representative Perry of Calais would allow a health care professional who diagnoses a patient with a sexually transmitted disease to provide prescription antibiotic drugs to that patient's sexual partner.
LD 1620 (health care) by Representative Berry of Bowdoinham would prohibit health plans from refusing to process further claims if a certain maximum has been reached.
LD 1621 (service contracts) by Representative Thibodeau of Winterport would allow consumers to purchase service contracts, warranties and maintenance agreements from parties other than the manufacturer.
LD 1626 (unemployment) by House Speaker Pingree of North Haven would amend state law to allow an individual to receive unemployment compensation for a period in which they also receive vacation pay.
LD 1628 (liquor - taste testing) by Representative Fitts of Pittsfield will, no doubt, resume a favorite legislative debate over where and when taste-testing events may occur. This bill will address the presence of children at an event, i.e. a supermarket.
LD 1629 (liquor - wine registration) by Representative Berry of Bowdoinham would increase from $10 to $20 the fee for registering a wine.
LD 1631 (environmental - product stewardship) by Representative Walsh Innes of Yarmouth is a major piece of environmental legislation that expands the concept of establishing responsibility for end-of-life product recycling, an idea Maine has already applied to electronic products such as televisions and computers and is attempting to apply to the recovery of unused prescription drugs. This proposal would empower environmental officials to pursue any number of products sold in Maine.
LD 1632 (environmental - low sulfur hearing oil) by Representative Butterfield of Bangor would require that after July 1, 2011, home heating oil sold in Maine have a designated low-sulfur content.
LD 1636 (tax - watercraft) by Representative Cushing of Hampden would expand from 75 to 90 the number of days a watercraft may remain in Maine without being subjected to the excise tax.
LD 1644 (utility disconnect) by Representative Pilon of Saco would require a utility to notify a landlord when residential utility service of a tenant is to be terminated.
LD 1646 (broadband) by Representative Flaherty of Scarborough would establish a broadband policy for Maine, using as a model the baseline used by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
LD 1648 (health care - records) by Senator Raye of Washington would roll-back a fee increase for some vital records obtained from the Department of Health and Human Services.
LD 1665 (retail regulation - paid sick leave) by Senate President Mitchell would require "large" businesses in Maine to provide up to 52 hours paid family sick leave a year, and half that amount for smaller firms. The bill's expressed purpose is to prevent the spread of the H1N1 flu virus, but the leave could be taken for numerous health and domestic violence-related purposes. Maine would become the first state to mandate paid family medical leave.
(Summary provided by Maine Merchants Association. Bills printed as of December 30, 2009) |
