Farm & Sea Bills
scroll down to see Sea Bills, and General Bills impacting Farm & Sea Systems
Farm Bills
LD 282 An Act Regarding Maine Agriculture sponsored by Rep. Maggie O’Neil, ACF Committee ACF YouTube
LD 437 An Act To Establish the Maine Healthy Soils Program sponsored by Sen. Stacy Brenner, referred to ACF Comm. This bill establishes the Maine Healthy Soils Program within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry for the purposes of promoting and expanding the use of healthy soils best practices among farmers and farmland owners. ACF YouTube
LD 568 An Act To Establish a Working Farmland Access and Protection Program within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and a Working Farmland Access and Protection Fund within the Land for Maine's Future Program sponsored by Rep Bill Pluecker, referred to AFC Committee. This bill establishes the Maine Working Farmland Access and Protection Program within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry. The purpose of the bill is to strengthen the alignment between the department's farmland conservation goals and the Land for Maine's Future program. ACF YouTube
LD 983 An Act To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue To Promote Land Conservation, Working Waterfronts, Water Access and Outdoor Recreation sponsored by Sen. Catherine Breen, referred to Appropriations and Financial Affairs Comm.
This bill does the following:
1. Part A provides a bond issue, in the amount of $80,000,000, that will be used to provide funds for the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Bureau of Parks and Lands and the Land for Maine's Future Board; and
2. Part B allows proceeds of the Land for Maine's Future Fund to be spent on property that is determined by the Land for Maine's Future Board to be for a community conservation project. It also sets helping the State's natural ecosystems, wildlife and natural resources-based economies adapt to a changing climate as a priority of the board in making land acquisitions AFA YouTube
LD 586 An Act to Amend the Laws Governing Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry sponsored by Rep. Maggie O’Neil, ACF Committee ACF YouTube
LD 636 An Act to Encourage the Purchase of Local Foods for Public Schools sponsored by Sen. Eloise Vitelli, Referred to EDU Committee. Expand the Local Produce Fund Program to allow schools to source local food via other sources, instead of only directly from farms. Increase the cap on reimbursement from DOE to encourage more local purchasing. Expand the options beyond produce to include other local foods. EDU YouTube
LD 691 An Act to Support Farms and Address Food Insecurity Due to Covid-19 sponsored by Rep. Bill Pluecker, ACF Committee. This bill establishes the Fund To Address Food Insecurity and Provide Nutrition Incentives within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to provide incentives to federal food and nutrition assistance program participants for the purchase of locally grown fruits and vegetables and to support outreach for and administration of programs that offer nutrition incentives to participants of federal food and nutrition assistance programs. ACF YouTube
LD 937 Resolve, To Facilitate the Provision of Incentives for Soil Carbon Storage, sponsored by Rep. Laurie Osher, referred to ACF Committee Convenes a stakeholder group to develop recommendations for the establishment of programs and policies designed to incentivize the effective sequestration of carbon in soils by landowners and land managers in the State ACF YouTube
LD 80 An Act To Provide Critical Communications for Family Farms, Businesses and Residences by Strategic Public Investment in High-speed Internet and Broadband Infrastructure sponsored by Rep. David McCrea, EUT Committee. This bill requires that 33% of sales and use tax revenue collected by the State Tax Assessor from marketplace facilitators, with respect to marketplace-facilitated sales, after required transfers to other funds be transferred to the ConnectMaine Authority to further deployment of high-speed Internet and broadband infrastructure to unserved and underserved areas of the State. EUT YouTube
LD 151 An Act To Protect Farm Workers by Allowing Them To Organize for the Purpose of Collective Bargaining sponsored by Rep. Thom Harnett, referred to Labor and Housing Comm. This bill proposes to allow persons working in agriculture to organize for the purposes of collectively bargaining for wages, hours, other working conditions and benefits without fear of reprisal. The bill would exempt farms under a certain size with a limited number of employees. LBHS YouTube
LD 219 An Act To Enhance the Agricultural Marketing Loan Fund by Establishing a Variable Interest Rate for Loans and To Allow Participants in the Maine Farms for the Future Program To Borrow at That Rate sponsored by Rep. Bill Pluecker, ACF Committee. This bill allows the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, in consultation with the Finance Authority of Maine, to periodically review interest rates and establish an interest rate for agricultural marketing loans that varies with the prime rate of interest and is a competitive interest rate at the time of loan origination. It prohibits the rate from being less than 1% per year. It also allows participants in the Maine Farms for the Future Program to borrow at that rate. ACF YouTube
LD 262 An Act To Combat Hunger by Creating a Tax Credit of 10 Percent of Wholesale Market Prices up to $5,000 Annually for Businesses Engaged in Food Production for Donations of Food to Tax-exempt Organizations sponsored by Rep. Tiffany Roberts, TAX Committee. This bill provides an income tax credit for persons engaged in commercial agricultural production, commercial aqua-cultural production or commercial fishing for donations to a food bank, food kitchen or other tax-exempt organization that provides food to low-income individuals without charging a fee for the food or requiring any other type of compensation from the low-income individuals. The credit is equal to 10% of the wholesale market price of the donated products up to a maximum of $5,000. TAX YouTube
LD 558 Resolve, Directing the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry To Study Alternative Cropping Systems for Farmers Affected by Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Contamination, sponsored by Rep Bill Pluecker, referred to AFC Committee ACF YouTube
LD 1022 An Act To Make Agricultural Workers and Other Workers Employees under the Wage and Hour Laws sponsored by Rep Thom Harnett referred to Labor and Housing Comm. This bill provides that agricultural employees and seasonal employees are subject to the laws that place limits on mandatory overtime. It also provides that agricultural employees are subject to the laws that set a minimum wage and overtime rate. LBHS YouTube
Sea Bills
LD 67 An Act to Assist in the Restoration of Atlantic Salmon, sponsor Rep Martin, referred to ENR Committee, reported out Ought to Pass (OTP) ENR YouTube
LD 983 An Act To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue To Promote Land Conservation, Working Waterfronts, Water Access and Outdoor Recreation sponsored by Sen. Catherine Breen, referred to Appropriations and Financial Affairs Comm.
This bill does the following:
1. Part A provides a bond issue, in the amount of $80,000,000, that will be used to provide funds for the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry, Bureau of Parks and Lands and the Land for Maine's Future Board; and
2. Part B allows proceeds of the Land for Maine's Future Fund to be spent on property that is determined by the Land for Maine's Future Board to be for a community conservation project. It also sets helping the State's natural ecosystems, wildlife and natural resources-based economies adapt to a changing climate as a priority of the board in making land acquisitions AFA YouTube
LD 1146 An Act To Protect Maine's Ocean Waters and Support Regulatory Oversight and the Long-term Health of the Aquaculture Industry Sponsored by Rep Robert Alley referred to Marine Resources Committee. MAR YouTube
General Bills Impacting Farm & Sea Systems
LD 489 RESOLUTION, Proposing an Amendment to the Constitution of Maine To Establish a Right to a Healthy Environment, sponsored by Sen. Chloe Maxmin, referred to ENR Committee, Work Session led to a divided report. ENR YouTube
LD 87 An Act To Implement the State Climate Action Plan, Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Enhance Maine's Economy, sponsored by Rep. Ralph Tucker, ENR Committee ENR YouTube
LD 105 An Act to Adopt the Department of Economic and Community Development's 10-year Economic Development Strategy for Maine sponsored by Rep. Kyle Bailey, Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business Committee, This bill proposes to codify the 10-year economic development strategy for Maine that was developed by the Department of Economic and Community Development in 2019. The bill would provide additional clarity and include requirements for the Maine Economic Growth Council to fulfill its statutory mandate to develop, maintain and evaluate Maine’s long-range strategic economic and community development plan and build out the adopted 10-year strategy. It would also include provisions to support the State’s achievement of the adopted goals and objectives by establishing requirements for the Governor, the Legislature and state agencies to engage in the ongoing evaluation, reporting and review of the strategy. IDEA & Business YouTube
LD 726 An Act To Combat Climate Change and Address Its Impact in Maine sponsored by Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross, referred to ENR Committee. This bill would propose actions to take as identified by the Maine Climate Council to combat climate change and mitigate the impact of climate change on the State's environment and economy. ENR YouTube
LD 736 An Act To Enhance the Ecological Reserve System sponsored by Rep Nicole Grohoski, referred to AFC Committee. This bill proposes to assess the status of the ecological reserve system and consider changes that reflect the importance of the ecological reserve system for supporting wildlife, sequestering and storing carbon, providing scenic and recreational value and serving as long-term ecological research sites. ACF YouTube
LD 870 Resolve, Directing the Permanent Commission on the Status of Racial, Indigenous and Maine Tribal Populations To Study the Impact of Agricultural Policy, Land Access Structures, Grant Access Programs and Access to Financing on Dispossessed African-American and Indigenous Farmers in the State sponsored by Rep. Bill Pluecker, ACF Committee ACF YouTube
LD 892 An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Governor's Economic Recovery Committee sponsored by Rep Teresa Pierce, referred to Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement & Business Comm. IDEA & Business YouTube
LD 954 An Act To Provide Equal Access to the Benefits of the Maine Food Sovereignty Act sponsored by Sen. Lisa Keim, referred to ACF committee ACF YouTube
LD 1107 An Act To Create Needed Broadband Infrastructure in Rural Maine through the Establishment of a Satellite-based Broadband Grant Program Sponsored by Sen. Harold Stewart referred to EUT Committee. This bill establishes a satellite-based broadband grant program, to be developed and administered by the Public Utilities Commission, to provide grants of up to $500 to individuals for installation costs. Under the program, grant priority is to be given to applicants from unserved or underserved areas of the State. This grant program is capitalized under the bill through a one-time General Fund appropriation of $1,000,000. EUT YouTube
LD 1190 An Act To Support the Provision of Universal, Affordable Broadband Internet Sponsored by Rep Seth Berry referred to EUT Committee. EUT YouTube
The following Bills have not been published yet, and do not have an LD#.
An Act to Reduce Hunger and Promote Maine Agriculture sponsored by Pres. Troy Jackson, ACF Committee ACF YouTube
An Act To Authorize a General Fund Bond Issue for Food Processing Infrastructure in Targeted Areas of the State sponsored by Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross, Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee
An Act to Strengthen Maine's Agriculture, Food and Forest Economy sponsored by Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross, ACF Committee
An Act to Allow Custom Staughterhouses to Produce Cuts of Meat to be Sold Commercially in the State sponsored by Sen. Jeff Timberlake
An Act to Convene a Working Group to Develop Plans to Support Maine's Agriculture Lands and Heritage sponsored by Sen. Ned Claxton