On Monday, May 3, Ben Gilman, general counsel for the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, delivered the following testimony before the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources in opposition to LD 1532, An Act To Protect Maine’s Air Quality by Strengthening Requirements for Air Emissions Licensing.
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Dealing with the unsurmountable losses during the COVID-19 pandemic should be enough for Maine’s hospitality industry. Yet, On Wednesday, May 5, the Joint Standing Committee on Taxation held a public hearing on two local option tax bills that propose to allow municipalities a path forward for enacting local option sales taxes on lodging, prepared foods, and marijuana products. This would be the beginning of the proverbial “camel’s nose under the tent” scenario for local option taxes.
Following the passage of the biennial budget in late March, the legislature adjourned “sine die” on the evening of Tuesday, March 30. Legislative committees continued working through the docket of pending proposals and the first meeting of the special session was convened on Wed., April 28, 2021. Legislators had been slated to return for session on Thursday, May 13; however, positive COVID cases among legislators have postponed that meeting until the following week.
On Thursday, May 6, the Joint Standing Committee on Taxation held a public hearing on four more bills that would increase income taxes on high earners in the state. These bills join the lengthy list of the bills the committee has already heard. The Maine State Chamber of Commerce opposed all four bills.
Both the Administration and Speaker introduce legislation The Joint Standing Committee on Labor and Housing held a marathon public hearing on Monday, May 3, 2021, on bills proposing significant “reforms” of Maine’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) system. While the committee heard a number of different proposals, the most significant was LD 1571, An Act to Strengthen the Unemployment Insurance System to Better Serve Maine Workers, sponsored by the Speaker of the House, Rep. Ryan Fecteau (D-Biddeford).
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