On April 20, Governor Janet Mills signed LD 1911, An Act To Prevent the Further Contamination of the Soils and Waters of the State with So-called Forever Chemicals, into law. This statute will prohibit the land application or sale of sludge or sludge-derived compost that comes from a municipal, industrial, or commercial wastewater treatment facility. The goal behind this is to prohibit Maine lands from being contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – known as PFAS or forever chemicals. There are several products that were exempted under LD 1911 – such as food, food waste, crops or vegetative material, the brewing of malt liquor, the fermenting of wine or hard cider, or the distilling of spirits, including but not limited to blueberries, apples, grapes, potatoes, seaweed, fish or seafood, spent grain or malt, and lime mud.
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Governor Janet Mills signed into law LD 1959, An Act To Ensure Transmission and Distribution Utility Accountability. This was arguably the most significant piece of legislation worked on by the Joint Standing Committee on Energy, Utilities and Technology (EUT) this session. The Governor’s signature on this legislation comes after a rocky path forward this session, but one where agreement was made in the final hours of the 130th Legislature. LD 1959, when reported out of committee, had these three reports:
The Joint Standing Committee on Labor and Housing spent a large portion of the Second Session dealing with bills left over from the First Session. While that may not sound unusual, it was worth the wait, given the outcomes on these issues of significance to the business community. In order of importance, they are:
A former Speaker of the Maine House of Representatives cautioned me as we discussed that particular legislative session. She advised: “Dana, do not judge us on the bills we submitted. Judge us, instead, on the bills that pass.”
Carryover bills and new issues keep lawmakers busy this year Despite the pandemic restrictions remaining in place for the vast majority of the 2022 session, the 130th Maine Legislature was able to plow through roughly 600 bills, relatively on time and with only a one-day extension. The 600 or so bills represent both carryover bills from the First Regular and Special Sessions in 2021, as well as new legislation submitted in this “emergency” session.
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