Are you an employer interested in starting a new internship, apprenticeship, or co-op program? Would you like to enrich your existing experiential learning program? The Maine Career Catalyst program is your ticket.

The Maine State Chamber submitted comments to the Tax Expenditure Working Group regarding reviews conducted by the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability (OPEGA) at its meeting on October 22. The Maine State Chamber’s comments centered on the continued success of Maine’s tax incentives and programs and the fact that they are working as intended. Below is the Maine State Chamber’s letter to the working group, submitted by Linda Caprara, senior government relations specialist, on October 21, 2021.

On Monday, October 25, the committee of legislative leadership screened 330 new bill titles for potential admission to the Second Regular Session that begins in January 2022. The Legislative Council voted to accept 107 of the new bills. With literally only bill titles to go by, it is hard to tell what details the legislation will contain, but as a reminder, with this being the second year of a legislative session, the constitution says that the Legislature shall consider bills of emergency nature. Unfortunately, over time, that definition has become fluid, with “emergency” ultimately being in the eye of the beholder. As we move closer to the session in January, the Revisor’s Office will be working on drafting the actual language of these bills for release later in the year.

Multiple updates to Maine labor law went into effect on Monday, October 18, 2021, including An Act Relating to Fair Chance in Employment. This new law prohibits employers from inquiring about an individual’s criminal history on an initial employment application and from stating in employment advertisements that an individual with a criminal history may not apply.

On October 18, Governor Janet Mills announced the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan’s first investments in Maine people, small businesses, and workforce, including $20 million for a new small business grant program, $39 million to help lower monthly health insurance premiums, and $80 million to replenish the Maine Unemployment Trust fund and mitigate tax hikes for small businesses.