Among these bills was the commonly referred to “solar bill.” This legislation was worked on for months by committee members and stakeholders, and in the final days of the legislative session I presented an amendment that brought different parties together and helped the bill pass through the both the House and Senate.
The legislation we passed increases the amount of solar in Maine’s energy portfolio and keeps net metering in place for the next 10 to 12 years. Net metering is the practice by which people who generate energy with solar panels on their homes are able to sell that generated power to companies such as CMP. Encouraging the growth of the solar power industry, I believe, will bring jobs to our state and benefit overall our energy situation.
I was also pleased that another piece of legislation for which I worked on a compromise amendment passed, this one to save hundreds of jobs in the biomass and logging industries by providing $13 million to the biomass industry.
Energy bills weren’t the only measures on which we reached a last-minute compromise. Republicans and Democrats were also able to come together to pass the long-awaited ban on purchases of lottery, alcohol, and tobacco with welfare benefits. Penalties for a proven program violation are a three-month disqualification of benefits for a first time offender of the ban, a 12-month disqualification for a second offense, and a 24-month disqualification for a third offense. I think this is a common sense reform, and I am glad we were able to find middle ground on it. The important part of implementing this ban is making sure that we are protecting resources for the people who need them most. Taxpayer money should not be wasted, and if benefits are being used for such items as lottery tickets and alcohol, they are not being used to buy food for kids, or other necessities for the people who truly need them.
We also passed a few funding initiatives, including pay raises for workers at both Dorothea Dix and Riverview Psychiatric Recovery Center, as well as pay raises for state law enforcement officers. Lawmakers also voted to create the Substance Abuse Assistance Program to provide grants to municipalities and counties to carry out projects designed to reduce substance abuse, substance abuse-related crimes, and recidivism.
Other legislation passed in the last days of the session include: a sales tax exemption on fuel for certain natural resources industries, a change to the education funding formula to assist towns hit hard by mill closures, a transportation bond, a research and development bond, and a cost-of-living increase for MaineCare reimbursement to private nonmedical institutions and adult family care homes.
Not all of the bills I have discussed have yet been signed into law as I write this up before the publication deadline, so there is always the possibility of a veto by the governor. The Legislature is scheduled to convene April 29 to consider any bills he has vetoed.
If you have thoughts on any of the bills discussed here, or any other state or legislative issue, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I can be reached at dcwoodsome@gmail.com or 432-5643.
— Sen. David Woodsome represents Senate District 33, which includes Cornish, Limerick, Newfield, Parsonsfield, Sanford, Shapleigh and Waterboro.
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