I. One member of the Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate;

J. Two members of the House of Representatives, at least one of whom must be from the minority party, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

K. One parent or other consumer who receives a child care subsidy at the time of that parent's or consumer's appointment, appointed by the Governor;

L. One parent or other consumer of child care services who does not receive a child care subsidy, appointed by the Governor;

M. One business representative nominated by the Maine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, appointed by the Governor;

N. One center-based care representative nominated by the Maine Child Care Directors' Association, appointed by the Governor;

O. One Head Start provider nominated by the Maine Head Start Directors' Association, appointed by the Governor;

P. One family day-care provider nominated by the Maine Family Day Care Association, appointed by the Governor;

Q. One person representing Native Americans, appointed by the Governor;

R. One child care provider who does not receive public funds, appointed by the Governor;

S. One person associated with a local preschool handicapped project coordination site, appointed by the Governor;

T. One person nominated by the Coalition for Maine's Children, appointed by the Governor;

U. One person nominated by the Maine Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, appointed by the Governor;

V. One representative of women nominated by the Maine Women's Lobby, appointed by the Governor; and

W. One provider of child care for school-age children, appointed by the Governor.

Senators and members of the House of Representatives serve for the duration of the legislative terms that they are serving when appointed. Members from state departments serve at the pleasure of their appointing authorities. All other members serve 3-year terms and may continue to serve beyond their terms until their successors are appointed but may not be appointed to subsequent consecutive terms. If a vacancy occurs before a term has expired, the vacancy must be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by the authority who made the original appointment. If a member is absent for 2 consecutive meetings and has not been excused by the chair from either meeting, the council may remove the member by majority vote. If a nominating organization does not submit nominations within a reasonable period of time, the appointing authority may fill that organization's seat with a member of the public at large.

Sec. 2. Appropriation. The following funds are appropriated from the General Fund to carry out the purposes of this Act.

2001-02

DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES

Office of Child Care and Head Start

All Other $50,000

Provides funds to the Department of Human Services, Office of Child Care and Head Start for a one-time competitive grant to a private entity to gather data on child care services in the State, including market rate data information; wage range information and how wages affect provider relocation out of the State; the number of employees that are center-based; the number of child care providers that are sole proprietorships, the current number of available child care slots; the necessary next steps to coordinate information systems; the ability of facilities to meet building and fire codes; the development of a methodology for a child care facilities survey; and the identification of areas where data is not currently being collected.

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this Act takes effect when approved.

SUMMARY

This bill amends the law governing the Child Care Advisory Council by changing the number of members on the council and by removing the language that prohibits subsequent consecutive terms for members. The bill also appropriates funds to the Department of Human Services, Office of Child Care and Head Start for a one- time competitive grant to a private entity to gather data on child care services in the State.