D. One representative of municipal employers; and

E. Three members representing labor, women's groups and senior citizens;

2. Six members appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives as follows:

A. One member of the House of Representatives;

B. One representative from the low-income advocacy field;

C. One representative of a child care organization;

D. One parent or educator; and

E. Two members of the business community, one representing a large business and one representing a small business;

3. The President of the Maine State Chamber of Commerce or the president's designee; and

4. The Commissioner of Labor or the commissioner's designee.

The Senator and the member of the House of Representatives may not be members of the same political party; and be it further

Sec. 3. Chairs. Resolved: That the Senate member is the Senate chair of the committee and the House of Representatives member is the House chair of the committee; and be it further

Sec. 4. Appointments; meetings. Resolved: That all appointments must be made no later than 30 days following the effective date of this resolve. The appointing authorities shall notify the Executive Director of the Legislative Council once the appointments have been made. When the appointment of all members has been completed, the chairs of the committee shall call and convene the first meeting of the committee no later than July 1, 2002; and be it further

Sec. 5. Duties. Resolved: That the committee shall study the benefits and costs of providing family and medical leave benefits. In conducting the study, the committee shall:

1. Review and consider information gathered by the committee during the 2001 interim;

2. Continue to examine the issues set forth in Joint Order 2001, House Paper 1386, section 5, paragraph A;

3. Identify or develop additional sources of Maine-specific data on use of family and medical leave and the availability of paid leave;

4. Obtain information from other states and interest groups that are conducting studies or developing methodologies for estimating costs and benefits on paid family and medical leave;

5. Arrange for the assistance of experts in economic analysis to prepare costs and benefit estimates for the committee; and

6. Invite testimony from experts on early childhood development, including experts on bonding between children and parents, to assist the committee in considering potential long- term benefits of providing paid leave so that parents will be able to take leave following the birth or adoption of a child; and be it further

Sec. 6. Staff assistance. Resolved: That, upon approval of the Legislative Council, the Office of Policy and Legal Analysis shall provide necessary staffing services to the committee; and be it further

Sec. 7. Compensation. Resolved: That members of the committee who are Legislators are entitled to the legislative per diem, as defined in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 3, section 2, and reimbursement for necessary expenses incurred for their attendance at authorized meetings of the committee. Other members of the committee are entitled to receive reimbursement of necessary expenses incurred for their attendance at authorized meetings of the committee only if sufficient outside funds are received for this purpose in accordance with section 9; and be it further

Sec. 8. Report. Resolved: That the committee shall submit its report, together with any necessary implementing legislation, to the First Regular Session of the 121st Legislature no later than December 1, 2002. If the committee requires a limited extension of time to conclude its work, it may apply to the Legislative Council, which may grant the extension; and be it further

Sec. 9. Budget; grants. Resolved: That the chairs of the committee, with assistance from the committee staff, shall administer the committee's budget. Within 10 days after the its first meeting, the committee shall present a work plan and proposed budget to

the Legislative Council for approval. The committee may not incur expenses that would result in the committee's exceeding its approved budget. Upon request from the committee, the Executive Director of the Legislative Council promptly shall provide the committee chairs and staff with a status report on the committee's budget, expenditures incurred and paid and available funds. The chairs of the committee may seek and accept grants and other outside funding on behalf of the committee. Prompt notice of solicitation and acceptance of such funds must be sent to the Legislative Council. All funds accepted must be forwarded to the executive director, along with an accounting that includes amount, date received, from whom, purpose and limitation on use of the funds. The executive director administers any funds received.

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

SUMMARY

This resolve is the recommendation of the Committee to Study the Benefits and Costs for Increasing Access to Family and Medical Leave for Maine Families, which was created by joint order in the First Regular Session of the 120th Legislature. The committee recommended that it be allowed to continue its work during another interim, since the lack of sufficient data prevented members from reaching a conclusion in 2001 regarding the costs and benefits of paid family and medical leave in Maine. Several state and interest groups are working on creating models for estimating costs and benefits of paid family and medical leave, which the committee may be able to use in 2002. Also, committee members intend to identify interest groups and experts in Maine to gather data for the next phase of the study and to provide economic analysis expertise necessary to use that data.