CHAPTER 784
H.P. 1814 - L.D. 2547
An Act to Implement the Recommendations of the Task Force to Study the Operation of and Support for the Board of Environmental Protection
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 2 MRSA §6, sub-§6, as amended by PL 1997, c. 643, Pt. Q, §3, is further amended to read:
6. Range 85. The salaries of the following state officials and employees are within salary range 85:
Director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency;
Members, Maine Unemployment Insurance Commission;
Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management; and
Director of the Bureau of Maine Veterans' Services.; and
Executive Analyst, Board of Environmental Protection.
Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §931, sub-§1, ¶L-2, as enacted by PL 1997, c. 459, §3, is amended to read:
L-2. The Director of Econometric Research within the Bureau of Taxation; and
Sec. 3. 5 MRSA §931, sub-§1, ¶L-3 is enacted to read:
L-3. The Executive Analyst of the Board of Environmental Protection; and
Sec. 4. 5 MRSA §938-A, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 890, Pt. A, §§2 and 40, is repealed.
Sec. 5. 38 MRSA §341-C, sub-§7, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 890, Pt. A, §13 and affected by §40, is amended to read:
7. Conflict of interest. Members are governed by the conflict of interest provisions of Title 5, section 18. If a member believes that a conflict of interest may require that member's abstention in a proceeding, unless the member in question objects, the question of the conflict of interest must be submitted to a nonbinding advisory vote of the members present, excluding the member in question.
Sec. 6. 38 MRSA §341-D, sub-§1-B, as enacted by PL 1995, c. 347, §3, is amended to read:
1-B. Rulemaking. Subject to the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, the board shall adopt, amend or repeal reasonable rules and emergency rules necessary for the interpretation, implementation and enforcement of any provision of law that the department is charged with administering. The board shall also adopt, amend and repeal rules as necessary for the conduct of its business.
The department shall identify in its regulatory agenda, when feasible, a proposed rule or provision of a proposed rule that is anticipated to be more stringent than the federal standard, if an applicable federal standard exists.
During the consideration of any proposed rule by the board, when feasible, and using information available to it, the department shall identify provisions of the proposed rule that the department believes would impose a regulatory burden more stringent than the burden imposed by the federal standard, if such a federal standard exists, and shall explain in a separate section of the basis statement the justification for the difference between the agency rule and the federal standard.
Notwithstanding Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter II, the board shall accept and consider additional public comment on a proposed rule following the close of the formal rule-making comment period at a meeting that is not a public hearing only if the additional public comment is directly related to comments received during the formal rule-making comment period or is in response to changes to the proposed rule. Public notice of the meeting must comply with Title 1, section 406 and state that the board will accept additional public comment on the proposed rule at that meeting.
This subsection takes effect January 1, 1998.
Sec. 7. 38 MRSA §341-F, sub-§§1 and 2, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 890, Pt. A, §13 and affected by §40, are amended to read:
1. Staff. Staff of the board must be hired by the chair with the consent of the board. The executive director analyst shall direct the daily operations administrative and operational functions of the board and board staff in an impartial and objective manner. The board shall prescribe the duties of the executive analyst. The executive analyst is prohibited from participating in any activity that substantially compromises the executive analyst's ability to discharge effectively and impartially the executive analyst's duties to the board.
2. Unclassified employee. Professional staff The executive analyst of the board are is unclassified and may be removed, only for cause, by the chair with consent majority vote of the board.
Sec. 8. 38 MRSA §342, sub-§11-A is enacted to read:
11-A. Recommendations and assistance to board. The commissioner shall make recommendations to the board regarding proposed rules; permit and license applications; modification, revocation or suspension of licenses; appeals of license and permit decisions; and other matters considered by the board. The commissioner shall also provide the board with the technical services of the department.
Sec. 9. Hiring. The Chair of the Board of Environmental Protection shall hire an executive analyst no earlier than October 1, 2000.
Sec. 10. Allocation. The following funds are allocated from Other Special Revenue funds to carry out the purposes of this Act.
2000-01
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION, DEPARTMENT OF
Board of Environmental Protection Fund
Positions - Legislative Count (1.000)
Personal Services $51,445
All Other 10,300
Capital Expenditures 3,000
Allocates funds for one Executive Analyst position and general operating funds.
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION ____________
TOTAL $64,745Effective August 11, 2000, unless otherwise indicated.
| Revisor of Statutes Homepage | Subject Index | Search | Laws of Maine | Maine Legislature |
