At work in Augusta

Jarrod Crockett Photo:

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Rep. Jeffrey Timberlake Photo:

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Rep. James Hamper Photo:

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Rep. Terry Hayes Photo:

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The following are bills that have been recently introduced to the state legislature by local senators and representatives (in parenthesis). None have yet been voted into law; most have been assigned to committees for consideration and the scheduling of public hearings. To learn more about these bills, or to express an opinion, citizens are encouraged to contact their elected representatives or the state legislature.

Toy cannons exempted

This bill amends the definition of "fireworks" to allow the use of toy, antique or replica cannons if no projectile is fired. (Rep Crockett, Bethel.)

Concealed weapons

This bill allows a law enforcement officer or retired law enforcement officer who is a resident of another state to carry a firearm without a permit to carry a concealed firearm. (Rep. Cebra, Naples.)

Hunter, fisher privacy

This bill directs Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to allow an applicant for a hunting or fishing license to indicate that the applicant's e-mail address is confidential. (Rep Crockett, Bethel.)

Hebron Academy signage

Hebron Academy will pay for signs that will direct Interstate 95 traffic to the school, to be installed by the DOT. (Rep. Timberlake, Turner).

New outdoor burning

This bill allows the burning of hay bales and cornstalks in an outdoor wood boiler. (Rep. Timberlake, Turner).

Farmland exempted

This bill removes the value of eligible farmland from the calculation of the Maine estate tax. (Rep. Timberlake, Turner).

Arsenic laws

This bill exempts shellfish processing facilities from testing and reporting requirements and discharge limits concerning arsenic. (Rep. Snowe-Mello, Poland.)

Child support

This resolve directs officials to examine the issue of the revocation of driver’s licenses for the nonpayment of child support and report by December 7, 2011. (Rep. Snowe-Mello, Poland.)

Sales tax

This bill provides that only the items of consideration or other items of value shown on a receipt or bill of sale for a used motor vehicle may be considered part of the sale price for purposes of sales tax unless there is convincing evidence that other consideration was given as part of the sale. (Rep. Snowe-Mello, Poland.)

License plates

This bill changes the period of time of a motor vehicle temporary registration plate from 14 days to 30 days. (Rep. Snowe-Mello, Poland.)

Selective service

This bill allows a man to register with the federal Selective Service System on the application for a driver's license. (Rep Crockett, Bethel.)

Hospital requirement

This bill requires a hospital, beginning January 1, 2012, to employ a certified director of health information management. (Rep Crockett, Bethel.)

Manufactured housing

This bill provides landlords a process for the disposal of abandoned manufactured housing. This process is based on provisions which governed the disposal of tangible property in general by a landlord. (Rep Crockett, Bethel.)

Breeding kennel

This bill requires a person keeping five or more breeding animals to obtain a license as a breeding kennel from the state, not the local municipality. (Rep. Timberlake, Turner).

Retail pharmacy

This bill removes retail pharmacies from the list of entities funding and reporting to the Maine Health Data Organization. (Rep. Snowe-Mello, Poland.)

Constitutional rights

This bill mirrors federal law in allowing a person to bring a civil action for a violation of constitutional rights against a person acting under a local law. (Rep. Snowe-Mello, Poland.)

State retirement

Bill would allow certain segments of the state employee pool to opt out of Maine's state retirement system, in favor of federal social security. (Rep. Hamper, Oxford.)

In other news ...

Rep. Cebra of Naples introduced a bill under which state employees would pay 1 percent more into their retirement fund every year, and would reduce cost-of-living adjustments to retirees making more than $25,000 per year. He also sponsored a bill that exempts noncommercial foreign vessels of under 200 feet from the requirement that a pilot licensed in this state be on board. Cebra also submitted a bill that repeals the annual indexing of motor fuel tax rates and deletes cross-references, and another bill that changes funding support for the Maine State Ferry Service and certain State Police revenues from the Highway Fund to the General Fund, and allows the Highway Fund savings to be spent on highway resurfacing and maintenance paving.

Rep. Hayes of Buckfield submitted a bill that allows municipalities to publish legal notices either in a newspaper distributed by 3rd class mail or electronically as long as the municipal officers adopt a publication policy.

Rep. Crockett of Bethel introduced four other bills, including one that affects student tuition rates for unorganized territories; one that sets a 20-year statute of limitations for an action on a breach of warranty covenants; one that clarifies that the Uniform Arbitration Act confers jurisdiction in either the District Court or the Superior Court; and one on municipal banking laws that designates the Maine Municipal Bond Bank as a potential partner in the Dam Repair and Reconstruction Fund in place of the Finance Authority of Maine. It also explicitly allows quasi-municipal corporations and districts to apply for loans from the fund.

The first paragraph, which is currently bolded, should be italicized instead of bolded.