The LURC Study Commission has released final report & recommendations.

CLICK HERE to read the report

AUGUSTA – A proposal to abolish Maine’s Land Use Regulation Commission has been bypassed in favor of a study into the future of the commission, which oversees development in the state’s nearly 10 million acres of unorganized territory.

Gov. Paul LePage signed a bill Friday that sets an agenda to study the issue, which was debated at length during the past legislative session after bills were presented to abolish LURC.

Read full story in the Portland Press Herald

By Christopher Cousins

AUGUSTA, Maine — Supporters and opponents of the Land Use Regulation Commission turned out in droves Tuesday to either trash or sing the praises of the commission and its 40 years of influence over more than 10 million acres of Maine’s Unorganized Territory.

Depending on who was speaking, LURC either protects Maine’s North Woods from rampant and destructive sprawl or stands in the way of economic development that could curb a more than 10 percent average unemployment rate in the Unorganized Territory.

Read Full Story in the Bangor Daily News

May 16, 2011

AUGUSTA – The Maine Senate passed landmark legislation today to revamp Maine’s health   insurance market. The measure, LD 1333, is designed to generate more competition and more choices and bring rates closer to national norms. It also sets up a Guaranteed Access Plan to make sure Mainers with pre-existing conditions can obtain affordable insurance and cannot be denied coverage.

On May 13, the House voted 78 to 68 for final passage. The Senate voted 24 to 10. The vote was bipartisan in both chambers, with two Democrats voting with the Republican majority in the House and three Democrats and one unenrolled member joining majority Republicans in the Senate.

House Speaker Robert Nutting hailed final passage as a major achievement. “For years, Maine has suffered from a broken health insurance system,” he said. “Costs are so high that 130,000 people can’t afford to buy coverage. Employers and families with coverage are at the breaking point. Failure to act would have been irresponsible. This plan is based on proven systems in dozens of other states where rates are lower – sometimes dramatically lower. To get our economy growing again and create jobs, we need an insurance system that Mainers can afford.”

Senate President Kevin L. Raye (R-Perry) said final enactment represents an important victory for the people of Maine in the long battle against skyrocketing insurance premiums. “The status quo has resulted in too many Mainers losing insurance coverage and thousands of others threatened with that loss,” he said. “The bill we sent to the Governor today offers hope by injecting competition and choice into the system. It also protects rural residents and those with pre-existing conditions, as well as creating a new Guaranteed Access Plan to cover costs for those with chronic illnesses.

“Despite the appalling scare tactics and misrepresentations by those who sought to derail needed reforms, today’s vote was a bipartisan one that reflects a good faith effort to clarify and strengthen this bill as we seek to bring relief and wider coverage to Maine people,” he added.

Rep. Wes Richardson (R-Warren), the sponsor of the bill, said the Guaranteed Access Plan is a reinsurance program modeled on a successful version in Idaho, a state with demographics similar to Maine’s. “The chronically ill and individuals with pre-existing conditions will choose from the same insurance plans as everyone else,” he said. To make sure their premiums remain affordable, the state will provide subsidies from the reinsurance fund, to be financed by a monthly assessment of $4 on all privately insured Mainers.

“With this reform package in place, insurance carriers will be able to offer a more diverse array of insurance products to fit a variety of personal and business budgets,” said Rep. Richardson, the House chair of the Insurance and Financial Services Committee. “Increased competition and more affordability in coverage options will enable young and healthy people to buy insurance policies, thereby expanding the pool and lowering costs across the board.”

The initiative also allows individuals to purchase health insurance from companies licensed in other states. Specifically, it permits carriers authorized to sell insurance in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island to offer their individual policies for sale in Maine starting in 2014. Mainers have repeatedly voiced strong support for opening insurance markets across state lines. Rates elsewhere, such as in New Hampshire, are significantly lower than in Maine.

On the business side, companies with fewer than 50 employees would be allowed to band together to create larger insurance pools to obtain better rates. For companies with 20 or fewer employees, the plan also provides a tax credit if they maintain wellness programs. The credit would range from $100 per employee to a maximum of $2,000.

“Currently, the high cost of health insurance is a factor that dissuades new businesses from locating in Maine,” said Sen. Rodney Whittemore (R-Somerset), Senate chair of the Insurance and Financial Services Committee and a co-sponsor of the legislation. “By allowing businesses to band together, they will be able to provide employees with health insurance at a lower cost. Ultimately, these reforms will make Maine a more attractive place for both new and existing businesses and will be a boost for job creation.”

The plan has been crafted to mesh with the federal Affordable Care Act (ACA) in the event the law survives court challenges. If the ACA is struck down, the new plan provides a structure that lowers costs, expands choices and moves Maine into the American mainstream. In short, the initiative creates certainty for Mainers regardless of the fate of the federal health care reform law.

AUGUSTA, Maine — The debate over Canadian loggers working in the Maine woods returned to the State House on Tuesday when senators voted along party lines to reject a bill that would have denied tax breaks to timberland owners who hire foreign workers.

In the latest skirmish in a decades-old battle, Senate Republicans voted unanimously along with the body’s one independent member to oppose LD 314, which they claimed would unjustly penalize landowners forced during labor shortages to hire Canadian loggers.

Read full story on the BangorDailyNews.com

AUGUSTA, Maine — Two Aroostook County legislators [Representative John Martin (D-Eagle Lake) and Senator Troy Jackson (D-Allagash)] are criticizing a decision to postpone proceedings against logging contractors accused of violating foreign labor laws until after the LePage administration’s new labor commissioner reviews the cases.

Read entire article on the BangorDailyNews.com

By Mal Leary, Capitol News Service

AUGUSTA, Maine — The 40-year- old Maine Land Use Regulation Commission would be abolished and zoning responsibilities for the state’s Unorganized Territory transferred to the counties under a measure introduced by Rep. Paul Davis, R-Sangerville.

“The issue for me was the Plum Creek hearings and the costs for that permitting,” he said. “My bill would send this whole thing back to the counties and let the counties develop a plan and a permitting process.”

Full Article on: BangorDailyNews.com

The 125th Legislature’s Committee Chairs are listed below.  The Committees in bold are those that have the largest impact on the Forest Products Industry, however the other committees could also impact our industry either directly or indirectly.

The full list of Committee members is at http://www.maine.gov/legis/house/jtcomlst.htm

Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry – Sen. Roger Sherman & Rep. Peter Edgecomb

Appropriations & Financial Affairs – Sen. Richard Rosen & Rep. Patrick Flood

Criminal Justice & Public Safety – Sen. Garrett Mason & Rep. Gary Plummer

Education & Cultural Affairs – Sen. Brian Langley & Rep. David Richardson

Energy, Utilities & Technology – Sen. Michael Thibodeau & Rep. Stacey Fitts

Envirnment & Natural Resources – Sen. Thomas Saviello & Rep. James Harper

Health & Human Services – Sen. Earle McCormack & Rep. Meredith Strang Burgess

Inland Fishers & Wildlife – Sen. Thomas Martin & Rep. Paul Davis

Judiciary – Sen. David Hastings & Rep. Joan Nass

Labor, Commerce, Research & Economic Development – Sen. Christopher Rector & Rep. Kerri Prescott

Marine Resources – Sen. Lois Snowe-Mello & Rep. Windol Weaver

State & Local Government – Sen. Doug Thomas & Rep. David Cotta

Taxation – Sen. David Trahan & Rep. Gary Knight

Transportation – Sen. Ron Collins & Rep. Richard Cebra

Veterans & Legal Affairs – Sen. Nichi Farnham & Rep. Michael Beaulieu

Rules – Sen. Jonathan Courtney & Rep. Andre Cushing

Regulatory Fairness & Reform – Sen. Jonathan Courtney & Rep. Jonathan McKane

Government Oversight – Sen. Roger Katz & Rep. David Burns

Insurance and Financial Services: Sen. Rodney Whittemore & Rep. Wesley Richardson

Full list of all Committee members: http://www.maine.gov/legis/house/jtcomlst.htm

ALC President – Matt Jensen

By the time all of you are reading this, the holidays will have passed and for many of you, winter will be in full swing. I would like to wish all of you a belated Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  The holiday season is a time to reflect on the past year and surely a time to be thankful.  I’m sure that all of us, at one time or another, aren’t satisfied or happy with our work or business situation.  Putting things into perspective, having a supportive family and friends, raising a family in rural America and having an occupation that I truly love are some of the things I am thankful for.

With the start of 2011, a new Congress will be in session in Washington, DC.   As I am writing this article, Congress and President Obama have been debating the Bush era tax cuts.  The Republicans have vowed to keep them in place while President Obama would like to let the cuts expire for the wealthiest Americans and keep them in place for the middle class.  The so called “rich” would have income of $250,000 or higher, which include many small businesses.

This has the President in hot water with his liberal base. When then Senator Obama was running for President, he claimed the Bush tax cuts were only benefiting the richest Americans and not the lower or middle class.  If the tax cuts expire, this could affect thousands if not millions of small businesses across the country.

Let’s hope that Congress has enough insight to realize that raising taxes in such a sluggish economy would have a negative impact on economic recovery.  The longer Congress debates this issue, the longer the uncertainty and lack of confidence continues.  Many of us in the logging and trucking businesses would like to replace equipment or in some cases expand.  In this climate it makes it a little hard to plan for the future.

My prediction is that the lame duck congress will let the tax cuts expire or pass a less than desirable bill and the new congress under Republican majority will quickly pass and reinstate the tax cuts retroactive to January 1st.  It is very frustrating to see our top leaders have a meeting with the President only to come out shaking hands, “back slapping” and talking about what a productive discussion they had while the American people wonder what kind of back room deal they might make.

It is very easy to see what political football this has become.  It will only be a matter of time to see who in Congress will go on record to vote for a tax increase in President Obama’s words “the worst economic times since the great depression.”  All this being said, whatever the tax implications may be for Americans, the Federal Government will surely spend those dollars and then some.  It is my hope that the 112^th Congress will pass pro-growth legislation like meaningful tax law reform, including a reduction in the capital gains and corporate tax rates.  To my knowledge the corporate tax rate in the U.S. is among the highest in the world, and that has to change if we are truly going to stay competitive in the global economy.

I’m sure many of you would agree that the U.S. would be very difficult, if not impossible to defeat militarily, with our technology and superb men and women in the armed forces.  My concern is that with the debt owed to countries like China we could be defeated economically without firing a shot.

We, as members of the American Loggers Council and owners of logging and trucking businesses across the country, must continue to engage our elected officials.  You may think your calls to congressional offices are meaningless, but they really do matter.  In 2011, my hopes that all of you will remain engaged in the ball game and we all will claim victory at the goal posts.

Matt Jensen is the President of the American Loggers Council, which represents over 50,000 logging professionals in 30 states. Matt’s operation, Whitetail Logging, is headquartered in Crandon, Wisconsin..  For more information please contact the American Loggers Council office at 409-625-0206 or e-mail at americanlogger@aol.com.