Tribal, labor bills among those left in limbo between passage and funding

Shortly before the sun rose the day after the Maine Legislature’s adjournment deadline, both chambers passed state budget changes, which Gov. Janet Mills signed on Monday. However, more than a hundred pieces of legislation still remain in limbo. 

Among these unresolved items include bills aimed at expanding workers’ rights, such as requiring minimum pay for reporting to work and the disclosure of pay ranges in job advertisements, as well as bills related to healthcare access, such as establishing a free care system and increasing oral health services across the state. 

While Mills signed into law an expansion of tribal authority over prosecuting crimes, other legislation aimed to improve the state’s relationship with the Wabanaki Nations, such as by creating a Office of Tribal-State Affairs or an advisory council to ensure Wabanaki studies requirements are effectively taught in schools, sit on what is called the “special appropriations table.”  

During the marathon sessions beginning Wednesday, the day of statutory adjournment, into early morning Thursday, the Maine House of Representatives and Senate passed a special order allowing the Legislature to return for a special session, if they so choose. This leaves open the possibility that these bills not acted on by the end of session could still have a future.

When bills ‘die on the table’

A bill becomes law by passing both chambers and avoiding the governor’s veto pen. However, if a measure costs money to implement or run, it also needs to be funded either explicitly in the budget or by the remaining unappropriated money at the discretion of the Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee, which is known as being funded “off the appropriations table.” 

When it comes to items on the appropriations table, the committee has the discretion to pass a bill as is, amend it to change its cost or kill it outright. In a flurry of votes Wednesday afternoon, the committee passed several bills as-is, which were sent to the Senate for approval, while amended items had to be re-sent to both chambers to determine their ultimate outcome.

Gov. Mills signs supplemental budget into law

For example, one amended bill that won the support of both chambers will provide recovery community centers in Maine with $2 million annually, as opposed to the original request for a percentage of sales tax revenue on a given year. 

The Appropriations Committee decided to amend other bills on the table by stripping them of funding but keeping the policy intact. This was the case for several of the workers’ rights bills that remain in limbo. 

The committee agreed that the Maine Department of Labor could absorb the costs of the proposals to require pay for reporting to work and the disclosure of pay ranges in job advertisements, as well as other proposals to protect workers from employer surveillance, prevent employers from holding workers liable for repaying training costs, and allow employees to request flexible work schedules.  

Despite removing the price tag of these bills, they got caught up in the funding process. When taken up on the floor for re-enactment as amended, the Senate tabled them, leaving them as unfinished business.

If no additional action is taken, the bills are effectively killed

“It’s always frustrating when bills die on the table,” James Myall, an analyst for the progressive Maine Center for Economic Policy, told Maine Morning Star. “But it would be especially frustrating if they don’t even pass the small budgeted bills that they usually are able to get off the table. It would be a real missed opportunity if they let this kind of procedural thing get in the way.”

The Legislature enacted less than 30 of the bills off the table, which as of last week included more than 240. Because this year’s supplemental budget was not approved until just before adjournment in the wee hours of Thursday morning, it was not immediately clear how much money would be left for the table. 

Roughly $11.4 million is left unappropriated, based on the budget plan as approved by the Appropriations Committee. The Legislature ended up tacking on $60 million for storm relief, but that will be pulled from the Budget Stabilization, or rainy day, fund.

A few of the bills on the appropriations table ended up being incorporated into the budget, including proposals to raise the minimum wage of school support staff and add grandparents and great-grandparents with a serious health condition to the list of persons related to an employee for whom paid family medical leave may be taken.

Other bills left without definitive legislative action

Aside from bills caught up in the appropriations table process, a special session could be used to take action on other bills the Legislature left unresolved, though policy analysts and legislators have signaled that for several bills it’s unlikely to happen. 

One example is the last-minute red flag bill introduced by House Speaker Rachel Talbot Ross (D-Portland), which never made it to the House and Senate floors. In a statement to Maine Morning Star, a spokesperson for the Speaker’s office said, “Given the contentious debate over the budget and the late hour, Speaker Talbot Ross believed the legislation couldn’t receive the attention it deserves.”

Legislature approves budget with 11th-hour storm relief addition

Another example is a proposal to separate the Office of Child and Family Services from the Department of Health and Human Services. The majority of the Health and Human Services Committee did not recommend moving forward with the bill, but the Senate overwhelmingly passed it. The House tabled it on April 9 and did not take it up again.

The Legislature also did not take action on a bill that would have created mandated nurse-to-patient ratios in certain health care settings. Mary Kate O’Sullivan, a nurse and member of the Maine State Nurses Association, which advocated for the bill, told Maine Morning Star the proposal didn’t have the votes needed to pass the House.

The governor has 10 days, not counting Sundays, after the Legislature enacts a bill to veto it. This leaves until April 30 for Mills to decide on bills the Legislature passed in the final hours of session. 

Mills wields veto pen

Mills has already vetoed a handful of bills. 

On Tuesday, Mills vetoed a bill to apply the state minimum wage to farmworkers — an amended version of a proposal she’d introduced — as well as a bill to give agricultural workers the right to discuss wages and engage in other concerted activity. Also Tuesday, Mills vetoed a proposal that would have prohibited the state from extending the terms of the operating services agreement for the Juniper Ridge Landfill unless the site operator, Casella, implements PFAS treatment technologies.

A two-thirds vote of those present in both chambers is required to override a veto. Earlier this session, Mills also vetoed legislation to prevent felony-level charges for petty theft and limit non-compete clauses, both of which the House sustained.

While the Legislature could theoretically call itself back in for a special session before Mills’ deadline for all vetoes, several lawmakers said that action on unresolved bills would probably be reserved for “veto day.” 

As for the Appropriations Committee, members said it is not yet determined when, or if, the committee will meet again this session. 

“Anything is possible,” said Sen. Rick Bennett (R-Oxford), a member of the Appropriations Committee. “Until the Legislature adjourns sine die, anything is possible.”