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132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST SPECIAL SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 1839
S.P. 722 In Senate, April 30, 2025
An Act to Strengthen the So-called Maine Hire-a-Vet Program
Reference to the Committee on Labor suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator HICKMAN of Kennebec.
Cosponsored by Representative HYMES of Waldo and
Senators: FARRIN of Somerset, RAFFERTY of York, RENY of Lincoln, TIPPING of
Penobscot, Representatives: CHAPMAN of Auburn, FREDETTE of Newport, ROEDER of
Bangor, THORNE of Carmel.
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1Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §12004-G, sub-§24-A is enacted to read:
324-A.
Labor Fundraising and Advisory
Commission to Support the
Hiring of Veterans
Not Authorized 26 MRSA §1407
4Sec. 2. 26 MRSA §1407 is enacted to read:
8§1407. Promotion of hiring of veterans
91. Definition. As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, "veteran"
10 has the same meaning as in section 877, subsection 3.
112. Advisory commission established. The Fundraising and Advisory Commission to
12 Support the Hiring of Veterans, established in Title 5, section 12004-G, subsection 24-A
13 and referred to in this section as "the advisory commission," is established to support a
14 program, referred to in this section as "the program," to help veterans and members of their
15 families find jobs, promote the hiring of veterans and members of their families by
16 employers in this State and provide information to veterans and members of their families
17 regarding the services to which they are entitled.
18 A. The advisory commission consists of the following members:
19 (1) The director of the program as a nonvoting member;
20 (2) An employee of the department, appointed by the commissioner;
21 (3) A representative of the Department of Defense, Veterans and Emergency
22 Management, Maine Bureau of Veterans' Services, appointed by the Director of
23 the Maine Bureau of Veterans' Services;
24 (4) A representative of the Department of Corrections, appointed by the
25 Commissioner of Corrections;
26 (5) Two representatives of nonprofit veterans service groups, appointed by the
27 commissioner;
28 (6) Two representatives of private industry human resources personnel, appointed
29 by the commissioner;
30 (7) Two representatives of private workforce marketing agencies, appointed by
31 the commissioner; and
32 (8) Two public members, one appointed by the President of the Senate and one
33 appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.
34 B. The advisory commission has the following duties:
35 (1) To establish a fundraising plan and raise money for the program;
36 (2) To solicit proposals for the marketing of the program. Proposals must be
37 included in the State's preferred vendor solicitation program whenever possible.
38 Members of the advisory commission are allowed to bid, but must recuse
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39 themselves from discussions regarding decisions on that bid and votes on that bid;
40 and
3 (3) To oversee a separate web page to support the marketing efforts of the program
4 and a publicly accessible website managed by the department to provide
5 information about career fairs for veterans and members of their families and
6 veterans services provided by the department and to publicize donors to the fund
7 established in subsection 3.
83. Fund established. The Fund to Support the Hiring of Veterans, referred to in this
9 section as "the fund," is established. The fund consists of revenues received from
10 fundraising conducted by the advisory commission and any funds received as contributions
11 from private and public sources. The advisory commission shall administer the fund to
12 support the program, including, but not limited to, the approval of expenditures from the
13 fund to support the program. The fund must be held separate and apart from all other
14 money, funds and accounts. The fund is nonlapsing and investment earnings credited to
15 the assets of the fund become part of the assets of the fund.
16SUMMARY
17 This bill establishes the Fundraising and Advisory Commission to Support the Hiring
18 of Veterans in order to support a program to help veterans and members of their families
19 find jobs, promote the hiring of veterans and members of their families by employers in
20 this State and provide information to veterans and members of their families regarding the
21 services to which they are entitled. The bill also establishes the Fund to Support the Hiring
22 of Veterans, to be administered by the advisory commission to support the program.
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