Resolve, to Establish the Commission to Study the Reduction of Unfunded and Outdated Municipal and County Mandates

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132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST REGULAR SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 634
H.P. 402 House of Representatives, February 25, 2025
Resolve, to Establish the Commission to Study the Reduction of
Unfunded and Outdated Municipal and County Mandates
Received by the Clerk of the House on February 20, 2025. Referred to the Committee on
State and Local Government pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint
Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative TUELL of East Machias.
Cosponsored by Senator MOORE of Washington and
Representatives: FOSTER of Dexter, JAVNER of Chester, MINGO of Calais, MORRIS of
Turner, POIRIER of Skowhegan, STROUT of Harrington, WOOD of Norway, WOODSOME
of Waterboro.

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1Sec. 1. Commission established. Resolved: That the Commission to Study the
2 Reduction of Unfunded and Outdated Municipal and County Mandates, referred to in this
3 resolve as "the commission," is established.
4Sec. 2. Commission membership. Resolved: That, notwithstanding Joint Rule
5 353, the commission consists of 15 members appointed as follows:
6 1. Two members of the Senate, one member appointed by the President of the Senate
7 and one member appointed by the Senate Minority Leader;
8 2. Two members of the House of Representatives, one member appointed by the
9 Speaker of the House and one member appointed by the House Minority Leader;
10 3. One member representing the Governor's office, appointed by the Governor;
11 4. Three members, one of whom is a representative of the Maine Municipal
12 Association, one of whom is a representative of the Maine County Commissioners
13 Association and one of whom is a representative of a municipality with 5,001 to 7,000
14 residents, appointed by the President of the Senate;
15 5. Two members, one of whom is a representative of the Maine Town and City Clerks'
16 Association and one of whom is a representative of a municipality with 10,001 to 20,000
17 residents, appointed by the Speaker of the House;
18 6. Two members who are representatives of municipalities of 2,000 residents or less,
19 one appointed by the President of the Senate and one appointed by the Speaker of the
20 House; and
21 7. Three members, one of whom is a representative of a municipality with 2,001 to
22 5,000 residents, one of whom is a representative of a municipality with 7,001 to 10,000
23 residents and one of whom is a representative of a municipality with more than 20,000
24 residents, appointed by the Governor.
25 A legislative member's term is vacated if the member is not reelected. When such a
26 vacancy occurs, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House, the Senate Minority
27 Leader or the House Minority Leader shall appoint a new legislative member, as
28 appropriate.
29Sec. 3. Chairs. Resolved: That the Senate member appointed by the President of
30 the Senate is the Senate chair and the House of Representatives member appointed by the
31 Speaker of the House is the House chair of the commission.
32Sec. 4. Appointments; convening of commission. Resolved: That all
33 appointments must be made no later than 30 days following the effective date of this
34 resolve. The appointing authorities shall notify the Executive Director of the Legislative
35 Council once all appointments have been completed. After appointment of all members,
36 the chairs shall call and convene the first meeting of the commission. If 30 days or more
37 after the effective date of this resolve a majority of but not all appointments have been
38 made, the chairs may request authority and the Legislative Council may grant authority for
39 the commission to meet and conduct its business.
40Sec. 5. Duties. Resolved: That the commission shall meet at least twice annually
41 and may meet up to 4 times annually to review unfunded and outdated municipal and
42 county mandates in order to provide recommendations and to report out a list of mandates
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43 for the Legislature to consider eliminating or revising. The commission is authorized to
44 conduct meetings remotely.
3Sec. 6. Staff assistance. Resolved: That, notwithstanding Joint Rule 353, the
4 Legislative Council shall provide necessary staffing services to the commission.
5Sec. 7. Report. Resolved: That, no later than December 1, 2027, the commission
6 shall submit a report that includes its findings and recommendations, including suggested
7 legislation, for presentation to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having
8 jurisdiction over state and local government matters.
9SUMMARY
10 This resolve establishes the Commission to Study the Reduction of Unfunded and
11 Outdated Municipal and County Mandates. The commission is required to meet at least
12 twice a year and may meet up to 4 times a year for 2 years to review unfunded and outdated
13 municipal and county mandates in order to provide recommendations and to report out by
14 December 1, 2027 a list of mandates for the Legislature to consider eliminating or revising.
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