Anti-nepotism bill gets public hearing
Rep. Dill proposes bill to ban hiring of close family members to state jobs
AUGUSTA — Rep. Cynthia Dill, D-Cape Elizabeth, presented a bill before the legislature’s State and Local Government Committee, that would prohibit state officials from directly hiring close family members to state jobs.
“I submitted this legislation after I became aware that Maine has no statutes regarding this issue,” said Rep. Dill. “As public officials we need to assure the public that we are only hiring the best and most qualified individuals and that we stay above any perception of favoritism.”
The bill, LD 840, prohibits the hiring of family or household members to a state job and further prohibits an employee from supervising a family or household member. The bill also requires the governor, the legislature and the constitutional officers to hire or promote staff within those offices based on certain qualifications.
More than 20 states have provisions dealing with nepotism and state hires, and the federal government also bans the hiring of relatives. The proposed legislation, which would only apply to employees hired after Oct. 1, 2011, defines “a close relative” as a spouse, domestic partner, parent, natural or legally adopted child, stepchild, sibling, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law or sister-in-law.
“It is not my intention to punish or go after anyone and I am not accusing anyone of wrongdoing,” said Dill. “I simply want to put a process in place that provides the same protections to the taxpayer that are already in place at the federal level.”
Governor Paul LePage hired his daughter to work as an assistant to the chief of staff of his office for a salary of $41,000 during the first weeks of his administration.
“Whether it’s the mom and pop store on Main Street or L.L. Bean many Maine businesses have been built and found success based on the ‘family business’ model,” said Sen. John Patrick, D-Oxford, who submitted testimony in support of the legislation. “However, government is one case where family should be left out.”
The bill will be scheduled for further discussion by the committee before it makes a recommendation to the full legislature.