New laws championed by Sen. Pierce take effect

AUGUSTA — A series of non-emergency laws sponsored and championed by Sen. Teresa S. Pierce, D-Falmouth, during the Second Regular Session of the 131st Maine Legislature took effect Friday, Aug. 9. Key accomplishments include new laws to respond to the ongoing housing crisis, protect access to health care and build stronger and safer communities.

“We did some fantastic work this legislative session and addressed a lot of pressing issues,” said Sen. Pierce. “My colleagues and I made historic investments in housing at all levels, authorized bond issues that aim to drive our economic future and approved long-overdue upgrades to the roads, bridges, and highways across our district and throughout the state of Maine.”

In addition, Sen. Pierce honored commitments to Maine seniors, schools, municipalities and property taxpayers. Sen. Pierce supported tax breaks for retirees and rejected proposed cuts to the recent expansion of the Medicare Savings Program.

All non-emergency laws take effect 90 days after the Legislature adjourns sine die unless otherwise specified. Emergency measures take effect immediately upon the governor’s signature.

According to the Office of Policy and Legal Analysis, of the 567 bills reported out of committee, 355 had unanimous, bipartisan support and 212 were divided.

An overview of key non-emergency laws sponsored and supported by Sen. Pierce can be found below:

• Increasing housing production.* Legislation out of the Housing Committee, chaired by Sen. Pierce, makes historic investments in housing production across Maine. These investments incentivize developers to build more affordable housing units, targeted towards workforce housing and rural areas.

• Authorized innovative Research, Development and Commercialization Bond. A bond issue, sponsored by Sen. Pierce, will invest $25 million in Maine’s seven leading research and development sectors; centered on expanding existing industries and delivering new opportunities. This will help Maine remain competitive in talent retention and recruitment as well as create meaningful jobs for the future. The legislation authorizing the bond received unanimous support in both the Senate and the House and heads to Maine voters for final approval in November.

• Preventing student homelessness.* A pair of new laws will help prevent student homelessness. The first will establishes a program to help students and families, who are on the verge of homelessness, stay secure in their housing. The other provides housing subsidies to help students who are currently experiencing homelessness.

• Better pay for educational technicians and school support staff.* A new law raises wages for ed techs to 125 percent of the minimum wage and wages for support staff to 115 percent of the minimum wage. The goal is to help address the widespread shortage of ed techs and support staff in school districts across the state.

• Building stronger and safer communities. A suite of new laws will better protect Maine people from gun violence through common sense background checks, waiting periods to protect against self-harm and impulsive violence and establishing the Office of Violence Prevention which will better assist law enforcement and community members in reducing violence in Maine*.

*An asterisk notes an initiative funded in the supplemental budget, LD 2214.