An Act To Require Major Substantive Rules To Govern the State Planning Office's Review of Municipal Comprehensive Plans and Growth Management Programs for Consistency
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1045
Committee: Natural Resources
Sponsors: COLLINS, GILMAN, BUNKER, CROSTHWAITE, HONEY, MARLEY, PEAVEY-HASKELL, PINEAU
Amends: 30-A MRSA §4312, 30-A MRSA §4314, 30-A MRSA §4347-A

Legislative Document 
No. 1045 
H.P.762 
House of Representatives, February 26, 2003 
An Act To Require Major Substantive Rules To Govern the State 
Planning Office's Review of Municipal Comprehensive Plans and 
Growth Management Programs for Consistency 
Reference to the Committee on Natural Resources suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Representative COLLINS of Wells. 
Cosponsored by Senator GILMAN of Cumberland and 
/rl~ 
1J1.11ld£~ 
MILLICENT M. MacFARLAND 
Clerk 
Representatives: BUNKER of Kossuth Township, CROSTHWAITE of Ellsworth, HONEY of 
Boothbay, MARLEY of Portland, McGaW AN of Pittsfield, PEAVEY-HASKELL of 
Greenbush, PINEAU of Jay. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 30-A MRSA §4312, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2001, c. 
406, §2, is further amended to read: 
4. 
Limitation on state rule-making authority. 
The office 
is authorized to adopt rules necessary to carry out the purposes 
of this subchapter. 
Rules adopted pursuant to this section are 
routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, 
chapter 
375, 
subchapter II-A 2-A, 
except that rules governing the office' s 
review of a 
growth management program, 
elements of 
a 
growth 
management program or any municipal ordinance pursuant to sec.tion 
4314 
or 4347-A are major substantive rules. 
This section may 
not be construed to grant any separate regulatory authority to 
any 
state 
agency 
beyond 
that 
necessary 
to 
implement 
this 
subchapter. 
Sec. 2. 30-A MRSA §4314, as amended by PL 2001, c. 578, §10, 
is further amended by adding at the end a new paragraph to read: 
All procedures. 
submission and response time requirements 
and standards of review pertaining to the review of municipal 
ordinances 
according 
to 
this 
section are 
governed 
by 
rules 
adopted by the office pursuant to section 4312. subsection 4. 
Sec. 3. 30-A MRSA §4347-A, sub-§l, as amended by PL 2001, c. 
578, §20, is further amended to read: 
1. 
Comprehensive plans. 
A municipality or multimunicipal 
region that chooses to prepare a growth management program ancl 
receives a planning grant under this article shall submi tits 
comprehensive plan to the office for review. 
The office shall 
review 
plans 
for 
consistency with 
the 
goals 
and 
guidelines 
established in this subchapter. 
The office's review must 
be 
conducted according to procedures, submission and response time 
requirements and standards of review established by this section 
and 
rules 
adopted 
by 
the office pursuant 
to 
section 
4312, 
subsection 4. 
Any contract for a planning assistance grant must 
include 
specific 
timetables 
governing 
the 
review 
of 
the 
comprehensive 
plan 
by 
the 
office. 
Any 
comprehensive 
plan 
submitted for reVlew more than 12 months following a contract end 
date 
may 
be 
required to 
update data, 
projections 
and 
other 
time-sensitive portions of the plan or program to the office' s 
most current review standards. 
Sec. 4. 30-A MRSA §4347-A, sub-§2, ,A, as enacted by PL 2001, 
c. 406, §10, is amended to read: 
Page l-LR0674 (1) 
• 
578, 
read: 
A. 
Upon a request for review under this section, the office 
shall review the program and determine whether the program 
is consistent with the procedures, 
goals 
and guidelines 
established in this subchapter. 
The office's review must be 
conducted according to procedures, submission and response 
time requirements 
and standards of review established by 
this section and rules adopted by the office pursuant to 
section 4312, subsection 4. 
Sec. 5. 30-A MRSA §4347-A, sub-§3, as amended by PL 200L c . 
§20, is further amended by amending the last paragraph to 
The office's decision on consistency of a comprehensive plan or 
growth management program constitutes final agency action. 
li 
the office fails to provide its comments or findings in writing 
wi thin 
the 
time 
frames 
established 
by 
this 
section, 
the 
comprehensive plan or growth management program must be deemed 
compliant with this chapter. 
SUMMARY 
This bill provides 
that 
rules 
adopted 
by 
the 
Executive 
Department. State Planning Office regarding review of municipal 
growth management 
programs, 
comprehensive plans 
and municipal 
ordinances 
for 
consistency 
with 
the 
goals 
of 
the 
growth 
management 
laws 
are 
major 
SUbstantive 
rules. 
The bill also 
requires the State Planning Office to make its findings of a 
growth management program or comprehensive plan's consistency or 
inconsistency with the growth management laws within the time 
frames already established in law.