An Act To Establish the Commission for the Blind
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1189
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: GILMAN, McLAUGHLIN, NASS, McKENNEY, MOORE
Amends: 5 MRSA §285, 5 MRSA §1822

Legislative Document 
No. 1189 
S.P.393 
In Senate, March 6, 2003 
An Act To Establish the Commission for the Blind 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator GILMAN of Cumberland. 
Cosponsored by Representative McLAUGHLIN of Cape Elizabeth and 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Senator: NASS of York, Representatives: McKENNEY of Cumberland, MOORE of Standish. 
Printed on recycled paper 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §285, sub-§I, ~H, as amended by PL 
2001, 
c. 
667, Pt. E, §l, is further amended to read: 
H. 
A blind person operating a vending facility pursuant to 
±it±e-~~--&e-G-t=-Wn--±4±g-!= section 19606 under the direction 
of the 
gefla!'tFRe1'lto---{)-f--~,- -QivisieB- -fuF- --t-he- -.f.l-:l-i-nB--a1'lEl 
Vis~a±±y-IFRflai!'eEl Commission for the Blind; 
Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §1822, as amended by PL 1995, c. 560, Pte F, 
§4, is further amended to read: 
§1822. 
Blind-made products 
- A-
The Blind-made Products Committee, 
eeFRflFisi1'l'3 composed 
of the State Purchasing Agentr and the Director of the 
g~!'ea~-e£ 
ReRaai±i~a~ie1'l-Se~v-i€e£-~~~-giF-eetoeF--ef-~~~~~~-fuF--~Re 
g±i1'lEl-~-¥i&aally-~~-i~€4,--S~B&cr~-ef-~~~it~-~-SeFvieesT 
Commission for the Blind and in this section and sections 1823 
and 1824 called "the committee," shall determine the price of all 
products 
that 
meet 
specifications 
prescribed 
by 
the 
State 
Purchasing Agent, are agreeable to all members of the committee 
and are manufactured by the 
Maine 
Center 
for 
the Blind and 
Visually 
Impaired 
and 
offered 
for 
sale 
to 
the 
State 
or 
a 
political 
subdivision, 
governmental 
agency 
or 
public 
benefit 
corporation of the State. 
The committee shall revise prices from 
time to time in accordance with changing cost factors and shall 
make rules and regulations regarding selection of products, time 
of delivery and other relevant matters necessary to carry out the 
purpose of this section and sections 1823 and 1824. 
Sec. 3. 5 MRSA c. 513 H 
enacted to read: 
CHAPTER 513 
COMMISSION FOR THE BLIND 
§19601. 
Definitions 
As 
used 
in 
this 
chapter, 
unless 
the 
context 
otherwise 
indicates, the following terms have the following meanings. 
1. 
Blind person. "Blind person" means a person having not 
more than 20/200 central visual acuity in the better eye after 
correction or an equally disabling loss of the visual field so 
that the widest diameter of the visual field subtends an angle no 
greater than 20 degrees. 
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• 
2. CO ..... ililiiQn. 
"CQmmi§§iQn" megn§ 
th~ CQmmj,§§iQn fQr the 
Blind. 
3. 
Director. 
"Dire~tor" 
m~ans 
th~ 
Dir~~tQr 
Qf 
the 
CQmmission for the Blind. 
4. 
JurisdictiQn. "Jurisdiction" megn§ the control Qf the 
maintengnce, 
opergtiQn gnd protectiQn Qf public buildings and 
prQperty of the State or of a county or a municipality. 
5. 
Licensing 
agency. 
"Licensing 
ggency" 
megns 
the 
Commission fQr the Blind, which is the state agency designated by 
the RehabilitgtiQn Services AdministrgtiQn in the United States 
Department of EducgtiQn to is§ue licen§e§ to blind per§Qn§ for 
the opergtion of vending facilities. 
6. 
Manager. 
"Mgngger" 
megn§ 
the 
blind 
persQn, 
duly 
licensed by the commissiQn, who personally Qpergtes the vending 
facility. 
7. 
Public 
building 
or 
prQperty. 
"Public 
building 
or 
property" means a building or land owned, leg§ed or Qccupied by a 
department. agency or authority of the State or g cQunty or a 
municipality Qf the State. 
8. 
Vending 
facility. 
"Vending 
facility" 
means 
a 
restaurant. a cafeteria, including the cafeteria locgted in the 
Cross Office Building in Augusta, a snack bgr, g vending machine 
for food and beverages and goods and services custQmgrily offered 
in connection with g restaurant. a cafeterig , 
a snack bgr or a 
vending machine. 
§19602. 
Co ..... ission established 
The Commission for the Blind is established in the Executive 
Department 
to 
carry out 
the 
purposes 
of 
this 
chgpter. 
The 
commissiQn is directly responsible to the GQvernQr gnd serves as 
an 
advisory, 
consultative, 
coordinating, 
admini§trative 
and 
research agency as specified in this chapter. 
§19603. 
Organization 
l. Director. 
The eXl;lc]Jtive head of thl;l 
~Qmmis§ion is the 
director 
gnQ 
i§ 
appointed 
by 
the 
Governor 
tQ 
serve at the 
pleasure 
Qf 
th!2 
GovernQr. 
The 
director §hgll 
supervise 
and 
administer the affgir§ of the commission. 
2. 
QualificatiQns. 
The 
director 
must 
bl;l 
gualified 
by 
education, 
training 
and 
experience 
in 
planning 
or 
public 
administration 
and 
in issues 
concerning blindness 
and visual 
impairment. 
3. Structure. 
The director shall exercise the powers of the 
commission and is responsible for the execution of its duties. 
The 
director 
shall: 
appoint 
and 
remove 
the 
staff 
of 
the 
commission and prescribe the staff's duties as may be necessary 
to 
implement 
the 
purposes 
of 
this 
chapter. 
Professional 
employees 
authorized 
by 
this 
chapter 
must 
be 
hired 
as 
unclassified employees. 
All other employees are subject to those 
civil 
service 
and 
personnel 
policies 
established 
for 
state 
employees generally and must be paid salaries at rates of pay 
comparable 
to 
those 
of 
state 
employees 
with 
equivalent 
responsibilities 
in other 
state 
agencies. 
The 
director 
may 
employ 
such statistical, 
clerical 
and 
other 
office 
help 
as 
required and authorized by the commission's budget. 
§19604. 
Duties 
The commission shall: 
1. 
Policy. 
Assist 
the 
Governor 
in 
the 
formulation, 
coordination and management of policy regarding services to and 
issues having an impact on the persons in this State who are 
blind or visually impaired or are family members of persons who 
are blind or visually impaired: 
2. 
Coordination. 
Work 
with other agencies within State 
Government 
and in the private sector dealing with issues of 
blindness and visual impairment to promote coordination of policy 
development 
and service delivery, 
to minimize duplication of 
effort and to maximize available resources; 
3. 
Services program. 
Provide a program of services for the 
blind, 
including prevention 
of 
blindness, 
locating 
of 
blind 
persons, vocational guidance and training of the blind, placement 
of blind persons in employment, assistance to local schools in 
meeting the special needs of blind students, instruction of adult 
blind persons in their homes and other social services to the 
blind; 
4. Act for the State. 
Act for the State in the initiation 
of 
or 
participation in 
any 
multigovernmental 
agency 
program 
relative to the purposes of this chapter; 
5. Budget. 
Prepare and submit for executive and legislative 
action the budget for the commission; 
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... 
6. Report. 
Make reports at least annually to the Governor 
and to the Legislature detailing the activities of the office 
and, after consultation with and approval by the Governor, submit 
such 
recommendations 
for 
legislative 
action 
as 
determined 
necessary to further the purposes of this chapter; 
7. Governor's request. 
Perform such other duties as the 
Governor requests; and 
8. 
Rules. 
Adopt such routine technical rules pursuant to 
Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2 A as the director determines 
necessary to implement this chapter. 
§19605. 
Education of blind children 
1. 
Commission services. 
The commission shall provide the 
following services to blind and visually impaired persons from 
birth to 21 years of age: 
A. 
Itinerant teacher services; 
B. 
Mobility instruction; 
C. 
Braille instruction; 
D. 
Low-vision services; 
E. 
Special aids and supplies needed to participate in the 
educational process; and 
F. 
Advocacy, counseling and guidance services to students 
and their parents. 
2. 
School administrative units. 
Nothing in this section 
relieves 
school 
administrative 
units 
from 
fulfilling 
their 
responsibilities under Title 20-A, Part 4, subpart 1. 
§19606. 
Business enterprise program 
1. 
Program. 
The 
commission 
shall 
conduct 
a 
business 
enterprise program pursuant to this subsection. 
To provide blind 
persons 
with 
remunerative 
employment, 
enlarge 
the 
economic 
opportuni ties of blind persons and encourage blind persons to 
become self-supporting, the officer, board or other authority in 
charge of 
a 
public building or property shall grant to the 
commission authority: 
A. 
To 
install in that building or 
property 
a 
vending 
facili ty whenever a vending facility may be operated by a 
blind person; and 
B. 
To place vending machines operated by the commission in 
a building or property if a vending facility operated by a 
blind person is not warranted. 
Income from these vending 
machines must be used for the purposes set forth in this 
section. 
2. 
Preference. 
The officer, board or other authority in 
charge of a public building or property shall: 
A. 
Adopt policies and take actions necessary to ensure that 
blind persons are given preference in the establishment and 
the operation of vending facilities on property under its 
jurisdiction; 
B. 
Cooperate with the commission in surveys of properties 
and buildings under its control in order to find sui table 
locations 
for 
the 
operation 
of 
vending 
facilities 
by 
managers and, after a determination that a facility may be 
operated by a manager, shall cooperate with the commission 
in the installation of a vending facility; 
C. 
To achieve and protect the preference of blind persons 
in the operation of vending facilities, 
arrange for 
the 
assignment of the income derived from vending machines that 
are 
located 
in 
reasonable 
proximity 
to 
and 
in 
direct 
competition with a vending facility for which authority is 
granted pursuant to this section to the manager or managers 
affected. 
A vending machine that vends articles authorized 
for vending pursuant to section 19601, subsection 8 and is 
so located that it attracts customers who would otherwise 
patronize 
the 
vending 
facility is 
considered 
to 
be 
in 
reasonable proximity to and in direct competition with the 
vending facility; 
D. 
Inform the commission not less than 60 days prior to the 
termination, 
issuance or 
renewal 
of 
a 
contract for 
the 
operation of a vending facility; and 
E. 
Allow the commission to place vending machines in a 
building where 
a 
vending facility operated by 
a 
manager 
would not be feasible. 
Income from these machines accrues 
to the set-aside account for purposes stated in subsection 1. 
3. 
Construction: 
remodeling: 
planning 
for 
vending 
facility. 
To carry out the purposes of this section, when new 
construction, remodeling, leasing, acquisition or improvement of 
public 
buildings 
or 
properties 
is 
authorized, 
the 
agency 
directing that construction, remodeling, leasing, acquisition or 
improvement shall, when the size of the building or property 
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warrants, 
make 
available 
suitable 
space 
and 
facilities 
for 
vending facilities to be operated in the building or property by 
blind persons. 
A. 
If a 
suitable location is available 
for 
a 
vending 
facility 
that 
requires 
the 
construction 
of 
a 
portable 
building, the commission may construct such a building and 
may have the use of the land on which to construct the 
building. 
B. 
This 
section 
does 
not 
apply 
to 
or 
authorize 
the 
installation of vending facilities in a building wholly used 
by a correctional or mental institution or by an educational 
insti tution of any type supported in whole or in part from 
public 
funds, 
unless 
that educational 
institution is 
a 
university, college, junior college or a technical college. 
c. 
If a 
vending facility not under the control of the 
commission exists in a building or on property of the State, 
a county or a municipality, the person having jurisdiction 
over that building or property shall give preference to the 
commission to continue operation of the vending facility 
when an existing lease or contract expires or is terminated. 
4. 
Fees 
prohibited 
generally. 
Except 
as 
provided 
in 
paragraph A, a rental fee may not be required or received for the 
granting of authority to the commission to operate a 
vending 
facility. 
A. 
A rental fee or other fee may be charged to the operator 
only if 
the 
vending 
facility 
is 
located 
on 
commercial 
municipal property, 
including a public airport, where the 
following conditions are met: 
Any 
than 
( 1) 
The vending facility generates revenue primarily 
from 
the general 
public at large rather 
than 
from 
public employees; 
(2) 
The 
vending facility occupies 
space 
for 
which 
there are other competing retail commercial uses and 
other retail users are, in fact, renting nearby public 
space on the property; and 
(3) 
The public owner 
depends 
on generating revenue 
from the space occupied by the vending facility. 
rent or other fee charged to the operator must be less 
what 
would 
otherwise 
be 
charged 
to 
a 
competing 
commercial 
tenant 
and 
must 
be 
pursuant 
to 
a 
written 
agreement. 
The 
terms 
of 
the 
agreement 
must 
adequately 
account for the value of investments made by the commission 
to create or maintain the vending facility. 
B. 
This 
subsection 
applies 
to 
the 
rental 
of 
vending 
facilities and the renewal of any rental agreement after the 
effective date of this section. 
5. 
Commission duties. 
In carrying out this section the 
commission shall: 
A. 
Maintain a roster of blind persons eligible to become 
managers including those blind persons to whom licenses have 
been issued; 
B. 
Appoint a hearing board when a manager wishes to appeal 
a decision. 
The hearing board must consist of 3 persons, 
one chosen by the manager, one chosen by the commission and 
the 3rd person chosen by the other 2 persons. 
The decision 
of the hearing board is final; 
C. 
Determine the right to, the title to and the interest in 
vending facility equipment and stock; 
D. 
Provide 
managers 
appropriate 
notice 
of 
their 
civil 
rights; 
E. 
Conduct 
surveys 
to 
find 
locations 
where 
vending 
facili ties may be operated by blind persons and establish 
vending facilities as it determines appropriate; 
f. 
Provide management and supervisory services determine9, 
necessary to ensure that each vending facility is operated 
jn the most effective and productive manner possible; 
G. 
Provide plans and specifications for proposed vending 
facilities and equipment to the appropriate officer, board 
or authority for approval prior to installation; and 
H. 
Take any other action necessary or appropriate to carry 
out the purposes of this section. 
§19607. 
Mandatory report of blindness; notice of services 
Whenever, 
upon examination at a clinic, hospital or other 
institution, 
or 
elsewhere, 
by 
a 
physician, 
optometrist, 
institutional 
superintendent 
or 
other 
qualified 
person, 
the 
visual acuity of a person is found to be with correction 20/200 
or less in the better eye, 
or 
the peripheral field of 
the 
person's vision is 
found 
to 
have 
contracted to 
a 
20-degree 
diameter 
or 
less, 
regardless 
of 
visual 
acuity, 
the 
person 
conducting the examination shall, wi thin 30 days, report to the 
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director the result of the examination and that blindness of the 
person examined has been established. 
The report may not be made 
if the person examined so requests. 
If blindness of the person 
examined has been established, the commission shall inform and 
advise that person as to services for the blind provided by the 
commission. 
Sec.4. 26 MRSA c.19, sub-c. 2, art. 7, as amended, is repealed. 
Sec. 5. Transition provisions. 
1. 
The Commission for the Blind is the successor in every 
way to the powers, duties and functions of the former Division 
for the Blind and Visually Impaired within the Department of 
Labor, Bureau of Rehabilitation Services. 
2. 
All 
existing 
rules, 
regulations 
and 
procedures 
in 
effect, in operation or adopted in or by the Division for the 
Blind and Visually Impaired or any of its administrative units or 
officers are hereby declared in effect and continue in effect 
until rescinded, revised or amended by the proper authority. 
3. 
All 
existing 
contracts, 
agreements 
and 
compacts 
currently in effect in the Division for the Blind and Visually 
Impaired continue in effect until they expire. 
4. 
Any positions authorized and allocated subject to the 
personnel laws, except the director, to the former division are 
transferred to the Commission for the Blind and may continue to 
be authorized. 
5. 
All records, property and equipment previously belonging 
to or allocated for the use of the former division become, on the 
effective 
date 
of 
this 
Act, 
part 
of 
the 
property 
of 
the 
commission. 
SUMMARY 
This bill establishes the Commission for the Blind to report 
directly to the Governor. 
Under the bill, the commission is the 
successor to the Department of Labor, Bureau of Rehabilitation 
Services, Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired, as that 
division is repealed in this bill. 
This commission will assist 
the Governor in the formulation, coordination and management of 
policy regarding services for and issues having an impact on 
those who are blind or visually impaired or are family members of 
persons who are blind 
ensure coordination of 
issues of blindness and 
or visually impaired and will work to 
public and private agencies dealing with 
visual impairment.