An Act To Recognize the Maine Rural Development Council
Maine Legislature, Session 121, LD 1332
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: DAMON, BENNETT
Amends: 5 MRSA §12004-I, 7 MRSA §152

12lst MAINE LEGISLATURE 
Legislative Document 
No. 1332 
S.P.434 
In Senate, March 12,2003 
An Act To Recognize the Maine Rural Development Council 
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed. 
Presented by Senator DAMON of Hancock. 
Cosponsored by Senator BENNETT of Oxford. 
Printed on recycled paper 
JOY J. O'BRIEN 
Secretary of the Senate 
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows: 
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §12004-I, sub-§2-G is enacted to read: 
2-G. 
Agriculture 
Maine Rural 
Development 
Board 
Not 
Authorized 
Sec. 2. 7 MRSA c. 6 is enacted to read: 
CHAPTER 6 
MRSA 
§152 
MAIRE RURAL DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL 
SISI. 
Maine Rural Development Council 
The 
Maine 
Rural 
Development 
Council 
is 
a 
statewide 
association 
of 
federal, 
state, 
regional 
and 
community-based 
organizations active in rural development work. 
Membership is 
open to representatives of federal, state, county and municipal 
agencies 
and 
tribal 
governments, 
regional 
development 
organizations, nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations 
and individuals interested or engaged in rural development. 
SIS2. 
Maine Rural Development Board 
1. 
Board 
establishment; 
authority. 
The 
Maine 
Rural 
Development Board, referred to in this chapter as "the board, " 
established in Title 5, section 12004-1, subsection 2-G is the 
governing body of the Maine Rural Development Council. 
The board 
is authorized to participate on behalf of the State in the 
National Rural Development Partnership established in 7 United 
States Code 1981 and continued by the Farm Security and Rural 
Investment Act of 2002, Public Law 107-171, 116 Stat. 205. 
2. 
Board members. 
Board members serve 2-year terms and are 
elected from the Maine Rural Development Council membership as 
follows: 
A. 
Five members representing federal agencies; 
B. 
Five members representing state agencies; 
C. 
One member representing a regional economic development 
organization; 
D. 
One member representing county government; 
E. 
Two members representing municipal government: 
F. 
Two members representing tribal government; 
G. 
Two members from private entities with an interest in 
and commitment to rural development; and 
H. 
Six members representing the public at large. 
3. 
director 
Council. 
board. 
Executive director. 
The board 
to 
serve 
as 
staff to 
the 
The executive director is a 
shall select an executive 
Maine 
Rural 
Development 
nonvoting member of the 
4. 
Executive officers. 
The board shall elect a 
chair, 
vice-chair and secretary from among its members. 
The chair or, 
in 
the 
chair's 
absence, 
the 
vice-chair 
shall 
preside 
over 
meetings of the board. 
An executive officer may not serve more 
than 2 consecutive terms. 
5. Duties. 
The board shall: 
A. 
Coordinate 
rural 
development 
policies, 
programs 
and 
activities 
among 
federal 
and 
state 
agencies, 
local 
and 
tribal 
governments, 
the 
private 
sector 
and 
nonprofit 
economic development and social service organizations; 
B. 
Provide advocacy on the social and economic needs and 
issues of rural Maine communities, particularly in the most 
distressed counties of the State; 
C. 
Coordinate the targeting of rural development resources 
to the most distressed counties; 
D. 
Facilitate 
locally 
driven 
community 
development 
strategies in all rural areas of the State; 
E. 
Review 
and 
comment 
on 
policies, 
regulations 
and 
legislative actions that affect, 
or would affect, 
rural 
communities in the State, 
and gather and provide related 
information; and 
F. 
Report biannually to the Governor and the Legislature on 
the state of rural Maine with recommendations for future 
action 
and 
related 
performance 
benchmarks 
regarding 
conditions in the rural areas of the State. 
6. 
Support of state agencies. 
The Governor shall encourage 
those 
executive 
departments 
with 
direct 
rural 
development 
responsibilities 
to 
provide 
support 
for 
the 
Maine 
Rural 
Development Council and the board in carrying out its duties. 
Sec. 3. Transition provisions. 
This Act allocates in statute 
provisions recognizing the Maine Rural Development Council, which 
was 
initiated in 1991 
by Executive Order 
8, 
FY 
91/92. 
It 
establishes the Maine Rural Development Board as the governing 
body of the council and authorizes the board to participate in 
the National Rural Development Partnership. 
Members of the Maine 
Rural Development Board and the executive director of the Maine 
Rural Development Council serving on the effective date of this 
Act continue to serve. 
The Maine Rural Development Council must 
continue to be governed in accordance with its bylaws adopted 
June 22, 2000 and subsequent amendment to those bylaws. 
SUMMARY 
This bill establishes the Maine Rural Development Council in 
statute and designates it as the entity authorized to participate 
in the National Rural Development Partnership.