An Act To Implement Recommendations Resulting from a State Government Evaluation Act Review of the Board of Environmental Protection by the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1807
Committee: Environment and Natural Resources
Amends: 38 MRSA §341-C, 38 MRSA §341-D

Legislative Document
No. 1807
H.P. 1253
House of Representatives, January 29, 2018
An Act To Implement Recommendations Resulting from a State 
Government Evaluation Act Review of the Board of Environmental 
Protection by the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and 
Natural Resources
Reported by Representative TUCKER of Brunswick for the Joint Standing Committee on 
Environment and Natural Resources pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 3, section 
955, subsection 4.
Reference to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources suggested and ordered 
printed pursuant to Joint Rule 218.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  38 MRSA §341-C, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 890, Pt. A, §13 and 
affected by §40, is amended to read:
3.  Terms; vacancies.  The members must be appointed for staggered 4-year terms, 
except that a vacancy must be filled for the unexpired portion of the term.  A member 
may not serve more than 2 consecutive 4-year terms.  A member continues to serve until 
that member has been reappointed or a successor has been appointed.  A vacancy 
occurring other than by expiration of a term must be filled by appointment for the 
unexpired portion of the term.
Sec. 2.  38 MRSA §341-C, sub-§5, as enacted by PL 1989, c. 890, Pt. A, §13 and 
affected by §40, is repealed.
Sec. 3.  38 MRSA §341-D, sub-§4, ¶D, as amended by PL 2011, c. 304, Pt. H, 
§9, is further amended to read:
D.  License or permit decisions regarding an expedited wind energy development as 
defined in Title 35-A, section 3451, subsection 4 or a general permit pursuant to 
section 480-HH or section 636-A.  In reviewing an appeal of a license or permit 
decision by the commissioner under this paragraph, the board shall base its decision 
on the administrative record of the department, including the record of any 
adjudicatory hearing held by the department, and any supplemental information 
allowed by the board for supplementation of the record.  The board may remand the 
decision to the department for further proceedings if appropriate.  The chair of the 
Public Utilities Commission or the chair's designee serves may serve as a nonvoting 
member of the board and is entitled to fully participate but is not required to attend 
meetings and hearings when the board considers an appeal pursuant to this paragraph.  
The chair's participation on the board pursuant to this paragraph does not affect the 
ability of the Public Utilities Commission to submit information to the department for 
inclusion in the record of any proceeding before the department.
SUMMARY
This bill, which is reported out by the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and 
Natural Resources pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 3, section 955, 
subsection 4, implements the recommendations resulting from the committee's State 
Government Evaluation Act review of the Board of Environmental Protection as follows:
1.  It clarifies that a member of the board continues to serve until that member has 
been reappointed or a successor has been appointed; and
2.  It clarifies that the participation of the Public Utilities Commission in appeals to 
the board of license or permit decisions relating to expedited wind energy development, 
offshore wind energy demonstration projects or tidal energy demonstration projects is 
optional and at the discretion of the commission's chair.