An Act To Establish the Maine Youth Impact Commission
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1497
Committee: Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business
Sponsors: WARREN, DAUGHTRY, FECTEAU, HASENFUS, RIELLY, MAXMIN
Amends: 5 MRSA §3109, 5 MRSA §12004-J

Legislative Document
No. 1497
H.P. 1107
House of Representatives, April 14, 2021
An Act To Establish the Maine Youth Impact Commission
Received by the Clerk of the House on April 12, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 
and ordered printed pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative WARREN of Hallowell.
Cosponsored by Senator DAUGHTRY of Cumberland and
Representatives: Speaker FECTEAU of Biddeford, HASENFUS of Readfield, RIELLY of 
Westbrook, Senator: MAXMIN of Lincoln.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §3109 is enacted to read:
§3109.  Maine Youth Impact Commission
1.  Commission established.  The Maine Youth Impact Commission, as established in 
section 12004-J, subsection 19 and referred to in this section as "the commission," is made 
up entirely by young people to provide the representation of youth voices in all aspects of 
state policy making to ensure that young people throughout the State have a prosperous, 
sustainable and secure future in the State.  The commission shall promote, coordinate and 
implement programs designed to improve opportunities for young people in the State.  The 
mission of the commission is to make sure that critical data is collected and used to directly 
inform policy makers about the issues affecting young people in the State and to ensure 
that youth advocates and organizations have a direct and coordinated access point to policy 
makers and government.  For purposes of this section, "young people" means persons 15 
years of age or older and under 31 years of age.
2.  Membership.  The commission consists of 15 members appointed as follows:
A.  One member of the Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate;
B.  One member of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives;
C.  Five members of the public, appointed by the Governor;
D.  Four members of the public, appointed by the President of the Senate; and
E. Four members of the public, appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives.
Members of the commission must be residents of the State and members of the public must 
be young people chosen to be geographically, politically, racially and economically 
diverse.  Preference must be given to members of the public who have knowledge of 
problems facing young people of various racial and ethnic backgrounds in the State and 
who have experience in advocacy relating to the issues experienced by young people in the 
State.  All members of the commission may provide policy suggestions, guidance and 
supervision for issues and programs that improve opportunities for young people.
3.  Terms; quorum; meetings; termination.  Members serve for a term of 2 years.  
The members shall select a chair from among the members of the commission.  At the end 
of a term an outgoing member serves until a successor has been appointed.  A member may 
serve multiple terms.  The commission shall convene for the first time within 30 days from 
the appointment of the last member and meet at least 8 times per year at the call of the chair 
to conduct business.  A quorum consists of at least 8 members.  The affirmative vote of a 
majority of the members present is necessary to decide any business brought before the 
commission.  A member's membership is terminated if the member is absent from 3 
consecutive meetings without communicating good cause to the chair.  An appointing 
authority may terminate the membership of a member appointed by the authority for good 
cause, the reason for which must be communicated to the member whose membership was 
terminated.  A member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the 
term for which the member's predecessor was appointed serves for the remainder of that 
term and must be appointed by the same appointing authority.  Any vacancy on the 
commission does not affect the commission's powers.
4.  Staff support.  The commission is staffed by an executive director, a research 
program specialist and an administrative assistant to the executive director, who are housed 
in the Office of Policy Innovation and the Future.
5.  Powers and duties of commission.  The powers and duties of the commission 
include:
A.  Consulting with the Governor and the Legislature about and assisting them with 
improving opportunities for young people in the State;
B.  Developing policy proposals to diversify job opportunities for young people;
C.  Implementing professional development programs and career incentives that center 
around the needs of young people;
D. Creating statewide digital campaigns to address current policy issues being 
discussed within government, formatted in a way that is clear and accessible to young 
people of various backgrounds;
E.  Collecting data on the perspectives, concerns and ideas of young people that 
consider current policy issues being discussed within government and issues that have 
not been brought to the attention of policy makers;
F.  Providing a space to centralize information from various government departments 
that young people are involved in to make information sharing between branches of 
government efficient;
G.  Providing assistance and empowering young people throughout the State to engage 
in policy making;
H. Creating relationships with local schools statewide to bridge the gap between 
education and government;
I.  Hiring staff under subsection 4 and overseeing the staff's activities in carrying out 
the duties of the commission;
J.  Creating partnerships with organizations that address youth issues in the State;
K. Organizing and promoting conferences, occupational trainings and networking 
opportunities for young people to exchange ideas, develop policies and draft legislation 
that benefit young people in the State;
L.  Collecting, synthesizing and analyzing data and information for use in commission 
activities and to inform the public on issues regarding young people in the State;
M.  Advocating for young people by making recommendations on proposed budgetary, 
legislative and policy actions to the Governor, Legislature and other officials of the 
State Government and Federal Government regarding state and federal policies, 
programs and other activities affecting or relating to young people in the State;
N.  Conducting public hearings, conferences, workshops and other meetings to obtain 
information about and discuss and publicize the needs of and solutions to the problems 
of young people;
O.  Ensuring that young people from diverse backgrounds and identities in the State 
are provided with equal opportunities throughout the State; and
P.  Administering and expending funds from the fund to carry out the purposes of this 
section.
In carrying out the powers and duties under this subsection, the commission shall support 
marginalized young people who are working to create meaningful change in the State and 
State Government and consider the social, political and economic status of young people 
to create improvement in all areas of their life experience in the State.
6.  Report.  Beginning March 1, 2022, and biennially thereafter, the commission shall 
submit a report to the Governor and the Legislature concerning the work, activities, status 
of projects and programs, issues and policy recommendations of the commission, including 
the findings of and recommendations on the commission's research, and may include 
suggested legislation.
7.  Maine Youth Impact Fund.  The Maine Youth Impact Fund, referred to in this 
section as "the fund," is established as an interest-bearing account within the office and 
administered by the commission with oversight by the office.  Any private or public funds 
appropriated, allocated or dedicated to the fund must be deposited into the fund as well as 
income from any other source directed to the fund.  All interest earned by the fund becomes 
part of the fund.  Any balance remaining in the fund at the end of the fiscal year does not 
lapse but is carried forward into subsequent fiscal years.  Balances in the fund may be used 
for the necessary expenses of the commission and the office in the administration of the 
fund. The commission may use the fund to carry out the purposes of this section.
Sec. 2.  5 MRSA §12004-J, sub-§19 is enacted to read:
19.   
Children 
Maine Youth Impact Commission
Per Diem and 
Expenses
MRSA 
§3109
Sec. 3.  Initial members.  Notwithstanding the provisions of the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 5, section 3109, subsection 3, of those public members initially appointed to 
the Maine Youth Impact Commission, one appointed by the Governor, one appointed by 
the President of the Senate and one appointed by the Speaker of the House of 
Representatives must be appointed for one-year terms.  The term of office of each member 
must be designated at the time of appointment.
Sec. 4.  Report.  The initial report of the Maine Youth Impact Commission submitted 
pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 3109, subsection 6, must include 
suggested legislation and be submitted to the Joint Standing Committee on Innovation, 
Development, Economic Advancement and Business. The Joint Standing Committee on 
Innovation, Development, Economic Advancement and Business may report out a bill 
based on the report to the Second Regular Session of the 130th Legislature.
SUMMARY
This bill creates the Maine Youth Impact Commission, an independent commission 
housed within the Office of Policy Innovation and the Future.  The commission, consisting 
of 15 members, including 2 Legislators, is made up entirely of young people 15 years of 
age or older and under 31 years of age to provide the representation of youth voices in all 
aspects of state policy making.  The commission is charged with promoting, coordinating 
and implementing programs designed to improve opportunities for young people in the 
State.  The mission of the commission is to make sure that critical data is collected and 
used to directly inform policy makers about the issues affecting young people in the State 
and to ensure that youth advocates and organizations have a direct and coordinated access 
point to policy makers and government.