An Act To Enhance the Educational Expertise and Knowledge of the Board of Trustees of the University of Maine System
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1391
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: COLLINGS, OSHER, SYLVESTER, TALBOT ROSS

Legislative Document
No. 1391
H.P. 1025
House of Representatives, April 7, 2021
An Act To Enhance the Educational Expertise and Knowledge of 
the Board of Trustees of the University of Maine System
Received by the Clerk of the House on April 5, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Education and Cultural Affairs pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to 
Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative COLLINGS of Portland.
Cosponsored by Representatives: OSHER of Orono, SYLVESTER of Portland, TALBOT 
ROSS of Portland.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  P&SL 1865, c. 532, §4, as amended by P&SL 1997, c. 37, §2, is further 
amended to read:
Section 4.  Board of Trustees.  The Board of Trustees of the University of Maine 
System shall consist consists of 16 22 members.
1.  Commissioner of Educational and Cultural Services Education.  The 
Commissioner of Educational and Cultural Services Education shall serve as a voting 
member ex officio.
2.  Members appointed by the Governor.  Fourteen members shall must be appointed 
for 5-year terms by the Governor, subject to review by the joint standing committee of the 
Legislature having jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs and confirmation by the 
Legislature Senate.  Each term shall expire on May 26th of the appropriate year, except 
that the retiring member shall serve until a successor is appointed by the Governor and 
confirmed by the Legislature.  No person accepting such appointment may be a member of 
the State Board of Education.  In making appointments, the Governor shall strive to achieve 
a membership which is representative of the population of this State.  In so far as feasible 
when selecting qualified nominees to the board, the Governor shall consider affirmative 
action criteria, professional education and experience and an equitable geographical 
representation among the members.  Trustees may serve a maximum of 2 terms, except that 
an individual appointed to fill an unexpired term of 3 years or less is eligible for 
appointment to 2 full terms.  Vacancies shall be filled by the Governor, subject to review 
by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education and 
confirmation by the Legislature, for the unexpired balance of the term. In order to restore 
and maintain rotation of terms of office of trustees, an incumbent trustee who was 
appointed for a term of 5 years at a time subsequent to the expiration of the term of his 
predecessor in office shall be deemed to have commenced his 5-year term upon the date of 
the expiration of the term of office of his predecessor rather than from the date of his 
appointment and qualification.  Trustees shall serve without compensation, but may be 
reimbursed for travel and other expenses incurred in the performance of their official duties.
2-A.  Members elected by educator unions.  Six members must be current or retired 
public sector educators selected pursuant to this subsection.  These 6 members are full 
voting members and may sit on any board of trustees committee.  Three of the 6 members 
must be elected by members of Associated Faculties of the Universities of Maine labor 
union or its successor organization, and 3 of the 6 members must be elected by members 
of the Maine Education Association labor union or its successor organization. All 6 of the 
members must be confirmed by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs.  These 6 members serve for 5-year terms, 
except that, of the initial trustees elected by the Associated Faculties of the Universities of 
Maine, one member shall serve for one year, one member shall serve for 3 years and one 
member shall serve for 5 years and, of the initial trustees elected by the Maine Education 
Association, one member shall serve for one year, one member shall serve for 3 years and 
one member shall serve for 5 years.
2-B.  Terms; reimbursement.  The term of a member of the board of trustees is for 5 
years.  Each term expires on May 26th of the appropriate year, except that, with regard to 
a retiring member who was appointed by the Governor pursuant to subsection 2, the retiring 
member shall serve until a successor is appointed by the Governor and confirmed by the 
Senate and, with regard to a retiring member selected pursuant to subsection 2-A, the 
retiring member shall serve until a successor is elected by an educator union pursuant to 
subsection 2-A and confirmed by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs.  No person accepting an appointment may 
be a member of the State Board of Education.  A trustee may serve a maximum of 2 terms, 
except that an individual appointed to fill an unexpired term of 3 years or less is eligible 
for appointment to 2 full terms.  A vacancy must be filled by the Governor pursuant to 
subsection 2 or by an educator union pursuant to subsection 2-A, subject to review and 
confirmation, for the unexpired balance of the term.  In order to restore and maintain 
rotation of terms of office of trustees, an incumbent trustee who was appointed for a term 
of 5 years at a time subsequent to the expiration of the term of the trustee's predecessor in 
office is deemed to have commenced the trustee's 5-year term upon the date of the 
expiration of the term of office of the trustee's predecessor rather than on the date of the 
trustee's appointment and qualification.  A trustee shall serve without compensation but 
may be reimbursed for travel and other expenses incurred in the performance of the trustee's 
official duties.
3.  Student member.  One of the members shall must be a full-time student at one of 
the campuses of the University of Maine System at the time of appointment and shall must 
be a permanent resident of the State. To be eligible as a student member, a student must be 
enrolled for a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester. The student member shall be is a 
full voting member of the board of trustees and shall serve for a 2-year term and until a 
successor is qualified. Sixty days prior to the expiration of the student member's term, the 
Governor shall solicit a list of 6 eligible students from the student senates from 6 of the 
campuses within the University of Maine System; the 7th campus being excluded in 
accordance with this subsection. The Governor shall then nominate a student member 
within 30 days of receiving the list of names and the nomination shall be is subject to review 
by the Joint Standing Committee on Education joint standing committee of the Legislature 
having jurisdiction over education and cultural affairs and confirmation by the Legislature 
Senate. The student representative shall may not come from the same campus in any 2 
consecutive terms. In the event that the student representative transfers from one campus 
to another during the student's term of appointment, the original campus of enrollment shall 
prevail prevails in reference to the provisions of the subsection.
3-A.  Alumni members.  The Governor shall make every effort to appoint to the Board 
board of Trustees trustees pursuant to section 2, subject to review by the joint standing 
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters and cultural affairs 
and confirmation by the Senate, 7 alumni members, one from each of the universities in the 
system.
4.  Meetings of the Board board of Trustees trustees.  The Board board of Trustees 
trustees shall meet from time to time at each of the various campuses of the University of 
Maine System, whenever reasonably practical.
Each meeting of the board must include an opportunity for citizen input.  Each citizen 
must be permitted to address the board for a period of time established by the board.
SUMMARY
This bill adds 6 members to the Board of Trustees of the University of Maine System, 
who must be current or retired public sector educators, are full voting members and may 
sit on any board of trustees committee.  It requires 3 of the 6 members to be elected by 
members of Associated Faculties of the Universities of Maine labor union and 3 to be 
elected by members of the Maine Education Association labor union. All 6 of the members 
must be confirmed by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
over education and cultural affairs.  It requires the 6 members to serve for 5-year terms, 
except that, of the initial trustees elected by the Associated Faculties of the Universities of 
Maine, one member must serve for one year, one member must serve for 3 years and one 
member must serve for 5 years and, of the initial trustees elected by the Maine Education 
Association, one member must serve for one year, one member must serve for 3 years and 
one member must serve for 5 years.