An Act To Strengthen Maine's Agriculture, Food and Forest Economy
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1565
Committee: Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry
Sponsors: TALBOT ROSS, HICKMAN, LANDRY, O'NEIL, PLUECKER, BRENNER, DILL, MAXMIN, VITELLI
Amends: 5 MRSA §12004-J, 7 MRSA §320-C

Legislative Document
No. 1565
H.P. 1162
House of Representatives, April 27, 2021
An Act To Strengthen Maine's Agriculture, Food and Forest 
Economy
Received by the Clerk of the House on April 23, 2021.  Referred to the Committee on 
Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed 
pursuant to Joint Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative TALBOT ROSS of Portland.
Cosponsored by Senator HICKMAN of Kennebec and
Representatives: LANDRY of Farmington, O'NEIL of Saco, PLUECKER of Warren, Senators: 
BRENNER of Cumberland, DILL of Penobscot, MAXMIN of Lincoln, VITELLI of 
Sagadahoc.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §12004-J, sub-§1-A is enacted to read:
1-A.  
Agriculture 
Maine Agriculture, Food 
System and Forest Products 
Infrastructure Investment 
Advisory Board
Expenses Only
MRSA §320-C 
Sec. 2.  7 MRSA c. 10-C is enacted to read:
CHAPTER 10-C
AGRICULTURE, FOOD AND FOREST PRODUCTS 
§320-A.  Agriculture, food system and forest products infrastructure investment
1.  Definitions.  As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A.  "Food system" means all processes, infrastructure and persons involved in feeding 
a population, including growing, harvesting, collecting, processing, manufacturing, 
packaging, transporting, marketing, selling, consuming and disposing of food and 
food-related items in the State.
B.  "Infrastructure" means property, equipment, networks and supporting services 
associated with the production, harvest, processing, manufacturing, storage, 
packaging, transporting, marketing, sales and disposal of food.
C.  "Producer" means a person in the State who grows, manufactures, harvests or 
otherwise creates agricultural, food or forest products and value-added products, 
including a person engaged in farming, harvesting or other agricultural and forestry 
manufacturing activities.
D.  "Supply chain" means the chain of distribution by which agricultural, food and 
forest products are moved from the producer to the consumer and may include 
intermediate entities, including aggregators of various products, manufacturers, value-
added producers, processors, packagers, warehouse operators and other storage 
entities, distributors, wholesalers and retailers.
E.  "Value-added" means changing the physical state or form of a product through 
processing or manufacturing to enhance or increase the product's value, including 
making the product suitable to generate renewable energy.
2.  Goals; investment; inclusiveness.  The commissioner, in coordination with the 
Department of Economic and Community Development, industry stakeholders, 
representatives of Indian tribes, communities of color and other underserved communities 
and populations and other relevant agencies, shall:
A.  Strengthen the State's agricultural, food and forest products economy with a priority 
of making resulting efforts more inclusive of and increasing investments in historically 
marginalized, underrepresented and underserved communities, including communities 
of color, low-income communities and rural communities that typically lack access to 
capital to start, sustain, scale and innovate businesses;
B.  Expand infrastructure investments in the agricultural, food and forest products 
economy to increase access to new markets and opportunities for producers, 
processors, small businesses and consumers in the State in the producing, processing, 
manufacturing, packaging, distribution, marketing, sale and consumption of products; 
and
C.  Collaborate with other state agencies, economic development organizations and 
other key institutional partners to establish technical assistance programs to support the 
objectives of this chapter.
3.  Powers.  In carrying out the purposes of this chapter, the commissioner may:
A.  Hire or assign staff or contractors, including community development financial 
institutions, economic development organizations, quasi-governmental entities or other 
capital or technical assistance providers;
B.  Seek and accept funds from public and private sources; and
C.  Administer funds, grants and programs.
§320-B. Maine Agriculture, Food and Forest Products Investment Fund
1.  Fund established.  The Maine Agriculture, Food and Forest Products Investment 
Fund, referred to in this chapter as "the fund," is established and administered by the 
department to support public-private partnerships to carry out the purposes of this chapter. 
The fund consists of money appropriated to the fund or received from any other private or 
public source.  Interest in investment of money of the fund is credited to the fund. 
Unexpended balances at the end of the fiscal year do not lapse but carry over into the next 
fiscal year.  The Maine Agriculture, Food System and Forest Products Infrastructure 
Investment Advisory Board established in section 320-C shall oversee and determine 
expenditures from the fund.
§320-C.  Maine Agriculture, Food System and Forest Products Infrastructure 
Investment Advisory Board
1.  The Maine Agriculture, Food System and Forest Products Infrastructure 
Investment Advisory Board.  The Maine Agriculture, Food System and Forest Products 
Infrastructure Investment Advisory Board established in Title 5, section 12004-J, 
subsection 1-A, referred to in this section as "the board," is created to oversee and determine 
expenditures from the Maine Agriculture, Food and Forest Products Investment Fund in 
section 320-B.
2.  Membership.  The board consists of the commissioner or the commissioner's 
designee, the Commissioner of Economic and Community Development or the 
commissioner's designee and 11 members appointed jointly by the commissioner and the 
Commissioner of Economic and Community Development as follows:
A.  One member of a statewide industry group representing conventional nondairy 
farming;
B.  One member of a statewide industry group representing organic nondairy farming;
C.  One member of a statewide industry group representing dairy producers;
D.  One member of a statewide industry group representing the forest products 
industry;
E.  Two members from relevant financial institutions with experience in the 
agricultural and forest products industries;
F.  One manufacturer of forest products;
G.  One manufacturer of value-added agricultural products or representative of the 
value-added agricultural products industry;
H.  Two members representing the supply chain in processing, manufacturing or 
distribution; and
I.  One member actively engaged in providing marketing assistance, market 
development or business and financial planning.
Board membership must reflect a diversity of skills and experience relevant to investment 
in agricultural, food and forest products processing and manufacturing industries and 
represent the racial diversity of the food system in the State with specific representation by 
Indian tribes, communities of color and other underserved communities and populations.
3.  Terms; officers; committees; rules.  Board members serve for 3-year terms and 
may serve no more than 3 consecutive terms.  The members shall elect a chair and may 
elect officers, establish one or more committees or subcommittees and adopt such 
procedural rules as the members determine necessary and appropriate to perform the 
board's work.
4.  Quorum; meeting; voting.  A majority of the sitting members constitute a quorum, 
and action taken by the board may be authorized by a majority of the members present and 
voting at any regular or special meeting at which a quorum is present.  The board may 
permit any or all members to participate in a regular or special meeting by or conduct the 
meeting through the use of any means of communication, including electronic 
telecommunications or a telephone conference call, by which all members participating 
may communicate with each other during the meeting.  A member participating in a 
meeting by means approved by the board under this subsection is deemed to be present in 
person at the meeting. 
5.  Reimbursement.  A member of the board is entitled to reimbursement of mileage 
and other incidental expenses, if funds are available for such purposes, pursuant to Title 5, 
chapter 379.
6.  Powers and duties of board.  The board, in determining disbursements of the 
Maine Agriculture, Food and Forest Products Investment Fund, shall:
A.  Facilitate strategic investments in the State's agricultural, food and forest products 
processing and manufacturing industries, including value-added products;
B.  Foster an environment that encourages innovation, sustainable growth, equity and 
inclusion;
C.  Implement and maintain business technical assistance programs in support of the 
fund and other funds as needed;
D.  Determine and devise a process for requests for proposals to perform 3rd-party 
services in support of and for the management and administration of the fund and other 
potential natural resource-related funds as needed and for technical assistance 
programs that ensure that economic development organizations, capital providers and 
community development financial institutions in any region of the State are able to 
fairly compete for disbursements from the fund to meet identified infrastructure 
investment needs and fulfill the objectives of the funding and technical assistance 
programs;
E.  Enter into performance contracts with one or more persons in order to provide 
investment and services to agricultural, food and forest products industries, including:
(1)  Technical assistance and product research services;
(2)  Marketing assistance, market development and business and financial 
planning;
(3)  Organizational, regulatory and development assistance, including feasibility 
studies of facilities or capital investments to optimize construction and other cost 
efficiencies; and
(4)  Identification of workforce needs and programs in order to develop training 
and incentive opportunities for the agricultural, food and forest products industries 
after consulting with the Department of Labor; and
F.  Oversee, analyze and evaluate programs, contractors and other recipients of funds 
disbursed by the board annually, including:
(1)  Analyzing fund and technical assistance program use;
(2)  Recommending program changes and improvements; and
(3)  Preparing a comprehensive report, in collaboration with the Department of 
Economic and Community Development and other appropriate agencies and 
organizational partners, on the performance, use and sustainability of funds and 
supporting programs of the Maine Agriculture, Food and Forest Products 
Investment Fund to submit to the commissioner.
Sec. 3.  State agriculture, food and forest products infrastructure funding 
assessment.  The Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry shall undertake, 
either directly or with suitable 3rd parties, an assessment to identify specific opportunities 
for investment in agricultural, food and forest products industries to inform development 
and structuring of disbursements from the Maine Agriculture, Food and Forest Products 
Investment Fund under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 7, section 320-B and other 
potential natural resource industry-related funds.
1.  Assessment.  The assessment must be designed and conducted in collaboration with 
the Department of Economic and Community Development and other relevant state 
agencies, community and economic development organizations, industry stakeholder 
groups, financial institutions and experts in related subjects.  The assessment must be in 
alignment with a state 10-year economic development strategy produced by the Department 
of Economic and Community Development. The assessment must:
A.  Identify the highest priority areas for policy interventions, including legislation, 
capital investments, technical assistance and value chain coordination in agricultural, 
food and forest products industries;
B.  Recommend how State Government may collaborate with other entities to minimize 
duplication in efforts and programs and bridge gaps in technical assistance, services, 
education, research and development;
C.  Recommend initiatives that improve regulation, marketing, transportation or 
distribution systems that enhance market opportunities for state agricultural, food and 
forest products industries;
D.  Balance the State's desire for near-term returns on investment with the State's 
commitments to redress racial and other inequities;
E.  Gather new information and leverage existing research, data and understanding 
related to current state grant and loan programs, gaps or market failures surrounding 
existing processing infrastructure, stakeholder perspectives and any other relevant 
informational resources;
F.  Determine key criteria relative to a state food system investment or fund, including 
eligibility, size, scale, type and other parameters as appropriate;
G.  Determine key criteria relative to a business technical assistance program to support 
a state food system investment fund, including eligibility, size, scale, type and other 
parameters as appropriate; and
H.  Determine how to best support additional investments in the agricultural, food and 
forest products industries, including recommendations for multiple funds and a variety 
of investment tools and mechanisms.
2.  Report.  No later than December 1, 2021, the Commissioner of Agriculture, 
Conservation and Forestry shall submit a report relating to the assessment in subsection 1 
with findings and recommendations, including suggested legislation, to the Joint Standing 
Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry.  The committee may submit 
legislation based upon the report to the Second Regular Session of the 130th Legislature.
SUMMARY
This bill:
1.  Requires the Commissioner of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to work with 
the Department of Economic and Community Development and other relevant state 
agencies, industry stakeholders and community organizations to carry out the following 
duties:
A.  Strengthen the State's agricultural, food and forest products economy with a priority 
of making resulting efforts more inclusive of and increasing investments in historically 
marginalized, underrepresented and underserved communities; and
B.  Improve investment in agricultural, food and forest products industries to increase 
access to new markets and opportunities for producers, processors, small businesses 
and consumers in the production, processing, packaging, distribution, marketing, sale 
and consumption of products in ways that balance the desire for short-term returns on 
investment with the State's commitment to redress racial and other inequities;
2.  Establishes the Maine Agriculture, Food and Forest Products Investment Fund to 
facilitate strategic investments in the State's agricultural, food and forest products 
processing and manufacturing industries, including value-added products; and
3.  Establishes the Maine Agriculture, Food System and Forest Products Infrastructure 
Investment Advisory Board, representing a diversity of skills and experience relevant to 
investment in agricultural, food and forest products industries and the racial diversity of 
the food system in the State with specific representation by Indian tribes, communities of 
color and other underserved communities and populations, to determine disbursements 
from and oversee the Maine Agriculture, Food and Forest Products Investment Fund, to 
devise a process for requests for proposals and enter into 3rd-party contracts to carry out 
the purposes of the fund and related technical assistance programs and to provide regular 
reporting and evaluation related to performance and sustainability.