An Act to Establish the Maine Rental Assistance and Guarantee Program and Amend the Laws Regarding Tenants and the Municipal General Assistance Program
Maine Legislature, Session 131, LD 1710
Committee Amendment CA_A_H821 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT " /T to H,P, 1099, L.D. 1710, "An Act to Establish
the Maine Rental Assistance and Guarantee Program and Amend the Laws Regarding
Tenants and the Municipal General Assistance Program"
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following;
'Resolve, to Establish the Commission to Improve Tenant-Landlord Relationships
and Maximize the Use of Housing Vouchers'
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the title and inserting the following:
'See. 1. Commission established. Resolved: That the Commission to Improve
Tenant-Landlord Relationships and Maximize the Use of Housing Vouchers, referred to in
this resolve as "the commission," is established. For the purposes of this resolve, "housing
voucher" means a tenant-based housing choice voucher issued under the United States
Housing Act of 1937, Public Law 75-412, 50 Stat. 888, Section 8, as amended,
Sec. 2. Commission membership. Resolved: That, notwithstanding Joint Rule
353, the commission consists of 14 members appointed as follows:
1. Two members of the Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate, including at
least one member of the party holding the largest number of seats in the Legislature and at
least one member of the party holding the 2nd largest number of seats in the Legislature;
2. One member representing an organization that advocates for justice issues,
including issues related to housing discrimination in the State, appointed by the President
of the Senate;
3, One member representing an organization that represents the interests of landlords
in the State, appointed by the President of the Senate;
4. One member with experience assisting individuals with accessing rental assistance,
including individuals receiving shelter or transitional housing services, appointed by the
President of the Senate;
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "f-\ "toH.P. 1099, L.D. 1710
5. Three members of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the
House, including at least one member of the party holding the largest number of seats in
the Legislature and at least one member of the party holding the 2nd largest number of seats
in the Legislature;
6. One member with expertise in legal issues affecting tenants with low incomes,
appointed by the Speaker of the House;
7. One member who is a landlord who enters into leases with tenants who rely on
rental assistance, such as housing vouchers and municipal general assistance, appointed by
the Speaker of the House;
8. Two members who are renters with experience using housing vouchers or other
rental assistance programs, including municipal general assistance, appointed by the
Speaker of the House;
9. One member who resides in income-restricted housing in the State, appointed by
the Speaker of the House; and
10. One member representing an organization that provides housing navigation
services to renters using a rental assistance program, such as housmg vouchers or municipal
general assistance, to secure housing in the State, appointed by the Speaker of the House.
The executive director of the Maine Human Rights Commission and the director of the
Maine State Housing Authority, or their designees, serve as nonvoting members of the
commission,
Sec. 3. Chairs. Resolved: That the fcst-named Senate member is the Senate chair
and the first-named House of Representatives member is the House chair of the
commission,
Sec. 4. Appointments; convening of commission. Resolved: That all
appointments must be made no later than 30 days following the effective date of this
resolve. The appointing authorities shall notify the Executive Director of the Legislative
Council once all appointments have been completed. After appointment of all members,
the chairs shall call and convene the first meeting of the commission. If 30 days or more
after the effective date of this resolve a majority of but not all appointments have been
made, the chairs may request authority and the Legislative Council may grant authority for
the commission to meet and conduct its business,
Sec. 5. Duties. Resolved: That the commission shall:
1. Consider the extent to which recipients of housing vouchers are subject to
discrimination based on the fact they are recipients of housing assistance and the adequacy
of current law to deter or prevent discrunination against renters who use income-based
assistance programs, including, but not limited to, housing vouchers or municipal general
assistance;
2. Consider establishing a process for investigating and correcting discrimination
based on income source against recipients of housing assistance;
3, Consider establishing a mediation process between tenants and landlords to support
successful tenancy for tenants who use income-based rental assistance;
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "^ " to H,P.1099, L.D,1710
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4. Review the incentives that currently exist to encourage landlords to accept tenants
who rely on rental assistance, such as housing vouchers and municipal general assistance;
5. Identify reasons that landlords are unwilling or reluctant to rent to tenants who are
recipients of housing vouchers, and seek mput from landlords who do rent to tenants who
rely on housing vouchers or other rental assistance and who wish to share positive
experiences renting to those tenants;
6. Review efforts undertaken in other states to reduce housing and income
discrimination based on source of income and to maximize the use of housing assistance,
including but not limited to housing vouchers; and
7, Review current efforts to provide outreach and educational information to landlords
concerning the rental assistance programs available.
Sec. 6. Staff assistance. Resolved: That the Legislative Council shall provide
necessaiy staffing services to the commission, except that Legislative Council staff support
is not authorized when the Legislature is in regular or special session.
Sec. 7. Report. Resolved: That, no later than November 6, 2024, the commission
shall submit a report that includes its findings and recommendations, mcluding suggested
legislation, to the joint standing or joint select committee of the Legislature having
jurisdiction over housing matters for presentation to the 132nd Legislature in 2025.'
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section
number to read consecutively.
SUMMARY
This amendment replaces the bill with a resolve that establishes the Commission to
Improve Tenant-Landlord Relationships and Maximize the Use of Housing Vouchers. The
commission is charged with examining issues relating to housing discrimination based on
tfae use of income-based rental assistance and incentivizing landlords to rent to tenants who
rely on income-based rental assistance such as housing vouchers and municipal general
assistance. The commission is directed to submit a report to the joint standing or joint
select committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over housing matters. The
committee that receives the report is authorized to submit legislation to the 132nd
Legislature in 2025 based on the recommendations in the report.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Approved: 02/16/24 ^'sx^
LD 1710 LR 833(02)
An Act to Establish the Maine Rental Assistance and Guarantee Program and Amend the Laws
Regarding Tenants and the Municipal General Assistance Program
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment '^f' ( j^ —(
Committee: Housing
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
Legislative Cost/Study
Legislative Cqst/Study
The general operating expenses of this study are projected to be $3,750 in fiscal year 2024-25, The Legislature's
budget for the 2024-2025 biennium includes $14,500 in each of fiscal years 2023-24 and 2024-25 for the costs of
legislative studies, as well as $38,909 of balances carried over from prior years for this purpose. Whether these
amounts are sufficient to fund all studies will depend on the number of studies authorized by the Legislative Council
and the Legislature. The additional costs of providing staffing assistance to the study during the interim can be
absorbed utilizing existing budgeted staff resources,
Fiscal Detail and Notes
Any additional costs to the Maine Human Rights Commission and the Maine State Housing Authority associated with
serving on the Commission to Improve Tenant Landlord Relationships and Maximize Use of Housing Vouchers are
anticipated to be minor and can be absorbed within existing budgeted resources,
LR0833(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1