An Act to Create a
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1921
Committee Amendment CA_A_H806 (House)

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A- " to H.P, 1282, L.D. 1921, "An Act to Create a
Statewide Housing Resolution Board"
Amend the bill by striking out the title and substituting the following:
'Resolve, to Establish the Commission to Study Pathways to Increase Efficiency in
Resolving Legal Disputes Involving Housing Development Projects'
Amend the bill by striking out everything after the title and inserting the following;
'Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislahire do not
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, Maine is facmg a housiug shortage that harms the quality of life and
economic prosperity of all Maine residents; and
Whereas, to address this crisis, 84,000 new housing units must be built by 2030,
which may only be achieved if annual production of housing units doubles; and
Whereas, production of housing is often delayed by misunderstandings and disputes
about the multiple state and local government permitting and application processes required
for housing development projects; and
Whereas, these misunderstandings and disputes often lead to litigation, which further
delays housing development and often causes a housing development project to become
uneconomical for a developer; and
Whereas, this resolve establishes the Commission to Study Pathways to Increase
Efficiency in Resolving Legal Disputes Involving Housmg Development Projects to
determme ways to reduce the costs of and time spent in litigation involvmg housing
development projects; and
Whereas, the study must be initiated before the 90-day period expires so that the study
may be completed and a report submitted in tune for submission to the next legislative
session; and
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
C9 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A^ " to H.P. 1282, L.D, 1921
§' . "-»ZZT.-Z.Z1
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now,
therefore, be it
Sec. 1. Commission established. Resolved: That the Commission to Stady
Pathways to Increase Efficiency in Resolving Legal Disputes Involving Housing
Development Projects, referred to m this resolve as "the commission," is established to
identify ways to reduce the cost and tune spent on legal challenges to housing development
projects such as developments of single-family and multifamily buildings, condominiums,
townhouses and manufactured housing communities.
Sec. 2. Commission membership. Resolved: That, notwithstanding Joint Rule
353, the commission consists of 14 members as follows:
1. Two members of the Senate appointed by the President of the Senate, including a
member from each of the 2 parties holding the largest number of seats in the Legislature;
2. Two members of the House of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the
House, including a member from each of the 2 parties holding the largest number of seats
in the Legislature;
3. The director of the Maine State Housing Authority, or the director's designee;
4. One member representing the Office of the Governor, designated by the Governor;
5. One member representmg the Judicial Branch, designated by the Chief Justice of
the Supreme Judicial Court;
6. Three members of the public, appointed by the President of the Senate, including
one member who represents a statewide municipal association, one member who represents
a statewide organization that advocates for responsible real estate development and
ownership and one member who represents a statewide or regional business association;
and
7. Four members of the public, appointed by the Speaker of the House, including one
member who represents a statewide organization that advocates for affordable housing, one
member who represents a regional planning commission established under the Maine
Revised Statutes, Title 30-A, section 2321, or a statewide organization that advocates for
smart growth policies and projects, one member who represents the real estate industry and
one member who represents an organization that advocates for low-income or middle-
income renters or homeowners.
Sec. 3. Chairs. Resolved: That the first-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 fcst 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
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
^ COMMITTEE AMENDMENT " ^" to H.P. 1282, L,D. 1921
^
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 is authorized to meet 6 times and
shall:
1. Collect and review information, data and reports on the housing development
dispute resolution process in other states, including housing resolution boards, judicial
mechanisms and other approaches used to reduce the cost and time spent in litigation
affecting housing development projects;
2. Identify the most common legal challenges to housing development projects filed
in the State and collect data on these challenges as determined relevant by the commission;
and
3. Advise and make recommendations to the jomt standing committee of the
Legislature having jurisdiction over housing matters on ways to reduce the cost and time
spent in litigation affecting housmg development projects.
Sec. 6. Staff assistance. Resolved: That the Legislative Council shall provide
necessary staffing services to the commission, except that Legislative Council staff support
is not authorized when the Legislatare is in regular or special session.
Sec. 7. Report. Resolved: That, no later than November 4, 2026, the commission
shall submit a report that includes its findings and recommendations, including suggested
legislation, to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over
housing matters. The joint standing committee may report out legislation related to the
report to the 133rd Legislature in 2027.
Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation
takes effect when approved,'
Amend the bill by relettermg or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section
number to read consecutively.
SUMMARY
This amendment, which is the majority report of the committee, replaces the bill with
a resolve and adds an emergency preamble and emergency clause. It establishes the
Commission to Study Pathways to Increase Efficiency in Resolving Legal Disputes
Involving Housing Development Projects to determine ways to reduce the cost of and time
spent in litigation involving the development of housmg in the State, The commission is
authorized to meet 6 tunes in 2026 and is required to submit a report to the joint standing
committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over housing matters.
5 FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Approved: 02/03/26 *-Rt-
LD 1921 LR 2140(02)
An Act to Create a Statewide Housing Resolution Board
Fiscal Note for BiU as Amended by Committee Amendment '^L
Committee: Housing and Economic Development
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
Legislative CosVStudy
Legislative Cost/Study
The general operating expenses of this study are projected to be $1,400 in fiscal year 2025-26 and $3,050 in fiscal
year 2026-27, The Legislature's budget for the 2026-2027 biennium includes $7,253 in fiscal year 2025-26 and
$17,696 in fiscal year 2026-27 for the costs of legislative studies, as well as $41,338 of balances carried over from
prior fiscal years for this purpose, Whether these amounts are sufficient to fund all studies will depend on the numbi.
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 DetaU and Notes
Any additional costs to the Office of the Governor, the Judicial Branch or the Maine State Housing Authority to
participate in the work of the commission are expected to be minor and are assumed to be absorbed within, existing
budgeted resources,
LR2140(02) - Fiscal Note - Page 1 of 1