Resolve, to Establish a Working Waterfront Infrastructure
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1433
Committee: Education and Cultural Affairs
Sponsors: RIELLY

Legislative Document
No. 1433
H.P. 942
House of Representatives, April 3, 2025
Resolve, to Establish a Working Waterfront Infrastructure 
Engineer Corps Pilot Program and to Conduct a Feasibility Study of 
a Higher Education Service Corps Program
Reference to the Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs suggested and ordered 
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative RIELLY of Westbrook.
Cosponsored by Representatives: BRENNAN of Portland, GERE of Kennebunkport, 
MCCABE of Lewiston, MURPHY of Scarborough, STOVER of Boothbay, Senators: 
BENNETT of Oxford, RAFFERTY of York.
Sec. 1.  Working Waterfront Infrastructure Engineer Corps Pilot Program 
established. Resolved:  That the Working Waterfront Infrastructure Engineer Corps 
Pilot Program, referred to in this resolve as "the program," is established. The Maine Sea 
Grant at the University of Maine shall oversee the program and consult with Volunteer 
Maine and the Maine College of Engineering and Computing at the University of Maine. 
The purpose of the program is to provide expertise in engineering, planning and permitting 
to restore and protect the State's working waterfront and other vulnerable infrastructure.
Sec. 2.  Length of program; number of program participants; program 
service activity and member development. Resolved:  That the program established 
under section 1 begins in the 2026-2027 academic year and lasts through the 2027-2028 
academic year. The program must include 5 students each academic year for a total of 10 
students for the duration of the program. Program participants may be undergraduate or 
graduate students. Program participants shall conduct vulnerability assessments and other 
analyses of the working waterfront and other essential working waterfront infrastructure 
threatened by extreme weather. Program participants shall complete projects that may be 
semester service-learning or summer term projects. Program participants shall engage with 
municipalities or other partners in the projects. Program participants must receive 
education about permitting requirements and funding opportunities to better understand 
how projects progress from proposal to implementation. Program participants must be 
exposed to careers in municipalities.
Sec. 3.  Maine Sea Grant at University of Maine to issue interim report; 
final report. Resolved:  That the Maine Sea Grant at the University of Maine shall 
provide an interim report on the program by December 1, 2027 detailing the first year of 
the program to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over 
education matters and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction 
over state and local government matters. The Maine Sea Grant at the University of Maine 
shall provide a final report by November 1, 2028 detailing the final year of the program to 
the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters 
and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over state and local 
government matters. Each report submitted by the Maine Sea Grant at the University of 
Maine must include recommendations, including suggested legislation. Each joint standing 
committee may report out legislation related to the contents of each report in the session of 
the Legislature following submission of each report.
Sec. 4.  Maine Commission for Community Service to study feasibility of 
developing higher education service corps program. Resolved:  That the Maine 
Commission for Community Service, established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, 
section 7501, the University of Maine System, the Maine Community College System and 
the Maine Maritime Academy shall collaborate to conduct a feasibility study to examine 
the expansion of existing service programs and the creation of a higher education service 
corps program that focuses on:
1. Coastal issues;
2. Transportation;
3. Energy;
4. Housing; 
5. Land and freshwater preservation; 
6. Community resilience; 
7. Education; and
8. Public health.
The feasibility study must also examine economic development and consider whether 
the higher education service corps program will operate out of each campus at the 
University of Maine, described in Title 20-A, section 10901-A, each campus of the Maine 
Community College System, described in Title 20-A, section 10901-A, and the Maine 
Maritime Academy. The Maine Commission for Community Service shall submit a report 
on the feasibility study to the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs 
and the Joint Standing Committee on State and Local Government by December 3, 2025. 
Each joint standing committee may report out legislation related to the content of the report 
to the Second Regular Session of the 132nd Legislature.
SUMMARY
This bill establishes the Working Waterfront Infrastructure Engineer Corps Pilot 
Program. The Maine Sea Grant at the University of Maine is directed to oversee the 
program and consult with Volunteer Maine and the Maine College of Engineering and 
Computing at the University of Maine. Program participants may be graduate or 
undergraduate students. Program participants are required to conduct vulnerability 
assessments and other analyses of the State's working waterfronts. Program participants are 
required to engage with municipalities and be exposed to careers in municipal government. 
The bill requires the Maine Sea Grant to report on the program's status to the Legislature. 
The bill also directs the Maine Commission for Community Service to study the feasibility 
of developing a higher education service corps program. The feasibility study is due to the 
Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs and the Joint Standing 
Committee on State and Local Government by December 3, 2025. Each joint standing 
committee may report out legislation related to the contents of the report.