§320-L. Advisory Committee on the Fund To Address PFAS Contamination
The Advisory Committee on the Fund To Address PFAS Contamination is established pursuant to Title 5, section 12004‑I, subsection 2‑I to make recommendations to the department regarding administration of the fund and to report to the Legislature. In order to develop recommendations for the department, the advisory committee may form working groups that include and seek input from subject matter experts from the public and private sectors to deliberate issues relating to the purposes of the fund as described in section 320‑K, subsection 4, including, but not limited to, health monitoring, short-term financial aid for farmers, research priorities, solar siting, long-term environmental monitoring and land acquisition. [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. XX, §2 (NEW).]
1. Membership. The advisory committee consists of:
A. Two members of the Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate, including one member of the party holding the largest number of seats in the Senate and one member of the party holding the 2nd largest number of seats in the Senate; [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. XX, §2 (NEW).]
B. Two members of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, including one member of the party holding the largest number of seats in the House and one member of the party holding the 2nd largest number of seats in the House; [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. XX, §2 (NEW).]
C. The commissioner or the commissioner's designee; [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. XX, §2 (NEW).]
D. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection or the commissioner's designee; [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. XX, §2 (NEW).]
E. The Commissioner of Health and Human Services or the commissioner's designee; [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. XX, §2 (NEW).]
F. The dean of the Maine Agricultural and Forest Experiment Station at the University of Maine, College of Natural Sciences, Forestry, and Agriculture or the dean of the University of Maine Cooperative Extension, appointed by the President of the University of Maine; [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. XX, §2 (NEW).]
G. One member of the public representing the financial sector and with expertise in agricultural finance and lending, appointed by the commissioner; [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. XX, §2 (NEW).]
H. Five members of the public representing the agricultural sector, appointed by the commissioner; and [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. XX, §2 (NEW).]
I. One member of the public with expertise in public health, appointed by the commissioner. [PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. XX, §2 (NEW).]
The 7 members of the public appointed by the commissioner serve on the advisory committee for terms of 3 years. Members may be appointed for consecutive terms. Members who are Legislators are appointed for the duration of the legislative terms of office for which they were appointed.
[PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. XX, §2 (NEW).]
2. Chairs. The first-named Senate member is the Senate chair and the first-named House of Representatives member is the House chair of the advisory committee.
[PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. XX, §2 (NEW).]
3. Reports. The advisory committee shall hold at least 2 public hearings annually to seek input from the public on efforts to meet the purposes of the fund. All proceedings of the advisory committee are public proceedings within the meaning of Title 1, chapter 13, subchapter 1. Notwithstanding Title 1, section 403, subsection 6, all records of proceedings of the advisory committee are public and subject to the requirements of Title 1, section 403, subsection 2. The advisory committee shall report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over agricultural matters and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over environmental matters annually, beginning March 1, 2023, on the input from subject matter experts under subsection 1 and members of the public on issues relating to the purposes and the use of the fund. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over agricultural matters and the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over environmental matters may report out legislation related to each annual report to the Legislature in the session when the report is received.
[PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. XX, §2 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2021, c. 635, Pt. XX, §2 (NEW).