Attorney General Issues Draft of Log Harvesting and Hauling Report for Public Comment

January 2, 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

ATTORNEY GENERAL ISSUES DRAFT OF LOG HARVESTING AND HAULING REPORT FOR PUBLIC COMMENT

JANUARY 2, 2009

In April of 2008, the 123rd Maine Legislature passed, and Governor John E. Baldacci signed, an emergency Resolve, Chapter 189, to temporarily suspend certain rate-setting procedures for the forest products industry. To ensure reasonable rates of compensation for the providers of wood harvesting and hauling services in the state, and to assess the impact of Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, Chapter 18 on these services, the Resolve directed the Office of Attorney General conduct a study of the statewide markets for forest products harvesting and hauling services.

Since April of 2008, staff of the Attorney General?s Office, along with representatives of the Departments of Labor and Conservation and the State Planning Office and the services of the Irland Group examined conditions within the forest products industry to determine, what if any, changes to legislation may be necessary to ensure fair competition. The Resolve requires the Attorney General to issue a draft of the report and to solicit public comment before submitting a final report to the Legislature.

The Report is now posted on the Attorney General?s website at http://www.maine.gov/ag/. To request a report be mailed to you, call (207) 626-8502. Comments are due to the Attorney General on or before January 31, 2009. Comments should be submitted via email to Christina.Moylan@maine.gov or by regular mail to the attention of Assistant Attorney General Christina Moylan at the Office of Attorney General, Burton Cross State Office Building, 6th Floor, 111 Sewall Street, Augusta, Maine 04330.

The Attorney General will file a final report to the Legislature on or before February 15, 2009.

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