The Legislature, through its joint standing committees, joint select committees, and special study commissions,
carries out formal and informal inquiries, investigations, reviews and studies on a variety of subjects. Some
of the work, especially review of agency budgets and rules, is undertaken during the session, but studies and lengthier
investigations usually take place during the interim between the sessions.
1. Legislative Studies
Some studies are designed specifically to review executive branch implementation of legislatively created programs.
Others are designed to assist the Legislature in maintaining the level of expertise necessary to react to the
various, complex and changing issues with which it is faced. Studies are often undertaken to review controversial
problems and to seek reasoned solutions to them. Studies may also address issues for which there was insufficient
time or information for a committee or the full Legislature to consider during the session.
With approval of the Legislative Council, joint standing committees (usually through a subcommittee) may study
problems and proposed solutions to issues that are or are expected to be before the Legislature. Individual legislators
may also submit requests to the Legislative Council. The council determines which of the proposed studies to approve,
and may provide budgets for committees to conduct the approved studies. A committee may conduct a study without
council approval; however, the committee members would not receive a per diem or reimbursement for expenses incurred,
nor can staff support be ensured
Occasionally, committees seek approval for nonpartisan staff studies. These are generally information-gathering
studies and do not involve the development of policy proposals.
When expertise from more than one committee or from outside the Legislature is necessary to address an issue,
legislation (generally a resolve or joint order) may be passed establishing a special commission or task force
to conduct a study. The authorizing legislation establishes the membership, outlines the study and provides funding.
Joint select committees, made up of legislators, are usually established by Joint Order.
There are also other opportunities for legislative studies. The Legislative Council may conduct or initiate a
study and direct a committee to report its findings to the council. Laws, resolves or orders may also require
routine legislative review of particular provisions, such as the sales tax and income tax exemptions.
Study groups review pertinent information and testimony, which may be received through public hearings and from
staff, and report their findings to the Legislative Council or to the Legislature. The reports can be narrative
or in the form of suggested legislation. Frequently, the reports are a combination of both narrative and suggested
legislation. If committee members do not agree on the conclusions or recommended legislation, a minority report
or reports may be filed. Reports are written and legislation drafted for the study group by the nonpartisan legislative
staff assigned to the study by the Legislative Council.
2. State Government Evaluation
Maine’s “State Government Evaluation Act” (3 MRSA c. 35) establishes a system of periodic legislative review of
state agencies that receive support from the General Fund. The reviews are conducted according to a schedule contained
in the act by the joint standing committee having jurisdiction over the same matters as the agency being reviewed.
The committee’s review includes an evaluation of each agency’s management and organization, program delivery,
goals and objectives, statutory mandate, and fiscal accountability.
3. Review of Agency Rules
Administrative rules are adopted by executive agencies to assist in implementing laws and to ensure uniform enforcement
and compliance with those laws. In adopting a rule, an agency must comply with the provisions of the Maine Administrative
Procedure Act (5 MRSA c. 375), or the MAPA, which ensures openness, fairness and opportunity for public participation
in the adoption process.
The Legislature has taken a series of actions since the MAPA was originally enacted in 1978 to further strengthen
the Legislature’s oversight of the rule making process.
· Legislative Review of Agency Rules Law (5 MRSA c. 377-A), passed in 1981, provides for review of rules by joint standing committees of the Legislature upon petition of 100 or more people with a substantial interest in the subject of the rule or upon petition of an individual who is adversely affected by the rule.
· An amendment to the MAPA (5 MRSA §8053-A) passed in 1986 requires that agencies provide joint standing committees of the Legislature notices of regulatory agendas and copies of proposed rules prior to their adoption.
· A 1995 amendment to the MAPA requires legislative review of major substantive rules before they may be finally adopted and implemented by the agency (5 MRSA c. 375, subchapter II-A). Agencies file provisionally adopted major substantive rules with the Legislature. The appropriate joint standing committees review the rules and make a recommendation to the full Legislature on whether the rule should be finally adopted and go into effect.
4. Oversight of Agency Budgets
Most executive agency budgets are reviewed by the Joint Standing Committee on Appropriations and Financial Affairs.
The Appropriations Committee holds public hearings on each department budget and reports its decisions to the
Legislature in the form of a bill. The Highway Fund is a special case. The budget for that fund, in the form
of a bill, is reviewed and reported out by the Transportation Committee. The budget bills of a few other independent
agencies and agencies funded with dedicated revenue or certain federal block grant money are also referred to and
reported out of a policy committee rather than the Appropriations Committee. A more detailed description of the
budget process is found in the section on The Budget Process.
Pursuant to the Joint Rules, the various joint standing committees play a role in reviewing the budgets of agencies
within their subject matter jurisdiction. These committees report their recommendations to the Appropriations
Committee and participate, through subcommittees, in the Appropriations Committee deliberations on relevant portions
of the budget.
5. Review of Gubernatorial Appointments
The joint standing committees of the Legislature are responsible for reviewing gubernatorial appointments as provided
by law. Their recommendations on nominees are reported to the Senate for confirmation or denial. The requirements
of this process are established by the Constitution of Maine (Article V, Part First, Section 8) and statutory law
(3 MRSA c. 6). The process followed by the committees is outlined in Joint Rules 501 through 508.