GROWING MAINE FROM WITHIN:
Promoting Small Business and Entrepreneurship in Maine

If you have trouble reading this e-mail, go to www.mainehousespeaker.org/business/business/bizlistserve2005-04-01.htm.

Speaker of the House John Richardson

Small Business Update
Friday, April 14, 2005

A lot happened at the State House last week regarding the bills in the Small Business Initiative, and we can already count some of our successes. Success sometimes comes through passage of a bill, and sometimes it comes in bringing attention to an issue and working out a non-legislative solution. Check out the RECAP below for details on bills heard in committee so far.

The next wave of public hearings will come Tuesday, April 26, with a number of very exciting bills to watch. Check out the UPCOMING section below for more details.

Here's what's happened in the last two weeks:

• LD 975, An Act to Create Entrepreneurship Internships for Maine High School and College Students.
  Members of the Appropriations Committee voted 7-4 in favor of this bill which would reinstate the MERITS scholarship program. The MERITS scholarship program has a proven track record of helping Maine educators and businesses. Two members of the committee were absent and will vote in the coming days and the bill will then go to the full House and Senate for a vote.
  
  You can learn more about the bill, read Rep. Jeremy Fischer's testimony, and more on the Speaker's Web site.

• LD 1299, Resolve, To Establish the Commission to Study the Efficiency of State Business Assistance Services.
  This bill was dropped and instead the Business Research and Economic Development Committee, which heard the bill, will make a formal request to the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Commission to report back about its activities and about the state of business assistance programs in the state.

  The bill, submitted by Rep. Stan Moody of Readfield, would have created a commission to examine the state's existing small business assistance services and look for where there are duplications of service, where there are gaps, and where improvements could be made.

  The irony is 1) that such a commission already exists, and 2) few people, including those involved in the Working Group on Small Business Growth, which had been examining these issues, knew about it.

  Rep. Moody asked the Committee to withdraw the bill and instead ask the existing Commission to report back to the committee.

  Moody said in his testimony: "I hope, and suspect, that the already-existing Maine Small Business and Entrepreneurship Commission does excellent work. They are charged with overseeing the Small Business Development Center program, and secondarily, they are supposed to 'review, evaluate, and make recommendations to coordinate small business assistance and entrepreneurial programs statewide.' "
  
  You can learn more about the bill, read Rep. Moody's testimony, and more online.

• LD 192, An Act to Establish the Pine Tree Recreation Zone
  Speaker John Richardson was one of the co-sponsors to speak in support of this bill before the Business Research and Economic Development Committee. The bill encourages Maine’s natural resource based recreation industries by providing them with the same sort of considerations provided to other industries that operate in Pine Tree Enterprise Zones.
  
  The committee has not yet made a formal recommendation on this bill.

  More information on the website.
  
  
• LD 1440, An Act to Encourage the Implementation of High-Speed Internet Access in Rural and Isolated Areas
  Rep. Hannah Pingree presented testimony on this bill before the Utilities and Energy Committee on April 5. The committee will discuss this in Work Session on April 26.
  
  Rep. Pingree's testimony, the bill text, and more is availabe online.
  
  
• LD 1192, An Act to Extend Insurance Notification and Protection to Small Businesses and Farms
  Members of the Insurance and Financial Services Committee agreed with bill's sponsor. Rep. David Webster of Freeport, that small business owners need more information from their insurance agents about what their policies cover and don't, and what co-insurance is.
  
  They have asked the Bureau of Insurance to work on an education campaign to work with agents and small business owners to explain their insurance options.
  
  Rep. Webster's interest in the bill arose when constituents, who are farmers, suffered a loss on their home, but were unable to fully collect because of a coinsurance clause. Because their home is covered by the farm's commercial insurance, they were unable to appeal to the Bureau of Insurance as homeowners can.
  
  That information can be found at:
  www.maine.gov/pfr/ins/Farmowners_Brochure.htm
  www.maine.gov/pfr/ins/Businessowners_Brochure.htm
  
  You can learn more about the bill, read Rep. Webster's testimony, and more on the Speaker's Web site.
  
  
• LD 169, An Act to Amend the Law Regarding Resale Certificates.
  This bill is still on the Unfinished Business calendar in the Senate. The bill, as amended, will make it possible to issue resale certificates to retailers with more than $3,000 in gross annual sales (down from the $10,000 in current law), and extends the certificates from one year to three years.
  
  Find the text of the bill online.

Four bills in the Small Business Initiative will be heard in public hearings before legislative committees on Tuesday, April 26. These public hearings are your chance to weigh in on these bills and offer your support, or your suggestions on how to make them better. There will also be one work session on that date.

Here is the schedule of upcoming hearings and work sessions:

Tuesday, April 26

LD 825, An Act to Establish “3-1-1” as a Statewide Business Assistance Line - PUBLIC HEARING
Business Research and Economic Development Committee, Room 208, Cross Office Building, 1 p.m.

Establish a centralized “3-1-1” statewide business assistance and referral service.

LD 1387, An Act to Develop a Statewide Entrepreneurship Curriculum from Kindergarten through College - PUBLIC HEARING
Education Committee, Room 202 Cross Office Building, 1 p.m.

Develop a statewide curriculum to encourage lifelong entrepreneurship and to provide Maine people with the tools needed to be successful.

LD 1015, An Act to Increase Small Business Access to Maine State Contracts - PUBLIC HEARING
Business Research and Economic Development Committee, Room 208, Cross Office Building, 1 p.m.

Directs state agencies to do more outreach to small business community, and offer procurement assistance through the Market Development Center.

LD 1440, An Act to Encourage the Implementation of High-Speed Internet Access in Rural and Isolated Areas - WORK SESSION
Utilities and Energy Committee, Room 211 Cross Office Building, 1 p.m.

Seeks to provide Maine businesses and people with access to affordable broadband internet access.

Tuesday, May 3

LD 1015, An Act to Increase Small Business Access to Maine State Contracts - WORK SESSION
Business Research and Economic Development Committee, Room 208, Cross Office Building, 1 p.m.

LD 825, An Act to Establish “3-1-1” as a Statewide Business Assistance Line - WORK SESSION
Business Research and Economic Development Committee, Room 208, Cross Office Building, 1 p.m.

Wednesday, May 4

LD 1263, An Act to Contain Costs, Reduce Paperwork, and Streamline the Regulatory Process for Maine’s Small Businesses - PUBLIC HEARING
Business Research and Economic Development, Room 208, Cross Office Building, 1 p.m.
(UNCONFIRMED - CHECK THE WEBSITE FOR CONFIRMATION)

Creates the position of the Small Business Ombudsman in the Governor’s Office to advocate for the concerns of Maine’s small businesses. Also reinvigorates the Maine Regulatory Fairness Board charging it to recommend regulatory and statutory changes to enhance the State’s business climate.

Thursday, May 5

LD 1387, An Act to Develop a Statewide Entrepreneurship Curriculum from Kindergarten through College - WORK SESSION
Education Committee, Room 202 Cross Office Building, 1 p.m.

Thursday, May 11

LD 1263, An Act to Contain Costs, Reduce Paperwork, and Streamline the Regulatory Process for Maine’s Small Businesses - WORK SESSION
Business Research and Economic Development, Room 208, Cross Office Building, 1 p.m.
(UNCONFIRMED - CHECK THE WEBSITE FOR CONFIRMATION)

Check our website often for the full list of bill titles in the Small Business Initiative package, and to track the legislation.

Click here for the full list of bill titles included in the Small Business Initiative. The listing includes links so that you can follow the status of the bills throughout the legislative session.

If these issues are important to you, please be sure to check out the proposed legislation and speak to legislators on the Insurance and Financial Services Committee. Or better yet, come to Augusta and testify. Your voice does make a difference, especially at the committee level. See below for links to information about the bills and about how you can testify before a committee or submit written testimony.

You have a right and an obligation to make your voice heard in Augusta. We will send updates as often as we can to let you know which bills are going to public hearing so you can testify or submit testimony. You can also follow legislation by going to the legislative website and looking up various bills.

Testifying or submitting written testimony
Click here to learn more about testifying on a bill or submitting written testimony.

Contacting your legislator
Be sure to contact your legislator about small business legislation and let them know your opinion and suggestions. You can find your legislators in several ways.

To find your local Democratic legislator, go to www.mainehousedems.org/contactus. To find all state representatives, go to http://janus.state.me.us/house/townlist.htm.

These updates will start coming more often now that the proposed legislation is working its way through committees. Watch for updates on how the legislation is faring, and on upcoming public hearings.

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