Weekly Rulemaking Notices Contact Us Find It

Notices are published each Wednesday to alert the public regarding state agency rule-making. You may obtain a copy of any rule by notifying the agency contact person. You may also comment on the rule, and/or attend the public hearing. If no hearing is scheduled, you may request one -- the agency may then schedule a hearing, and must do so if 5 or more persons request it. If you are disabled or need special services to attend a hearing, please notify the agency contact person at least 7 days prior to it. Petitions: you can petition an agency to adopt, amend, or repeal any rule; the agency must provide you with petition forms, and must respond to your petition within 60 days. The agency must enter rule-making if the petition is signed by 150 or more registered voters, and may begin rule-making if there are fewer. You can also petition the Legislature to review a rule; the Executive Director of the Legislative Council (115 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333, phone 207/287-1615) will provide you with the necessary petition forms. The appropriate legislative committee will review a rule upon receipt of a petition from 100 or more registered voters, or from "...any person who may be directly, substantially and adversely affected by the application of a rule..." (Title 5 Section 11112). World-Wide Web: Copies of the weekly notices and the full texts of adopted rule chapters may be found on the World-Wide Web at: http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rcn/apa/.

AGENCY: 10-144 - Department of Human Services, Bureau of Family Independence
RULE TITLE OR SUBJECT: Ch. 301, Food Stamp Manual - Income Verification
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2003-P73
CONCISE SUMMARY: Current policy in Food Stamps mandates that in cases with income, the income for the eight weeks preceding an application or review be verified and averaged. This policy will change the eight-week time frame to a four-week period. This will allow more consistency when determining eligibility for this program and will mirror the procedure for other programs within the Bureau of Family Independence.
THIS RULE WILL NOT HAVE A FISCAL IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: 22 MRSA §3104
PUBLIC HEARING: None scheduled unless requested by 5 or more people.
DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS: May 9, 2003
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Richard Morrow, Food Stamp Program Manager
AGENCY NAME: Department of Human Services, Bureau of Family Independence
ADDRESS: 11 State House Station, Whitten Road, Augusta ME 04333-0011
TELEPHONE: (207) 287-5093
TTY: (207) 287-6948

AGENCY: 10-144 - Department of Human Services, Bureau of Medical Services
RULE TITLE OR SUBJECT: Ch. 101, MaineCare Benefits Manual (formerly Maine Medical Assistance Manual): Ch. III, Section 67, Principles of Reimbursement for Nursing Facilities.
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2003-P74
CONCISE SUMMARY: This proposed rule will implement changes to MaineCare Nursing Facilities Principles of Reimbursement. Changes in this proposed rule include: removing return on net assets for nonprofit providers; making nursing facility provider tax an allowable cost; clarifying the trigger for an occupancy adjustment; increasing direct care cost reimbursement for nursing facilities with actual direct care costs less than 75% of the median; reimbursing 50% of allowable un-reimbursed direct care costs for certain fiscal years; supplemental payments based on adjusted direct care costs and restructuring payments to brain injury facilities. These changes were implemented via emergency rule effective from 4/1/2003 to 6/29/2003. This proposed rulemaking enables public on the changes through the regular rulemaking process.
THIS RULE WILL NOT HAVE A FISCAL IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: 22 MRSA §§ 142, 3173, 254, 258
PUBLIC HEARING: April 30, 2003 at 2:00 p.m. in Conference Room #1, 442 Civic Center Drive, Augusta, Maine. Any interested party requiring special arrangements to attend the hearing must contact the agency person listed below before April 14, 2003.
See http://www.maine.gov/bms/rulemaking/ for rules and related rulemaking documents.
DEADLINE FOR COMMENTS: May 12, 2003
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Marianne Ringel, Division of Policy and Provider Services
AGENCY NAME: Bureau of Medical Services
ADDRESS: 11 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0011
TELEPHONE: (207) 287-9371
FAX: (207) 287-9369
TTY: 1 (800) 423-4331 or (207) 287-1828 (Deaf/Hard of Hearing)

AGENCY: 65-407 - Public Utilities Commission

CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 280, Provision of Competitive Telecommunications Services
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2003-81
CONCISE SUMMARY: This rulemaking proposes to amend Section 8 of Ch. 280. Section 8 governs the establishment of intrastate access rates by local exchange carriers that are paid by interexchange carriers for the use of the local exchange carriers' networks. The proposed amendments are designed to implement 35-A MRSA §7101-B, which requires intrastate access rates that are less than or equal to interstate access rates.

CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 285, Maine Telecommunications Education Access Fund
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2003-82
CONCISE SUMMARY: This rulemaking proposes to amend Ch. 285, which established the Maine Telecommunications Education Access Fund (MTEAF). The MTEAF provides funding to schools and libraries for the purposes stated in 35-A MRSA §7104-B. The proposed amendments are designed to make the collection of contributions from telecommunications entities that must contribute to the Fund and the collection of contributions under Ch. 288 (High Cost Universal Service Fund) consistent with each other.

CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 288, Maine Universal Service Fund
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2003-83
CONCISE SUMMARY: This rulemaking proposes to amend Ch. 288, which established the High Cost Universal Service Fund. That Fund provides support for "high cost" local exchange telephone companies that are not able to maintain affordable rates for local exchange service without that support. Some of the proposed amendments are designed to make the collection of contributions from telecommunications carriers that must contribute to the Fund and the collection of contributions under Ch. 285 (Maine Telecommunications Education Access Fund) consistent with each other. Other proposed amendments establish an application process for "high cost" companies and modify the provisions that allow contributing carriers to charge a surcharge on their customers for the recovery of their contributions.

EFFECTIVE DATE: April 1, 2003
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Paula J Cyr
AGENCY NAME: Public Utilities Commission
ADDRESS: 242 State Street, Station 18, Augusta, ME 04333-0018
TELEPHONE: (207) 287-3831

AGENCY: 10-144 - Department of Human Services, Bureau of Medical Services
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 101, MaineCare Benefits Manual (formerly Maine Medical Assistance Manual): Ch. III, Section 67, Principles of Reimbursement for Nursing Facilities
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2003-84
CONCISE SUMMARY: This rule adopts changes to the MaineCare Principles of Reimbursement for Nursing Facilities to enable publicly owned Nursing Facilities to be eligible for reimbursement up to the Medicare rates. Additional changes adopted include excluding residents classified "awaiting placement" to residential care from the calculation of the case mix index; and deleting Section 121 Certificate of Need Extraordinary Circumstance Allowance.
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 1, 2003
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Julie Tosswill, Medical Care Administrator
AGENCY NAME: Policy Development, Bureau of Medical Services
ADDRESS: 442 Civic Center Drive, 11 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0011
TELEPHONE: (207) 287-9360
TTY#: (207) 287-1828 or 1 (800) 423-4331

AGENCY: 17-229 - Department of Transportation
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 700, Transit Bonus Payment Program Rules
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2003-87
CONCISE SUMMARY: Municipalities that increase their support for Public Transit above their Fiscal Year 2001 contribution will be given a like increase in their Urban Rural Initiative Program (URIP) payment. That increase will be above and beyond their standard URIP payment but must be used only for the purposes authorized in the URIP Program. This amount will be calculated during the URIP certification process based on documentation of the increased contribution to public transit. This payment will be available to municipalities who increase support to either seasonal or year round scheduled transit of at least 5 days per week. This is for services that have been in operation for at least 3 years. Payments will begin in State Fiscal Year '04.
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 5, 2003
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Barbara Donovan
AGENCY NAME: Department of Transportation
ADDRESS: Office of Passenger Transportation, 16 State House Station, Augusta ME 04333-0016
TELEPHONE: (207) 624-3250

AGENCY: 03-201 - Department of Corrections
RULE TITLE OR SUBJECT: Ch. 10, Policy and Procedures Manual: Subsection 27.2, Supervised Community Confinement Program - EMERGENCY
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2003-88
CONCISE SUMMARY: The Maine Department of Corrections is EMERGENCY adopting a proposal to revise the existing policy, procedures, and rules governing the Supervised Community Confinement Program Policy pursuant to 34-A MRSA, section 3036-A to implement the changes to the Supervised Community Confinement Program that are necessary, due to overcrowding in the facilities, to avoid an immediate threat to the public health, safety or general welfare. Providers and the public will have the opportunity to comment on the changes to this rule through the concurrent proposed rule.
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 31, 2003
AGENCY NAME: Maine Department of Corrections
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Ellis King
ADDRESS: State House Station 111, Augusta, Maine 04333-0111
TELEPHONE: (207) 287-4342

AGENCY: 29-250 - Department of the Secretary of State
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 900, Rules for the Administration of the Address Confidentiality Program
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2003-89
CONCISE SUMMARY: This rule facilitates the administration of the Address Confidentiality Program. The rule describes the manner and process for application to the program by prospective participants and application assistants. The rule further includes sections on cancellation of program certification, exercise of program participant privileges, program participation renewal, application for agency exemption requests, disclosure to law enforcement and service of process.
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 5, 2003
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: John T. Smith
AGENCY NAME: Maine Department of the Secretary of State
ADDRESS: 148 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333
TELEPHONE: (207) 626-8409

AGENCY: 10-144 - Department of Human Services, Bureau of Medical Services
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 101, MaineCare Benefits Manual, Ch. III, Section 45, Hospital Services
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2003-93
CONCISE SUMMARY: These emergency rule changes amend the outpatient reimbursement methodology for non-governmental psychiatric hospitals from cost based reimbursement to a negotiated rate.
A copy of the rule, interested parties letter and Maine Administrative Procedure Act(MAPA-4) form are available at the following website http://www.maine.gov/bms/rulemaking/
EFFECTIVE DATE: April 1, 2003
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Greg Nadeau, Health Planner
AGENCY NAME: Division of Policy and Provider Services
ADDRESS: 11 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0011
TELEPHONE: (207) 287-9367, 1 (800) 321-5557 option 9
TTY (207) 287-3094 or 1 (800) 423-4331

AGENCY: 10-144 - Department of Human Services, Bureau of Medical Services
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Emergency Rule, Ch. 101, MaineCare Benefits Manual: Ch. III, Section 67, Principles of Reimbursement for Nursing Facilities
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2003-94
CONCISE SUMMARY: Changes in this emergency rule include: removing return on net assets for nonprofit providers; making nursing facility provider tax an allowable cost; clarifying the trigger for an occupancy adjustment; increasing direct care cost reimbursement for nursing facilities with actual direct care costs less than 75% of the median; reimbursing 50% of allowable unreimbursed direct care costs for certain fiscal years; supplemental payments based on adjusted direct care costs and restructuring payments to brain injury facilities. Public comment on these rules will take place by the parallel rulemaking though the regular proposed rulemaking process.
See http://www.maine.gov/bms/rulemaking for rule and related rulemaking documents.
EFFECTIVE DATE April 1, 2003 through June 29, 2003
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Marianne Ringel
AGENCY NAME: Bureau of Medical Services
ADDRESS: 11 State House Station, 442 Civic Center Drive, Augusta, Maine 04333-0011
TELEPHONE: (207) 287-9368
TTY: 1 (800) 423-4331 or (207) 287-1828 (Deaf or Hard of Hearing)

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