AUGUSTA - The Maine Commission for Community Service briefed the Legislature's Environment and Natural Resources (ENR) Committee on the establishment of the Maine Climate Corps in their new report, an effort spurred by Rep. Morgan Rielly, D-Westbrook, on Monday.
LD 722, Resolve, To Study the Establishment of the Maine Climate Corps, sponsored by Rielly, was signed into law last June. The legislation was developed as a means of addressing Maine's climate crisis while creating work opportunities for Mainers, with a specific focus on underserved communities.
Under this legislation, the Maine Commission for Community Service, also known as Volunteer Maine, was tasked with studying and identifying short-term projects within Maine state agencies that can be adapted into service learning projects aligned with the Maine Climate Council's Maine Won't Wait, A Four-Year Plan for Climate Action.
"It was a privilege working on the Report Oversight Task Force for the Maine Climate Corps," said Rielly. "I'm proud of the report that Volunteer Maine has submitted to the ENR Committee and the work they did alongside stakeholders and those interested. I'm excited by what the Maine Climate Corps will accomplish."
The report recommends authorizing the Maine Climate Corps with the flexibility to put together programming that will address issues facing communities across Maine, including: coastal zones, transportation, energy, housing, land and fresh water preservation, community resilience, education and public health. Specifically, the program will prioritize 11 project areas, including community resilience planning, energy, education and outreach, home energy conservation and management, shoreline monitoring and stabilization, among others.
Forthcoming legislation proposed by the ENR Committee would establish the Maine Climate Corps under the Maine Commission for Community Service and initial funding for the program, along with one-time funding for the Maine Service Fellows Program ( LD 1010), another service program led by Rielly, as recommended in the report. A public hearing will be scheduled soon.
Rielly is serving his first term in the Maine House of Representatives as a member of the Veterans and Legal Affairs Committee. He represents a portion of Westbrook.
Contact:
Jackie Merrill [Rielly], c. 812-1111