AUGUSTA – Rep. Morgan Rielly, D-Westbrook, introduced legislation Friday to create a non-lapsing fund within the Maine Office of Community Affairs (MOCA) to spread awareness about Maine’s working waterfronts and help provide technical assistance to the communities who help manage them. LD 1245 would not appropriate immediate funding, but instead would create a container for future funding.
“Without our working waterfronts, our state risks losing out on a major source of revenue and thousands of jobs,” said Rielly. “Establishing this fund will further help to provide technical assistance to our communities in an effort to protect our working waterfronts, along with spreading awareness about their importance.”
Funding could be used, for example, on digital advertisements explaining proper etiquette when using town landings that fishermen and sea farmers access frequently or on mailer campaigns detailing opportunities with local land trusts to conserve working waterfront property.
A work session has been scheduled for Thursday, May 8 in the Joint Standing Committee on Housing and Economic Development.
Rielly is serving his third term in the Maine House of Representatives and is a member of the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources and the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources. He represents a portion of Westbrook.
Contact:
Brian Lee (Rielly) | 305-965-2744