Though the Legislature was out of session for February vacation week, the committees kept the MFPC staff busy in with us monitoring five bills on which we did not take a position and providing testimony on two others.
On Thursday we were joined by a number of MFPC members including Sappi, ND Paper, Woodland Pulp and St. Croix Chipping to deliver testimony in strong opposition to the elimination of the BETR tax program, as proposed by Part O of the Supplemental Budget (LD 2212). Other MFPC members that submitted testimony in opposition include Prentiss and Carlisle, Huber, Seven Islands Land Company and TNT Road Company.
As presented, Part O would immediately (and retroactively) increase taxes on approximately 60 forest products industry businesses, resulting in a $4.7 million tax increase over this biennium alone. The proposed tax increase is equivalent to roughly 52 good-paying forest sector jobs per year, jobs that the BETR program has helped our members retain.
Last session, we testified in support of LD 798, a cross-laminated timber (CLT) bond that would help Maine gain a competitive edge in the northeast by de-risking the entry of the first major manufacturer in Maine. Just weeks ago, Krysta testified before the Taxation Committee in support of LD 2044, a bill to update the biofuels tax credit so that it can support this emerging renewable sector at its current stage of development. These efforts—both top priorities for restoring lost markets and growing our forest economy—depend on the confidence of investors who need assurance that Maine values innovation, welcomes investment, and honors its commitments.
Passing Part O of LD 2212 would introduce uncertainty, increase taxes retroactively, and risk undermining the very innovation Maine has worked so hard to attract. The stakes are enormous.
Maine’s $8.3 billion forest products industry supports approximately 29,000 jobs across all 16 counties. Undercutting this sector through retroactive tax increases not only harms manufacturers, but it also harms workers, contractors, loggers, truckers, landowners and entire communities that depend on these wages and markets.
When forest products businesses struggle, entire regions of Maine feel the impact. If you would like to join us in opposition to Part O of LD 2212, please reach out and we will help you submit your testimony.
Our full testimony is available here.
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Also on Thursday, we testified in opposition to LD 395 “An Act To Restore Access To Federal Laws Beneficial To The Wabanaki Nations” and LD 785 “An Act To Enact The Remaining Recommendations Of The Task Force On Changes To The Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act.” Our testimony on the tribal sovereignty is narrowly focused on the need to maintain the existing environmental regulatory regime rather than introducing multiple water quality, air quality and wildlife management measures in a patchwork across the state. We are encouraged to learn of efforts by the administration to work out negotiated language that helps the Tribes continue to advance their goals and are hopeful that the result will be positive for all stakeholders.
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Finally, on Thursday, we attended the Board of Environmental Protection rulemaking, where the final materials list for the Extended Producer Responsibility was adopted. We were pleased that the Board adopted all of the suggestions we had made and that the Department provided such a collaborative approach to the process. We believe that the list and the final rules are positioned to incentivize paper-based products and, with changes advanced last session with LD 1423, some of the costs of the law for our industry have been mitigated. We will continue to work closely with the Department on this program.
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Next Wednesday the Environment and Natural Resources Committee will take up LD 2187 “An Act to Update Certain Water Quality Standards and to Reclassify Certain Waters of the State.” This bill would adopt the recommendations of the Board of Environmental Protection’s Triennial Water Review and MFPC intends to support the bill. If you wish to testify or submit testimony, please reach out to our office for assistance.
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Join MFPC in STRONG OPPOSITION to LD 276
Next Wednesday, MFPC will be testifying in strong opposition to LD 276 “An Act Regarding Inland Fisheries and Wildlife” which would replace the weight and width allowance for ATVs that can be registered in Maine with three classifications of manufacturers specifications based on width and configurations.
This bill completely ignores the work of the Public Access to Private Lands Working Group, which was tasked with reviewing public access issues broadly, who presented a report back to the IFW Committee earlier this session.
Unfortunately, even though it is abundantly clear that law enforcement and landowners are not supported at the level needed to deal with issues that are driven by the increase in pressure on the state ATV trails in recent years. This bill would have serious repercussions for landowners that allow motorized access on their land. Law enforcement issues also remain unresolved, which would lead to even more unresolved conflicts. This bill would likely result in a complete reshaping of how landowners approach motorized access to private land, and would mark the end of the unified statewide network that was the result of the 2020 ATV Taskforce.
According to a survey of our membership last year, this bill, would likely lead to the closure of at least 600 miles of trails on private lands. This would be a an unfortunate and impactful outcome for recreators, landowners and law enforcement alike, so preventing this change remains a top priority for MFPC.
Please consider joining us to testify in opposition to this bill or reaching out to the IFW Committee. If you need assistance submitting or preparing for testimony, please reach out to us.