LD 1995:  An Act To Make Supplemental Appropriations and Allocations for the Expenditures of State Government, General Fund and Other Funds and To Change Certain Provisions of the Law Necessary to the Proper Operations of State Government for the Fiscal Years Ending June 30, 2022 and June 30, 2023 – State Budget, signed into law by Governor Janet Mills 

House RC #592 | Senate RC #790
 

LD 1995 was the state’s supplemental budget, and in this budget, the Legislature prioritized public schools, the students they serve, and the educators who work in them.  Highlights of the new state budget including the following: 

• Maintains 55% state funding for schools – an historic achievement after nearly two decades of advocacy from the MEA.   
• Provides free meals to all students in public schools and pays for the program with state funding.   
• Provides free community college to all graduates from the classes of 2020-2023.   
• Huge improvements for our pensions, including lifting the cumulative COLA by an additional 1% and lifts the base amount by 2.4% in order to keep pension benefits on par with inflation.  
• Provides substantial tax exemptions for our pension benefits, from the current exemption of $10,000 to $25,000, and continues to lift the state income tax exemption by $5,000 per year until the exemption reaches $35,000.   

• In addition, educators and retirees who meet certain income thresholds will be eligible for $850 relief payments from the state.  You must file taxes to qualify for the one-time payment of $850.  The income thresholds are as follows — $100,000 for a single filer, $150,000 for a head-of-household filer, and $200,000 for joint filers.  The $850 one-time payment is in addition to the improvements noted above.  So be sure to file your taxes to receive the one-time payment. 

LD 775:  An Act To Include within the Definitions of “Public Employee” and “Judicial Employee” Those Who Have Been Employed for Less Than 6 Months 
Sponsored by Representative Michael Sylvester of Portland, signed into law by Governor Janet Mills 

House RC #518 | Senate RC #705 
 

While this bill had a long title, the purpose was simple.  Before this new law, the definition of a “public employee” excluded anyone who had been employed for less than 6 months.  Some districts were beginning to use this loophole to exclude educators from MEA services and representation.  Working with Representative Sylvester and other public employee unions, we passed a bill to remove the “6 month” exception and closed that loophole.  This means educators can have access to MEA services and representation the day they start working, not 6 months later.   

LD 1820:  An Act To Strengthen the Governance of the Maine Community College System and University of Maine System  
Sponsored by Representative Rebecca Millett of Cape Elizabeth, vetoed by Governor Janet Mills 

House RC #470 | Senate RC #751  
 

LD 1820 would have created 3 new nonvoting seats on the UMaine System Board of Trustees – a seat for a faculty representative, and a seat for a staff and adjunct representative.  Despite our best efforts, Governor Mills vetoed this bill after it passed the House and the Senate.  We will continue our efforts to make sure educators and faculty in our higher education systems have the voices they need to positively impact their colleges and universities and their students.  

LD 912:  An Act To Extend Family Medical Leave to Hourly School Employees  
Sponsored by Representative Amy Roeder of Bangor, signed into law by Governor Janet Mills 

House RC #363 | Senate RC #446  
 

Prior to LD 912, hourly school employers were often denied Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) protections because hourly employees are required to work 900 hours before they qualify for these protections.  Yet, many hourly employees may not work 900 hours in a school year, or they may not reach the 900-hour threshold until very late in the school year.  This bill makes clear, if an hourly school employee works 900 hours in the previous school year, they will qualify for FMLA protections in the next school year.  In addition, this bill expands FMLA protections for school employees by requiring employers to maintain health insurance benefits for hourly employees that need to use FMLA leave.  

LD 912:  An Act To Extend Family Medical Leave to Hourly School Employees  
Sponsored by Representative Amy Roeder of Bangor, signed into law by Governor Janet Mills 

House RC #363 | Senate RC #446  
 

Prior to LD 912, hourly school employers were often denied Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) protections because hourly employees are required to work 900 hours before they qualify for these protections.  Yet, many hourly employees may not work 900 hours in a school year, or they may not reach the 900-hour threshold until very late in the school year.  This bill makes clear, if an hourly school employee works 900 hours in the previous school year, they will qualify for FMLA protections in the next school year.  In addition, this bill expands FMLA protections for school employees by requiring employers to maintain health insurance benefits for hourly employees that need to use FMLA leave.  

LD 449:  An Act To Strengthen the Ability of Public Employers and Unions To Negotiate 
Sponsored by Representative David McCrea of Fort Fairfield, became law without the Governor’s signature 

House RC #228 | Senate RC #326  

LD 449 is designed to render so-called “zipper clauses” as moot and would negate the impact of these clauses.  Zipper clauses are used by management to prevent negotiation or discussion with local leaders about issues as they arise.  However, we expect the new law will be revisited in the next legislative session, so please discuss with your Uniserv Director if you have any questions.  

LD 1823:  An Act To Amend the Enforcement Provisions of the Law Governing Earned Paid Leave 
Sponsored by Representative Rebecca Millett of Cape Elizabeth, signed into law by Governor Janet Mills 

Senate RC #616  

This bill is a simple fix to the new earned paid leave law that was passed in 2019 and provides 5 days of paid leave for nearly all workers in the state.  Some attorneys were reading the new law to prohibit the local contract for enforcing the new state law.  LD 1823 clarifies this misunderstanding and explicitly states that enforcement of the law can be subject to the local grievance process. 

LD 1874:  An Act To Clarify COVID-19 Paid Leave for School Employees 
Sponsored by Representative Bruce White of Waterville, signed into law by Governor Janet Mills 

Passed unanimously by the House and Senate, no recorded roll call vote 

This new law signed expands and clarifies LD 993, passed by the Legislature last year.  The new law provides up to 15 days of paid leave for all school employees for COVID-related absences, including if the absence is due to the closure of a school/child care center and the school employee must care for a child.  The law is retroactive to January 1, 2021 and also provides that any school employee who had no leave to use and had to go unpaid due to a COVID-related absence must be paid.  Beginning April 15, 2022 in order for a school employee to access the 15 days, the would need to have less than 60 days of accrued leave.  If you have any questions, please reach out to your local association leaders and/or MEA Uniserv Director if you have any questions.