The 131st Maine State Legislature is in full swing. Unlike the past couple years due to the pandemic, the House and Senate as well as legislative committees have been meeting in-person in Augusta, although committee meetings are broadcast online and the public can testify virtually by Zoom as well as in-person. It’s a busy time! Over 2,000 bills were introduced this session. Committees are expected to report out on (i.e., vote on) all bills in their jurisdiction sometime in May in order for the Legislature to wrap up work and adjourn in June.
The Maine Wilderness Guides Organization has selected three priority bills for 2023, and we plan to submit written testimony on all of them. We encourage you to contact your legislators asking for their support of these bills. If you feel especially passionate about any of them, you can consider writing a letter to the editor of your local paper expressing your views. Please contact Melanie Sturm (melanie at mwgo dot org), Advocacy Committee Chair, for more information about these bills or any others you think MWGO should track.
Fund Maine trails: LD 1156 would create a grant program to fund the design, construction, and maintenance of trails of all kinds in Maine, and it would provide $30 million in bond funding for the program over four years. There is very little funding available exclusively for non-motorized and multi-use trails in the state right now, yet trails are heavily used by Maine people, visitors, and guiding businesses. We need to invest in these assets to protect Maine’s brand and expand opportunities for everyone to get outdoors safely. A Maine Trails Program could also be used to tap into federal grant money for trails since matching dollars are required to leverage most federal funds. MWGO signed a letter along with more than 280 other organizations, businesses, and towns in support of the bill that was delivered to the Appropriations Committee at the public hearing on LD 1156 on Thursday, April 27. MWGO already submitted written testimony, which you can read here.
Restore and recognize tribal sovereignty: Like last year, MWGO will continue to stand with the Wabanaki and support the push to restore sovereignty to the four federally recognized Wabanaki tribes in Maine. Negotiations on this bill are still happening, and the bill has not been printed (meaning it doesn’t have an LD number yet, a public hearing hasn’t been scheduled at the Judiciary Committee, and the exact text of the bill is not publicly known).
known collectively as the Wabanaki, “People of the Dawnland
Ban on the sale of painted lead jigs: LD 958 would prohibit the sale of painted lead jigs weighing one ounce or less or measuring 2 1/2 inches or less in length beginning September 1, 2024 and make it illegal to use them beginning September 1, 2026. A public hearing on this bill will be held May 9 at the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee yet. MWGO supports this bill to protect loons and other waterfowl from lead poisoning.
MWGO’s Advocacy Committee continues to track the multitude of bills in this legislative session and may find additional bills that affect MWGO guides, businesses, or the environment in which we operate. As these bills are written, MWGO may provide support or opposition, or sign on to existing support or opposition with partner organizations, but these three bills represent our legislative priorities for the session and are where we will focus our efforts.
MWGO brings a unique perspective to the legislative process, and we’re excited to make sure wilderness guides and affiliated businesses are heard at the State House yet again this year!