Bills submitted by Washington County legislators would reopen the Downeast Correctional Facility (DCF) in Bucks Harbor, restore the state's revenue sharing to municipalities to 5%, help fight the state's opioid crisis and assist wild blueberry growers, along with addressing many other measures. Most of the bills have not yet been printed, although the deadline for bill requests was December 31. Public hearings on the bills will be held in the coming weeks and months.
     Rep. Will Tuell of East Machias is sponsoring a bill that would provide $5 million in funding to operate and staff the Bucks Harbor prison for two years, but he notes that amount could change and that it's possible that the $10 million that was set aside for a prison facility in Washington County a few years ago could be used. His bill calls for reopening the prison by October 1, but he says that deadline could change. "I'd like to see it happen within the next year or 18 months," he says. "We don't want to be in this boat in another six or eight years and have it closed again." He says that many DCF employees have taken other jobs since the unexpected closure last year, but he expects some might come back.
     If the reopening is approved, Tuell doesn't know if the prison would be in the same facility. He notes that about 10 years ago it was proposed that the county jail be combined with the state prison in a new correctional facility, which he believes would benefit both the state and the county.
     The state's new governor, Janet Mills, recently stated while she was in Eastport that she wants to reopen the Downeast Correctional Facility soon, and while she was the state's attorney general she had opposed how the prison had been closed. Tuell believes that reopening of the prison "will be a push of hers."
     State Senator Marianne Moore of Calais has submitted a similar bill to reopen the prison, and Tuell expects that the bills will be combined into the state budget for this year. Moore's bill would provide for using the $10 million set aside for a correctional facility in Washington County to be used for the combined prison and jail complex. She says her bill may not be necessary, as it's not yet clear whether a new facility or reopening of the existing DCF facility will be pursued.

Revenue-sharing
     Moore has submitted two bills concerning the state's revenue sharing with municipalities. In 2016, the governor's budget reduced the revenue sharing percentage from 5% to 2% of the state sales and income tax revenues. Noting that the percentage is supposed to be 5%, Moore is submitting bills to restore revenue sharing to that percentage and to amend the Maine Constitution so that it cannot be reduced below 5% in the future. "We fear it will be cut again," she states. While running for office, Moore heard from town selectmen and citizens about the impact the revenue sharing cut has had on municipalities, and she notes that the City of Calais had covered the loss by not filling vacant city positions. Restoring the revenue sharing percentage would help municipalities hurt by the state's cost-shifting and less of a burden would then be placed on property taxpayers.

Rewarding schools and adding to county budget committee
    Tuell is sponsoring a bill to provide a funding reward to small rural schools that share administrative services. He notes that Governor LePage's most recent budget had created new service centers, penalizing schools that don't form them. However, many school districts already are "doing what the service centers do," Tuell points out. "Rural schools that are already sharing services should get a benefit and not be penalized." He reports that another bill would eliminate the penalties, so his bill may not be necessary.
     Another bill sponsored by Tuell would add a member to the Washington County Budget Advisory Committee. Noting that the county budget committee "had quite a contentious year," Tuell says the county "came close to not having a county budget. I was the deciding vote to get the budget passed" by the committee. The committee has an even number of members, so having an odd number will avoid having a tie vote on the budget. His bill would add the county's senator to the committee.
     Tuell also has submitted a bill to designate Route 1 from the intersection of 1A in Jonesboro to the southern end of the Jeremiah O'Brien Memorial Bridge in Machias as the Hannah and Rebecca Weston Trail, in honor of the sisters‑in‑law who carried 40 pounds of ammunition to colonists fighting the British at the Battle of the Margaretta in 1775. Another bill would rename the New Crane Bridge in Whiting in honor of purple heart veterans while renaming that stretch of road after Brigadier General John Crane, the founder of Whiting.
     Other bills sponsored by Tuell would allow nighttime fishing by lobstermen in the disputed grey zone from Labor Day through Memorial Day; exempt veterans and fraternal organizations from having to buy a license to play cribbage socially; appoint two law enforcement officers to the state's Criminal Law Advisory Committee; add a second week of muzzle-loader hunting for Washington County and other parts of the state that don't have a two-week season; and set up a special turkey season for youth hunters during Thanksgiving week.

Addressing student hunger and extending Sunrise Trail
     Senator Moore has submitted three bills concerning student hunger. Two of the bills -- to provide for breakfast after the bell and to prohibit food shaming of students if a school lunch bill is not paid -- had been submitted previously by then Senator Joyce Maker. Moore notes that some students are getting on a school bus at 6:15 a.m., with no time for breakfast, and studies have shown the importance of students having breakfast. The breakfast after the bell bill had been vetoed by Governor LePage, and the food shaming bill also was not enacted. Her third bill is the same as one that was previously enacted and would have the Department of Education provide for an online method of registering for free school lunch. However, Moore notes that "nothing has been done" to implement the measure.
     Another bill sponsored by Moore would extend the Downeast Sunrise Trail from Ayers Junction to Calais, with the Sunrise Trail Coalition having recommended extending the multi-use trail corridor along the existing rail bed while protecting the corridor for future rail use. She observes that the current end of the trail does not offer any facilities for those using the trail, while bringing the trail to Calais also would help the city's economy.
     A bill to amend the penalties under the Maine Tree Growth Tax Law that was requested by one of Moore's constituents would allow for a period of time after the sale of land for the new owner to remove the property from tree growth without any penalty or for the original owner to pay the penalty before the land is sold.
     Another of Moore's bills would allow for holistic healthcare providers to receive reimbursement from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The bill calls for the development of licensing requirements by the state for practitioners of aromatherapy, acupuncture, behavior modification or other alternative therapies, so that they can be licensed and then be recognized by the VA.
     Other bills submitted by Moore would provide funding for an administrative assistant position for the St. Croix International Waterway Commission, with $25,000 being provided annually by both the U.S. and Canada; repeal the recently enacted changes to the law governing the tax lien foreclosure process by municipalities, which Moore says created a significant burden on towns; create a school revolving maintenance fund for public school buildings; and require MaineCare reimbursement for lung cancer screening.

Substance use issues
     A number of the bills submitted by Rep. Anne Perry of Calais focus on the state's opioid crisis. "We're not doing well with that, and we need to make sure that providing options for treatment is the biggest thing we're doing," she says, noting that the voter-approved Medicaid expansion, which has now been implemented by Governor Mills, "will make a big difference. We're not helping anyone if they don't have access to treatment."
     A bill submitted by then Senator Joyce Maker of Calais to establish a pilot project in Washington County to address the substance abuse issue ended up being vetoed last year by Governor LePage. Perry is sponsoring a bill that is similar to Maker's bill, after it was amended in committee. It would set up a telephone system so that an initial evaluation could be conducted for those with a substance use disorder and they could be referred to a recovery coach or for other assistance. Perry notes, though, that the phone system should not be statewide but rather by each county, similar to the existing crisis phone system. The bill also would provide funding to reduce barriers to getting help by assisting those with substance use issues with rides or housing.
     Perry also has submitted a bill to create a new Department of Substance Use Disorder Services, which she says could work with other departments in state government around the substance use issue. An Act to Reduce Substance Use Workforce Barriers addresses the question of licensing for health insurance reimbursement.
     To help nursing homes in the state, Perry is sponsoring a bill to allow the facilities to adjust their number of beds as needed and to provide reimbursement for beds that are being held for a patient. With the state's aging population, Perry says she is hoping to help solve some of the issues "so we're not losing so many nursing homes." Washington County now has only three nursing homes, with three having closed in the past seven years.
     Another bill submitted by Perry addresses gun safety in the home and is designed to protect children from accidental injury caused by unsafe storage of firearms. Firearms would either need to be stored in a safe place or have a safety lock on them. Other bills would streamline the process for background checks so that one fingerprinting check is sufficient; make the state's public health infrastructure more effective; and maximize federal funding opportunities to improve public health in the state. Perry has submitted a total of 18 bills, with the remainder all dealing with various healthcare issues.

From blueberries to lobsters to fish farms
     At the request of the Wild Blueberry Commission of Maine, Rep. Robert Alley of Beals is sponsoring a bill that would expand the membership of the commission by adding a member who is a small blueberry grower. With five processors and three small growers currently on the commission, Alley says the growers want to have more of a say in the commission's decisions. He also is submitting a bill to encourage small blueberry growers. Because of the current surplus of berries, caused in part by production increases both in Canadian wild blueberries and in cultivated berries, the number of small growers in the state has decreased significantly, as it has been costing some growers more to raise blueberries than they are getting paid. "They want a level playing field with Canada," Alley says of the growers, since the Canadian growers have been aided by subsidies and a weak Canadian dollar. He adds that the growers are not receiving enough of the profits from wild blueberry sales.
     Alley is co-sponsoring a bill to address the waiting list for those seeking a lobster license. Noting that some people have been waiting for 10 to 12 years, he says the current system "is not fair to them." The bill would allow for new entrants in limited-entry lobster zones for those who have been on a waiting list for 10 or more years. Alley proposes that the number of latent licenses in the fishery be reduced so that additional licenses can be issued.
     Another bill would amend the law governing municipal shellfish conservation programs to allow a research entity, such as the Downeast Institute in Beals, to conduct applied research in conjunction with Department of Marine Resources staff to support a municipal shellfish conservation program.
     Alley says he's supporting a bill that would limit the acreage that can be leased by fish farms in the state and would "scrutinize" the practices of current salmon farms. The list of bill titles does not include such a bill sponsored by Alley, but Rep. Jay McCreight of Harpswell has submitted a bill to establish a task force to study the status and future sustainability of aquaculture in the state. Alley says a number of lobster fishermen in the Jonesport area have been finding dead lobsters in their traps, with one fisherman finding five in one trap. He's concerned that the mortalities might be caused by the sea lice treatment at area salmon farms. "Since they've moved in, there have been all kinds of problems," he says, noting that there is a lot of opposition in the Jonesport area to fish farming. "Everybody should take care of the ocean, saltwater, freshwater streams and wells. Let's not pollute," Alley says. "That's our future out there."
     Rep. Kathy Javner of Chester has sponsored a bill, at the request of a constituent, to increase access to moose and doe permits for the rehabilitation of combat-wounded veterans who are at the House in the Woods rehabilitation center in Lee.
     Passamaquoddy Rep. Rena Newell will release her list of bills once she has met with tribal Chief Marla Dana.