By now all Legislative Committees have started to meet. Some committees are still conducting orientation meetings, while others have started public hearings.
On Monday, the Appropriation and Financial Affairs Committee began hearing public testimony Governor Mills proposed supplemental budget. Hearings ran through Thursday of this week and were held virtually.
The focus of the hearing on Monday surrounded the taxation of certain federal funds awarded to businesses in Maine. As part of the new supplemental budget, federal Paycheck Protection Loans would be subject to taxes in an effort to offset the budget.
The Energy Utilities and Technology Committee and the Environmental and Natural Resources Climate Council started committee orientations this week and both committees were briefed on the Maine Climate Council by Hannah Pingree, Director, Governor’s Office of Policy Innovation and the Future and Dan Burgess, Director, Governor’s Energy Office. In addition, the committees heard from the Public Utilities Commission, the Efficiency Maine Trust and the Department of Economic and Community Development.