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132nd MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST SPECIAL SESSION-2025
Legislative Document No. 1372H.P. 895 House of Representatives, April 1, 2025
An Act to Establish a Special Committee to Review Routine
Technical Rules
Received by the Clerk of the House on March 28, 2025. Referred to the Committee on
State and Local Government pursuant to Joint Rule 308.2 and ordered printed pursuant to Joint
Rule 401.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative SOBOLESKI of Phillips.
Cosponsored by Senator MARTIN of Oxford and
Representatives: DRINKWATER of Milford, FREDERICKS of Sanford, LAVIGNE of
Berwick, PERKINS of Dover-Foxcroft, SMITH of Palermo, THORNE of Carmel, Senator:
BRADSTREET of Kennebec. Page 1 - 132LR0587(01)
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2 is enacted to read:
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4 Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 375
5 to the contrary, routine technical rules as described in section 8071, subsection 2 proposed
6 for adoption or amendment under chapter 375, subchapter 2-A are subject to review by the
7 Special Committee on Regulatory Review, established in this section for the purpose of
8 reviewing routine technical rules, referred to in this section as "the committee."
9 The committee consists of 6 members of the
10 Senate and 6 members of the House of Representatives, and the membership must be
11 evenly divided between each of the 2 parties holding the largest number of seats in each
12 chamber. The appointment of members and the selection of chairs are established by joint
13 rule of the Legislature.
14 Beginning in 2028, the committee shall submit a report to the
15 Legislature listing the routine technical rules as described in section 8071, subsection 2,
16 sorted by agency, that were reviewed in the preceding calendar year and the action taken
17 by the committee on each reviewed rule. The report may also include the following:
18 A. Recommended legislation proposing changes to the process for the adoption of
19 routine technical rules; and
20 B. Recommendations for more effective collaboration among the Legislature, the
21 executive branch and the judicial branch with regard to adoption, enforcement and
22 adjudication of routine technical rules.
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24 Special Committee on Regulatory Review, referred to in this section as "the committee"
25 and established in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 11117, shall establish a
26 process for the committee to review routine technical rules as described in Title 5, section
27 8071, subsection 2 proposed for adoption or amendment pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375,
28 subchapter 2-A. At a minimum, the process must allow for the committee to review
29 proposed routine technical rules for necessity, efficiency and a benefit of the rule to the
30 public and for the committee to approve that a rule be adopted with or without change or
31 to reject adoption of the rule. No later than February 1, 2026, the committee shall submit
32 legislation to the Second Regular Session of the 132nd Legislature proposing to amend
33 Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A as necessary to conform the statutory authority for the
34 adoption of routine technical rules with the review process established by the committee
35 pursuant to this section and to incorporate that review process into law.
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37 This bill establishes the Special Committee on Regulatory Review to review routine
38 technical rules. The committee consists of 6 members of the Senate and 6 members of the
39 House of Representatives, evenly divided between each of the 2 parties holding the largest
40 number of seats in each chamber. The appointment of members and the selection of chairs
41 are established by joint rule of the Legislature. The committee is directed to establish a
42 process for reviewing routine technical rules for necessity, efficiency and the benefit of the
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43 rule to the public. The process must allow the committee to approve the rule with or
44 without changes or reject adoption of the rule. The committee is required to submit
45 legislation proposing to amend the statutory authority for the adoption of routine technical
46 rules to conform to the review process established by the committee.
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