November 9, 2011

WEEKLY NOTICES OF STATE RULE-MAKING
Public Input for Proposed and Adopted Rules

Notices are published each Wednesday to alert the public regarding state agency rule-making. You may obtain a copy of any rule by notifying the agency contact person. You may also comment on the rule, and/or attend the public hearing. If no hearing is scheduled, you may request one -- the agency may then schedule a hearing, and must do so if 5 or more persons request it. If you are disabled or need special services to attend a hearing, please notify the agency contact person at least 7 days prior to it. Petitions: you can petition an agency to adopt, amend, or repeal any rule; the agency must provide you with petition forms, and must respond to your petition within 60 days. The agency must enter rule-making if the petition is signed by 150 or more registered voters, and may begin rule-making if there are fewer. You can also petition the Legislature to review a rule; the Executive Director of the Legislative Council (115 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333, phone 207/287-1615) will provide you with the necessary petition forms. The appropriate legislative committee will review a rule upon receipt of a petition from 100 or more registered voters, or from "...any person who may be directly, substantially and adversely affected by the application of a rule..." (Title 5 Section 11112). World-Wide Web: Copies of the weekly notices and the full texts of adopted rule chapters may be found on the internet at: http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules. There is also a list of rule-making liaisons, who are single points of contact for each agency.

PROPOSALS


AGENCY: 02-031 - Bureau of Insurance
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 680, Medical Liability Demonstration Project
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2011-P237 (Repeal)
CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING / SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION: Sarah Hewett, Maine Bureau of Insurance, 34 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333. Telephone: (207) 624-8412. E-mail: Sarah.Hewett@Maine.gov .
PUBLIC HEARING: None Scheduled
COMMENT DEADLINE: 5:00 p.m. on December 9, 2011
BRIEF SUMMARY: Repeal of the rule is proposed due to termination of program and repeal of statutory authority by 1999 PL c. 668.
IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: None
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: Repealed. Authority for Repeal: 24-A MRSA §212
SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED: Not applicable
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/pfr/insurance/ .
INSURANCE RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Thomas.M.Record@Maine.gov .


AGENCY: 02-031 - Bureau of Insurance
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 690, 24 Hour Coverage Pilot Projects
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2011-P238 (Repeal)
CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING / SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION: Sarah Hewett, Maine Bureau of Insurance, 34 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333. Telephone: (207) 624-8412. E-mail: Sarah.Hewett@Maine.gov .
PUBLIC HEARING: None Scheduled
COMMENT DEADLINE: 5:00 p.m. on December 9, 2011
BRIEF SUMMARY: Repeal of the rule is proposed due to repeal of statutory authority by 39-A MRSA §403(2)(D), effective January 1, 2001.
IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: None
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: Repealed. Authority for Repeal: 24-A MRSA §212
SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED: Not applicable
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/pfr/insurance/ .
INSURANCE RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Thomas.M.Record@Maine.gov .


AGENCY: 06—096 - Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 305, Permit by Rule Standards, Section 20: Activities located in, on or over high or moderate value inland waterfowl and wading bird habitat, or shorebird nesting, feeding, and staging areas
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2011-P239
CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING: Mike Mullen, Department of Environmental Protection, 17 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0017. Telephone: (207) 446-1611. E-mail: Mike.Mullen@Maine.gov .
CONTACT PERSON FOR SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION: Julie Churchill. Telephone: (207) 287-7811. E-mail: Julie.M.Churchill@Maine.gov .
PUBLIC HEARING: December 1, 2011 at 9:00 a.m., Department of Public Safety – Florian Hall, 45 Commerce Drive, Augusta, ME
COMMENT DEADLINE: 5:00 p.m. on December 12, 2011 -- Comments may be submitted by mail, e-mail or fax to the contact person listed above. To ensure the comments are considered, they must include your name and the organization you represent, if any.
BRIEF SUMMARY: In P. L. 2011 Ch. 359, the Department of Environmental Protection is directed to amend its rules concerning permit by rule (PBR) under the Natural Resources Protection Act to allow activities occurring in high or moderate value waterfowl and wading bird habitat to be eligible for PBR. The proposed amendments to Ch. 305 Section 20 will allow new development in moderate value inland waterfowl and wading bird habitat provided the development is located at least 100 feet back from the wetland and occupies no more than 20% of the lot within the habitat. These are major substantive rules.
IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: No impact is anticipated.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: 38 MRSA §341-D(1), 38 MRSA §480-H, and P. L. 2011 Ch. 359
SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED: P. L. 2011 Ch. 359
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dep/ .
DEP RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Terry.Dawson@Maine.gov .


AGENCY: 05-071 – Department of Education (DOE)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 101, Maine Unified Special Education Regulation Birth to Age Twenty
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2011-P240
CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING / SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION: Joanne C. Holmes, Federal State Legislative Liaison, Department of Education, 23 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333. Telephone: (207) 624-6669. E-mail: Jaci.Holmes@Maine.gov .
PUBLIC HEARING: December 1, 2011 from 10:00-11:00 a.m. in Room 500 of the Cross State Office Building, State Complex, Augusta
COMMENT DEADLINE: December 30, 2011 at 4 p.m.
BRIEF SUMMARY: The Department of Education is proposing several amendments to Ch. 101 to comply with recently enacted Federal Part C (Birth -2) regulations for the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [IDEA]:
* In Childfind (Section IV): the timeline for referral to a regional site after a child has been identified has changed from two to ‘as soon as possible but no later than seven days’, new post referral procedures, clarification of the definition of initial evaluation and initial assessments, clarification that in the case of a child who is limited English proficient, native language means the language normally used by the parents of the child, steps to be taken when a child is determined not to be eligible;
* In the Individualized Plan Membership (Section VI): that the IFSP team must have the parent and two or more individuals from separate disciplines or professions with one of these individuals being the service coordinator and  new language with timelines for the transition into Part B, Section 619;
* In the Individualized Plans (Section IX) the parental consent requirements have been amended to reflect that the Department cannot use due process to challenge a parents refusal to provide consent, in the case of surrogates a 30-day timeline requirement has been added to make reasonable efforts to ensure the assignment of a surrogate parent, and a new requirement that the parent be provided at no cost of each evaluation, assessment of the child, family assessment, and the IFSP as soon as possible after each IFSP meeting;
* In Education Records (Section XIV) language has been added to address confidentiality of personally identifiable information and early intervention records; and
* In Special Education Finance (Section XVIII) language has been added related to use of public benefits or insurance or private insurance to pay for Part C services.
In addition references to pre-referral have been amended to use the term general education. These should have been taken care of in the June 2011 final adoption.
IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: None
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: 20-A MRSA §7005(1)
SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED (if different):
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/education/index.shtml .
DOE RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Greg.Scott@Maine.gov .

ADOPTIONS


AGENCY: 29-250 - Secretary of State, Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 168, The Administration and Issuance of USDOT Numbers for Certain Intrastate Motor Carriers
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2011-378
CONCISE SUMMARY: This chapter outlines the procedures and standards for the issuance of United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) numbers to those intrastate motor carriers subject to 29-A MRSA §555-A.
EFFECTIVE DATE: November 2, 2011
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Garry Hinkley, Bureau of Motor Vehicles,29 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0029. Telephone: (207) 624-9055. E-mail: Garry.Hinkley@Maine.gov .
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/sos/bmv/ .
BMV RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Thomas.Arnold@Maine.gov .


AGENCY: 19-498 – Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD), Office of Community Development (OCD)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 40, Program Statement for Administering the 2012 Maine Community Development Block Grant Program
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2011-379
CONCISE SUMMARY: This rule will allow DECD to allocate the federal funds in accordance with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development regulations. It describes the design and method of distribution of funds of the Maine Community Development Block Grant Program.
EFFECTIVE DATE: November 5, 2011
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Deborah Johnson, Deputy Director – OCD, Department of Economic & Community Development, Office of Community Development, DECD/OCD, State House Station 59, 111 Sewall Street, Augusta, Maine 04333-0059. Telephone: (207) 624-9817. E-mail: Deborah.Johnson@Maine.gov .
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/decd/meocd/ .
DECD RULE-MAKING LIAISON: George.Gervais@Maine.gov .


AGENCY: 99-346 - Maine State Housing Authority (MSHA)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 19, Homeless Programs Rule
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2011-397
CONCISE SUMMARY: The Maine State Housing Authority uses funds from certain federal and state resources to give grants to agencies for a variety of activities to assist people who are experiencing homelessness or the risk of being homeless. The replacement Homeless Programs Rule continues the current methodology for funding emergency shelters which is based on the number of homeless persons who stay at each shelter. In addition, the replacement rule authorizes MaineHousing to use funds to create new programs to support entities that offer an integrated array of serves to meet the health, housing, employment, and other basic needs of homeless persons consistent with the Federal Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing Act of 2009 (the “HEARTH Act”). The replacement rule governs MaineHousing’s allocation of resources for such programs, program design, the publication and distribution of program guides, basic criteria for determining eligible recipients, and potential selection criteria. In addition, the replacement rule provides a method for new shelter beds to be included in the emergency shelter funding allocation and elaborates upon data collection requirements.
EFFECTIVE DATE: November 7, 2011
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON / RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Linda Uhl, Chief Counsel, Maine State Housing Authority, 353 Water Street, Augusta, Maine 04330-4633. TELEPHONE: (207) 626-4600. TTY: (800) 452-4603 (TYY). E-mail: luhl@mainehousing.org .
WEBSITE: http://www.mainehousing.org/ .


AGENCY: 10-144 - Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office for Family Independence
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 301, Food Supplement Certification Manual, Approved Rule #172A: Update to Telephone Standard, “Group Living Arrangement” Clarification)…. -- FS-444-5 pgs. 1-4, FS-555-5 pg.7
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2011-398
CONCISE SUMMARY: This rule will decrease the telephone standard allowance from $42 to $40 per month. It will also correct the Group Living Arrangement rule text so that it is consistent with the Federal definition of a “Group Living Arrangement”, which is not specific to the “developmentally-disabled.”
EFFECTIVE DATE: November 8, 2011
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Karen L. Curtis, Food Supplement Program Manager, Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Family Independence, 11 State House Station, 442 Civic Center Drive,Augusta ME 04333-0011. Telephone: (207) 287-7118. TTY: (800) 606-0215. E-mail: Karen.L.Curtis@Maine.gov .
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ofi/ .


AGENCY: 13-188 - Department of Marine Resources
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 25.04, Lobster Trawl Limits, (C): Beals Island to Libby Island, Washington County
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2011-399
CONCISE SUMMARY: This adopted regulation limits the number of traps per trawl to no more than four (4) in the vicinity of Beals Island to Libby Island. The boundary of the area starts at Kelly Point, Jonesport, to Freeman Rock, Jonesport, to a point approximately 9.7 statute miles due ENE or 60 degrees, then back to Cow Point, Roque Bluffs. The Zone A Lobster Management Council requested the proposed regulation, which is for purposes of preventing accidents and personal injuries as a result of trawls being set over regular trap gear.
EFFECTIVE DATE: November 9, 2011
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Laurice Churchill, Department of Marine Resources, PO Box 8, West Boothbay Harbor, Maine 04575-0008. Telephone: (207) 633-9584. TTY: (207) 633-9500. E-mail: Laurice.Churchill@Maine.gov .
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dmr/index.htm .