March 21, 2012

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: 94 649 - Maine Commission on Indigent Legal Services
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 401, Guidelines for Determination of Financial Eligibility for Assigned Counsel and Reimbursement for Assigned Counsel Costs
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2012-P32
CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING / SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION: John D. Pelletier, Esq., MCILS Rule-Making Liaison, 154 State House Station, ME 04333. Telephone: (207) 287-3254. Fax: (207) 287-3293. E-mail: John.Pelletier@Maine.gov .
PUBLIC HEARING: April 10, 2012 – 1:00 p.m., Board of Corrections Conference Room, 3rd Floor Marquardt Building, 32 Blossom Lane, Augusta, ME 04333
COMMENT DEADLINE: April 20, 2012
BRIEF SUMMARY: This rule establishes guidelines for the determination of financial eligibility for indigent legal services and for requiring reimbursement of some or all of the cost of those services.
DETAILED BASIS STATEMENT / SUMMARY: This chapter establishes guidelines for determining a person’s financial eligibility for assigned counsel and for determining whether eligible persons should be required to reimburse the state for some or all of the cost of assigned counsel. These guidelines govern the work of financial screeners employed by the commission and are intended to provide guidance to courts in their determination of financial eligibility and the amount, if any, of reimbursement.
IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: none
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: 4 M.R.S. §1804(2)(A), §1804(2)(D)
SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED (if different):
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/mcils/


AGENCY: 90-668 - State Charter School Commission
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 2, Procedures for Commission Authorization of Public Charter Schools
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2012-P33
CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING / SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION: Jennifer Pooler, c/o Department of Education, 23 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333. Telephone: (207) 624-6638. E-mail: Jennifer.Pooler@Maine.gov .
PUBLIC HEARING: April 10, 2012, 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Room 103, Burton Cross Office Building, 111 Sewall Street, Augusta, Maine
COMMENT DEADLINE: April 20, 2012, 5 p.m.
BRIEF SUMMARY: This rule sets forth the process by which the State Charter School Commission solicits, accepts and reviews applications for the formation of public charter schools. The rule also sets forth the performance indicators that will be used as the performance framework for any approved application, and minimum requirements for a charter contract.
IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES (if any):
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: Title 20-A section 2405, subsection 8, paragraph B
SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED: Title 20-A c. 112
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/doe/charterschools/commission/ .


AGENCY: 02-029 - Department of Professional and Financial Regulation, Bureau of Financial Institutions
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 118, Funds Availability and Truth in Savings
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2012-P34
CONTACT PERSON FOR SUBMITTING DATA, VIEWS OR ARGUMENTS, AND OBTAINING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR PRINTED VERSION OF PROPOSED RULE: Christian D. Van Dyck, Attorney, Bureau of Financial Institutions, 36 State House Station, Augusta ME 04333-0036. Telephone: (207) 624-8574. E-mail: Christian.D.VanDyck@Maine.gov .
CONTACT PERSON FOR SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION (if different): N/A
PUBLIC HEARING: None proposed. If 5 or more interested persons request a hearing, they may do so by contacting the contact person.
COMMENT DEADLINE: April 23, 2012
SUBSTANCE OF PROPOSED RULE: This promulgation repeals and replaces Regulation 18. It conforms Regulation 18 to federal regulations, specifically, by incorporating by reference Federal Regulation CC (12 CFR Part 229, January 1, 2012), Federal Regulation DD (12 CFR Part 230, January 1, 2012), and National Credit Union Administration Board provisions (12 CFR Part 707, January 1, 2012), which include the amendments that have been made to those federal regulations since this rule was last promulgated. Those amendments include: disclosure practices related to overdraft services, including balances disclosed to consumers through automated systems in Federal Regulation DD, by 74 FR 5584; the addition of Subpart D of Federal Regulation CC relating to substitute checks, by 69 FR 47290; and the restructuring of check-processing operations within the Federal Reserve System into a single check-processing region so that generally there are no longer any checks that are defined as “non-local” in Federal Regulation CC, by 75 FR 219.
This promulgation repeals the funds availability requirements found in the previous iteration of Regulation 18 for non-transaction accounts, as well as the disclosure requirements for non-consumer accounts, also contained in the previous iteration of this regulation, which requirements do not exist in federal law for those types of accounts. Instead, this promulgation adopts the federal definitions of “account” in Federal Regulation CC (12 CFR Part 229, January 1, 2012), Federal Regulation DD (12 CFR Part 230, January 1, 2012), and National Credit Union Administration Board, Truth in Savings provisions (12 CFR Part 707, January 1, 2012), as applicable, thereby more closely conforming this regulation to federal regulations.
This promulgation also repeals specific references to electronic notices and disclosures because the federal regulations that will be incorporated by reference already provide that such notices and disclosures may be provided in electronic form.
Finally, this promulgation excepts the definition of “business day” in federal regulations to the extent that this definition differs from the definition of “business days” in Section 145 of Title 9-B MRSA, and excepts the enforcement and liability provisions in federal regulations because the enforcement and liability provisions in Ch. 22, 23 and 24 of Title 9-B MRSA will be used when administering this Regulation 18.
SMALL BUSINESS IMPACT STATEMENT: May be found at the Bureau’s website: www.Maine.gov/pfr/financialinstitutions .
IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: None
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: Title 9-B MRSA §241(1) gives the Superintendent the authority to promulgate rules defining, limiting, or proscribing acts and practice which are determined to be anti-competitive, unfair, deceptive or otherwise injurious to the public interest.
Title 9-B MRSA §241(5) gives the Superintendent the authority to promulgate rules setting forth time limitations and disclosure requirements governing funds availability. That statute also requires that Maine's financial institutions make funds, represented by items deposited into an account, available for withdrawal within a reasonable time.
Title 9-B MRSA §242(1) gives the Superintendent authority to adopt rules defining, limiting or proscribing advertising that is false, misleading or deceptive.
SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED: Federal Regulation CC, 12 CFR Part 229, (January 1, 2012), Federal Regulation DD, 12 CFR Part 230, January 1, 2012), and National Credit Union Administration Board provisions (12 CFR Part 707, January 1, 2012)
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/pfr/financialinstitutions/ .
AGENCY RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Christian.D.VanDyck@Maine.gov .

ADOPTIONS


AGENCY: 06-096 - Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 530, Surface Waters Toxics Control Program
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2012-74
CONCISE SUMMARY: The surface waters of the State are managed to prevent contamination from toxic pollutants in toxic amounts in order to meet the goals of the Clean Water Act and Maine’s water quality standards. Toxic compounds may not be discharged in amounts that may cause toxic impacts on aquatic organisms or affect human health. The Department has adopted revisions which allow the Department, when calculating limits for toxic substances, to utilize allocations previously set aside as water quality reserves for future growth if doing so would avoid causing statistically generated (potential) exceedences of ambient water quality criteria. This rule revision also specifies that all permit limits for metals shall be expressed as mass-based limits only, unless required by adopted effluent limitation guidelines, and revises the timeframe for routine screening level testing to better provide for use of test results in Department permitting decisions.
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 21, 2012
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Robert D. Stratton, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, 17 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04330-0017. Telephone: (207) 215-1579. Fax: (207) 287-3435. E-mail: Robert.D.Stratton@Maine.gov .
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dep/ .
DEP RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Terry.Dawson@Maine.gov .