May 10, 2017

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: 03-201 - Department of Corrections (DOC)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 10, Policy and Procedure Manual – Adult: Subsection 27.2, Supervised Community Confinement
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2017-P049
BRIEF SUMMARY: To adopt as a permanent rule the emergency rule allowing a prisoner on supervised community confinement to go out of state for medical treatment not available in Maine and to make other changes to better spell out the application and review process.
DETAILED SUMMARY: The Maine Department of Corrections is proposing that the amendment of Ch. 10 Subsection 27.2, “Supervised Community Confinement”, adopted as an emergency rule on March 13, 2017 be permanently adopted, as well as other revisions that clarify the supervised community confinement process.
The proposed revisions include:
1. Stipulates that if a prisoner on supervised community confinement violates a curfew, residence, time or travel condition or fails to return to the facility when directed to do so that this constitutes an escape and the Department of Corrections Fugitive Coordinator and other criminal justice agencies will be notified.
2. Includes the statutory provision permitting the Commissioner to place a prisoner who meets all other eligibility requirements and who has no more than two (2) years remaining on the term of imprisonment on supervised community confinement if the average statewide case load is no more than ninety (90) offenders to one probation officer (as opposed to the requirement of having no more than 18 months remaining if the average statewide caseload is higher).
3. Requires that any prisoner who has been convicted or formally charged as an adult with any sex offense may not be transferred to supervised community confinement unless the prisoner, if male, has completed the intensive phase of a Department residential sex offender treatment program or, if female, the prisoner has successfully participated in a Department sex offender treatment program for at least two (2) years.
4. The Commissioner, or designee, may make an exception in the case of a prisoner who has lost the privilege to participate in supervised community confinement because of a finding of guilt of a disciplinary violation or has a pending violation.
5. The Commissioner, or designee, may make an exception in the case of a prisoner who has lost the privilege to participate in supervised community confinement because of a prior classification decision.
6. A prisoner may not be transferred to supervised community confinement if the prisoner is likely to have contact with a victim of the prisoner for domestic violence unless a waiver has been granted by the Commissioner, or designee, for visits between them.
7. A prisoner may not be transferred to supervised community confinement if the prisoner is likely to have contact with a victim of the prisoner for a sex offense or child abuse committed when the victim was a minor, unless a waiver has been granted by the Commissioner, or designee, for visits between them.
8. Clarifies what constitutes an approved residence.
9. Changes the date of when a prisoner may apply for supervised community confinement from 6 months prior to the eligibility date to 3 months prior.
10. Expands the review criteria that the Unit Management Team considers in recommending a prisoner to supervised community confinement.
11. Clarifies the investigation and site review conducted by the probation officer for supervised community confinement placement.
12. Specifies that information about input from prosecutors, law enforcement, victims and victim services shall not be disclosed to the prisoner.
13. If the prisoner is to be transferred to a minimum security facility prior to going on supervised community confinement, the Chief Administrative Officer of the receiving facility may weigh in on the decision depending on the prisoner’s adjustment.
14. The documentation and notification processes have been spelled out.
15. Includes the prohibition on marijuana so the prisoner does not violate federal law.
16. Requires the prisoner to submit to searches of electronic devices.
17. Includes the provision adopted in the emergency rule that a prisoner on supervised community confinement can leave the state for medical treatment, if treatment is not available in Maine.
18. A prisoner on supervised community confinement shall pay court-ordered restitution through Adult Community Corrections rather than through the facility.
19. Requires that for a prisoner sentenced to supervised release for sex offenders, the prisoner shall comply with all court-ordered conditions of supervised release, similar to the requirement for probationers
20. Requires the supervising probation officer to have one (1) face-to-face contact with the prisoner on a weekly basis, with at least one (1) face-to-face contact per month required to be at the prisoner’s residence.
21. Requires the probation officer shall also make at least one (1) collateral contact per month.
22. Expands the appeal process.
23. In general, outlines the step-by-step process from applying, screening, supervised community confinement plan review, community investigation and site review, approval, and supervision, etc.
24. Other non-substantive changes such as updating staff titles, rearranging procedures in logical order, grammatical corrections, etc.
PUBLIC HEARING: June 1, 2017 at 10:00 a.m. at the Tyson Building, 3rd Floor, 25 Tyson Drive, Augusta, ME at Maine Department of Corrections Central Office MDOC Board Room
COMMENT DEADLINE: June 11, 2017
CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING / SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION / DOC RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Mary Lucia, Department of Corrections, 111 State House Station, Augusta ME 04333. Telephone: (207) 287-4681. Fax: (207) 287-4370. E-mail: Mary.A.Lucia@Maine.gov .
FINANCIAL IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: None
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: Title 34-A  3036-A
SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED (if different):
DOC WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/corrections/ .

AGENCY: 13-188 - Department of Marine Resources (DMR)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 26, Sea Urchin Regulations and 2017-2018 Harvesting Season
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2017-P050
BRIEF SUMMARY: This regulation would establish open harvest days for the taking of sea urchins by divers, rakers, trappers, and draggers in Zones 1 and 2 for the 2017-2018 season. It also establishes the utilization of harvester swipe cards for picking days to fish. This is a pilot project which aims to evaluate the swipe card system which could potentially provide industry the flexibility to fish in a safer manner and to increase roe quality. For Zone 1, 20-day seasons are proposed for divers, trappers, rakers and draggers in 2017-2018, from which harvesters may only fish up to 15 days of their choosing, the same number of days allowed during the 2016-2017 season. For Zone 2, 45-day seasons are proposed for divers, trappers, rakers and draggers in 2017-2018, from which harvesters may only fish up to 38 days of their choosing, the same number of days allowed during the 2016-2017 season. For the Whiting & Dennys Bays Limited Access Area in Zone 2, a 15-day season is proposed for Zone 2 divers, trappers, rakers and draggers in 2017-2018, which is six additional days compared to the 2016-17 season. This regulation also establishes a limited access area in Blue Hill Bay for a Department-initiated, five year research project in collaboration with industry using Department issued spatial trackers.
PUBLIC HEARINGS:
Augusta: May 30, 2017 at 6:00 p.m., DMR Conference Room, Marquardt Building, 32 Blossom Lane
Ellsworth: May 31, 2017 at 6:00 p.m., Ellsworth City Hall (Council Chambers), One City Hall Plaza
Hearing facilities: If you require accommodations due to disability, please contact Amanda Beckwith, at (207) 287-7578.
COMMENT DEADLINE: June 12, 2017
CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING / SMALL BUSINESS INFORMATION: Amanda Ellis (Telephone: (207) 624-6573). Mail written comments to: Department of Marine Resources, attn.: Rulemaking, 21 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0021. Rulemaking e-mail: dmr.rulemaking@maine.gov . Fax: (207) 624-6024. TTY: (207) 624-6500 (Deaf/Hard of Hearing)
DMR RULEMAKING WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dmr/rulemaking/ .
FINANCIAL IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: none
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: 12 MRS    6749, 6173
SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED: same
DMR WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dmr/ .
DMR RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Deirdre.Gilbert@Maine.gov .

AGENCY: 10-144 - Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office for Family Independence (OFI)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 331, Maine Public Assistance Manual, Rule #108P (Repeal of RCA). Table of Contents. Introduction. Ch VI, Types and Methods of Payments; Overpayments; Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) System. Ch. VII, Refugee Cash Assistance Program (RCA).
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2017-P051
BRIEF SUMMARY: This rule is promulgated to effectuate the termination of administration of the Refugee Cash Assistance program (RCA). The State of Maine, through the Department, will no longer administer the federally funded Refugee Resettlement Program, which includes RCA. Federal regulations allow a state to repeal the choice to administer the program, and notice of revocation was given to the Federal Government in November 2016.
See http://www.Maine.gov/dhhs/ofi/rules/index.shtml for rules and related rulemaking documents.
PUBLIC HEARING: None
COMMENT DEADLINE: June 9, 2017
CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING: Marta Noriega, Senior Planner, Department of Health & Human Services, Office for Family Independence, 19 Union Street, Augusta, ME 04333-0011. Telephone: (207) 624-4135. Fax: (207) 287-3455. TT Users Call Maine Relay – 711. E-mail: Marta.Noriega@Maine.gov .
FINANCIAL IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: None anticipated
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: 22 MRS    42(1), 3762(3)A; 45 CFR 400.301
OFI RULES WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ofi/rules/index.shtml .
OFI WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ofi/ .
DHHS RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Kevin.Wells@Maine.gov .

ADOPTIONS

AGENCY: 06-096 - Department of Environmental Protection (DEP)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 426 (New), Responsibilities under the Returnable Beverage Container Law (replaces 01-001 Ch. 360)
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2017-071
CONCISE SUMMARY: The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has adopted rules for the implementation of the Container Redemption Law including:
• update of citations consistent with the transfer of the program from Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF) to DEP;
• clarification of responsibilities related to initiation of deposit and label registrations;
• addition of provisions that currently exist only in statute; and
• general “clean-up” of the rule, e.g., removal of duplicative provisions, consistent use of terminology, integration of standards from DACF redemption center inspection form currently “incorporated herein by reference”, some minor reorganization of existing provisions.
EFFECTIVE DATE: May 8, 2017
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Tom Graham, DEP, 17 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0017. Telephone: (207) 287-7598. E-mail: Tom.Graham@Maine.gov .
DEP WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dep/ .
DEP RULE-MAKING LIAISON: Jeff.S.Crawford@Maine.gov .