January 23, 2019

WEEKLY NOTICES OF STATE RULEMAKING
Public Input for Proposed and Adopted Rules

Notices are published each Wednesday to alert the public regarding state agency rulemaking. 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 rulemaking if the petition is signed by 150 or more registered voters, and may begin rulemaking 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 rulemaking liaisons, who are single points of contact for each agency.

PROPOSALS

AGENCY: 01-001 – Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 271, Gypsy Moth Quarantine
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2019-P006
BRIEF SUMMARY: This proposed rule establishes a state quarantine against the gypsy moth to prevent its movement from all counties except parts of Aroostook, Piscataquis and Somerset Counties to other parts of the State, to protect Maine's forest and landscape tree resources. The Gypsy moth is federally regulated and this rule fulfills the requirement that Maine must have a similar state quarantine in place because the state is partially regulated for gypsy moth.
PUBLIC HEARING: February 11, 2019 - 6:30 p.m., Maine Forest Service Regional Office, 45 Radar Road, Ashland, Maine 04732
COMMENT DEADLINE: February 25, 2019
CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING / SMALL BUSINESS IMPACT INFORMATION: Gary Fish, Maine DACF, Horticulture Program, 28 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0028. Telephone: (207) 287-7545. Fax: 287-7548. Email: Gary.Fish@Maine.gov .
FINANCIAL IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: None
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: 7 MRS ch. 409 §§ 2301-2303
SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED (if different):
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/forest_health/quarantine_information.html#gm .
RULEMAKING LIAISON: Shannon.Ayotte@Maine.gov .

AGENCY: 01-001 – Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 275, Emerald Ash Borer Quarantine
PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2019-P007
BRIEF SUMMARY: This proposed rule establishes a state quarantine against the emerald ash borer (Agrilus planipennis) to prevent its movement in firewood, ash logs, ash wood products or ash nursery stock from northern Aroostook and York Counties, to protect Maine's forest and landscape tree resources. The emerald ash borer is federally regulated and this rule fulfills the requirement that Maine must have a similar state quarantine in place because the state is partially regulated for emerald ash borer.
PUBLIC HEARING: February 11, 2019 - 6:30 p.m., Maine Forest Service Regional Office, 45 Radar Road, Ashland, Maine 04732; and February 13, 2019 - 6:30 p.m., 15 Oak Street, Springvale, Maine 04083
COMMENT DEADLINE: Midnight, February 25, 2019
CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING / SMALL BUSINESS IMPACT INFORMATION: Gary Fish, Maine DACF, Horticulture Program, 28 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0028. Telephone: (207) 287-7545. Fax: 287-7548. Email: Gary.Fish@Maine.gov .
FINANCIAL IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: None
STATUTORY AUTHORITY FOR THIS RULE: 7 MRS ch. 409 §§ 2301-2303
SUBSTANTIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LAW BEING IMPLEMENTED (if different):
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dacf/mfs/forest_health/quarantine_information.html#gm .
RULEMAKING LIAISON: Shannon.Ayotte@Maine.gov .

ADOPTIONS

AGENCY: 94-457 - Finance Authority of Maine (FAME)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 611, Maine Education Savings Program, Amendment 17
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2019-009
CONCISE SUMMARY: The rule amendment is necessary to conform the rule to recent changes to the federal and Maine state tax codes permitting (a) limited withdrawals from Section 529 accounts for tuition expenses for attendance or enrollment at elementary or secondary public, private, or religious schools; and (b) limited rollovers from Section 529 accounts to Section 529A (ABLE) accounts. The rule amendment also conforms the rule to recent changes to the Act, changing the name of the program and the advisory committee in keeping with the tax code changes. The rule amendment makes other minor modifications to the rule.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 15, 2019
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON / RULEMAKING LIAISON: Christopher H. Roney, Finance Authority of Maine, 5 Community Drive, Augusta, ME 04332. TELEPHONE: (207) 623-3263. Email: croney@famemaine.com .
FAME WEBSITE: https://www.famemaine.com/ .

AGENCY: 94-293 - Baxter State Park Authority
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 1, Baxter State Park Rules and Regulations
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2019-010
CONCISE SUMMARY:
Baxter State Park Rule 1.3 (All persons entering the Park by road or trail…) Removing this text from Rule 1.3 removes redundancy and focuses aircraft-related information in Rule 5. (Rule 5.6 reads: Persons landing aircraft on permitted waters in the Park must register with Park Headquarters or a gatehouse in advance. )
Revising Rule 4.11 (The removal from, or introduction of natural objects, materials, plants, or animals…) Restricting the personal harvest of wild foods to fiddleheads and berries is unnecessarily specific and restrictive. It is difficult to enforce this level of specificity within the rules and therefore rarely does this rule enjoy enforcement attention. This change brings our rules in line to our enforcement norms. While this rule retains the enforcement right to protect Park resources, it allows a reasonable interaction with the natural world that is consistent with most other US wilderness areas. Comments by Baxter State Park Staff: Following approval of the proposed revised text for Rule 4, Baxter State Park Staff re-read the text and determined that clarity could be improved by mirroring the language in the last sentence with the language in the prior sentence.
Revising Rule 4.12 (Research Studies and Commercial Media Projects within the Park…) This rule is revised to create an enforceable standard that mandates that those using the Park for any commercial purpose (not just research studies and commercial media projects) shall be required to have a permit and enables Park Staff to gather data regarding this type of Park use. This is consistent with most other natural areas in the U.S.
Revising Rule 5.4 (No person may operate any vehicle within the Park…)
Confusion over the proper channels to cite violators of this rule have led BSP LE Rangers to cite violators based on the larger fee incurred, whether BSP Rule or state traffic law. According to 29-A MRS §2601(.3), Every law enforcement agency in this State shall use traffic summonses for traffic infractions in the form known as the Violation Summons and Complaint, which must be uniform throughout the State and must be issued in books with summonses in no less than quadruplicate and meeting the requirements of this chapter. BSPA Rule 5.4 suggests that BSP has the authority to summons for traffic violations in a manner inconsistent with 29-A MRS §2601(3). Deleting rule 5.4 would ensure that our Law Enforcement Rangers summons violators through the appropriate channels.
Confusion over the proper channels to cite violators of this rule have led to BSP LE Rangers to cite violators based on the larger fee incurred, whether BSP Rule or state traffic law, which may be a violation of 29-A MRS §2601(3). The rule will cease to contribute to this confusion.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 19, 2019
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON / RULEMAKING LIAISON: Georgia Manzo, Baxter State Park Authority, 64 Balsam Drive, Millinocket, ME 04462. Telephone: (207) 723-9500. Email: Georgia.Manzo@BaxterStatePark.org .
PARK WEBSITE: https://baxterstatepark.org/ .