January 30, 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: none this week


ADOPTIONS

AGENCY: 01-017 – Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF), Maine State Harness Racing Commission
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 5, Tracks
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2019-011
CONCISE SUMMARY: The amendment added a requirement that licensed pari-mutuel racing associations would need to submit a purse distribution plan to be approved by the Commission; this is in efforts of improving transparency and fairness.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 22, 2019
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Henry Jennings, Maine State Harness Racing Commission, 28 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0028. Telephone: (207) 287-7568. Email: Henry.Jennings@Maine.gov .
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dacf/harnessracing/index.shtml .
DACF INTERIM RULEMAKING LIAISON: Shannon.Ayotte@Maine.gov .

AGENCY: 01-017 – Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF), Maine State Harness Racing Commission
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 7, Racing
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2019-012
CONCISE SUMMARY: The proposed amendments involve a fairly comprehensive update to this chapter. First of all, the chapter needed to be aligned with Ch. 17, Rule Violations: Penalties, because there are now penalties for conduct that is not specifically prohibited in rule. Second, the language in the chapter is not optimally constructed in some areas, so the language was refined. Third, the Commission updated language around the presence of trainers in the paddock. Finally, the Commission recognized that the conduct of drivers participating in a race is regulated, but the conduct of other licensed participants at the track is not regulated.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 22, 2019
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Henry Jennings, Maine State Harness Racing Commission, 28 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0028. Telephone: (207) 287-7568. Email: Henry.Jennings@Maine.gov .
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dacf/harnessracing/index.shtml .
DACF INTERIM RULEMAKING LIAISON: Shannon.Ayotte@Maine.gov .

AGENCY: 01-017 – Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF), Maine State Harness Racing Commission
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 9, Sire Stakes
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2019-013
CONCISE SUMMARY: The first amendment requires trainers of participating Sire Stakes horses to notify the Commission where the horse is stabled, this is to help facilitate out-of-competition testing. The second amendment pertains to the purse distribution structure for the Sire Stakes Finals, which now grants sixth, seventh, and eighth place finishers a portion of the base purse.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 22, 2019
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Henry Jennings, Maine State Harness Racing Commission, 28 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0028. Telephone: (207) 287-7568. Email: Henry.Jennings@Maine.gov .
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dacf/harnessracing/index.shtml .
DACF INTERIM RULEMAKING LIAISON: Shannon.Ayotte@Maine.gov .

AGENCY: 01-017 – Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry (DACF), Maine State Harness Racing Commission
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 11, Medication and Testing
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2019-014
CONCISE SUMMARY: Three amendments were made to Ch. 11. Amendments included: updated the prohibited substance list to a more recent version, updated the reference of the therapeutic medication list reference to a more logical location, and added a subsection to further deter the use of alkalizing agents.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 22, 2019
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON: Henry Jennings, Maine State Harness Racing Commission, 28 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0028. Telephone: (207) 287-7568. Email: Henry.Jennings@Maine.gov .
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dacf/harnessracing/index.shtml .
DACF INTERIM RULEMAKING LIAISON: Shannon.Ayotte@Maine.gov .

AGENCY: 10-144 - Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), Office for Family Independence (OFI)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 332, MaineCare Eligibility Manual, MC Rule #290E (Medicaid Expansion): Part 3, Eligibility Groups Requirements, and Part 4, Budgeting – MAGI
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2019-015 (Emergency)
CONCISE SUMMARY: This emergency rule change implements the MaineCare expansion as set forth in 22 MRS §3174-G(1)(H), which was enacted through a citizens’ initiative on November 7, 2017 (the “Expansion Act”). The Expansion Act requires the Department to provide covered MaineCare services to adults ages 19 through 64 who satisfy the eligibility requirements as set forth more specifically below and in the MaineCare Eligibility Manual (the “Expansion Population”). The Expansion Act requires the Department to submit a State Plan Amendment (“SPA”) to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (“CMS”) and engage in rulemaking to implement coverage for the Expansion Population.
The Basis Statement filed with this emergency rulemaking includes a detailed background regarding the Expansion Act litigation.
The rule updates Parts 3 and 4 of the MaineCare Eligibility Manual to establish an eligibility category for adults age 19 through 64 who meet the following requirements: are not pregnant; are not eligible for or currently receiving Medicare Part A or Medicare Part B; are not otherwise eligible for Medicaid in the State of Maine; and have income less than or equal to 133% of the federal poverty level (“FPL”). The rule also distinguishes between two types of parent/caretaker relatives: those with income under 133% FPL who do not meet the current qualifications for parent/caretaker relatives under Part 3, Section 2.2; and those with income between 100-133% FPL who do meet the qualifications for parent/caretaker relatives under Sec. 2.2. The Department makes this distinction for purposes of receipt of the proper amount of federal matching funds. Pursuant to 42 CFR 435.119(c), if a parent/caretaker relative has a dependent child living in the home under the age of 21, the child must be receiving benefits under Medicaid, CHIP or otherwise be enrolled in minimum essential health coverage as defined in 42 CFR §435.4.
The referendum provides authority to adopt rules on an emergency basis if necessary to implement the program in a timely manner. Pursuant to 5 MRS §8054, the Department further finds that emergency rulemaking is necessary to implement the Expansion Act as soon as possible, particularly given the background set forth, above. Members of the Expansion Population may need covered health services urgently, and thus this rule should take effect immediately to further public health and safety.
Individuals who are eligible and who applied for coverage between July 2, 2018 and January 2, 2019, may be eligible for coverage back to the first day of the month of application, and if requested up to three months retroactive, but no earlier than July 2, 2018.
See http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ofi/rules/index.shtml for rules and related rulemaking documents.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 18, 2019
OFI CONTACT PERSON: Esther Bullard, Program Manager, Office for Family Independence, Department of Health & Human Services, 19 Union Street – 11 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333. Telephone: (207) 624-4178. Fax: (207) 287-3455. TT Users Call Maine Relay – 711. Email: Esther.Bullard@Maine.gov .
OFI WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/dhhs/ofi/ .
OFI RULEMAKING LIAISON: Daniel.H.Cohen@Maine.gov .
DHHS RULEMAKING LIAISON: Kevin.Wells@Maine.gov .

AGENCY: 99-346 - Maine State Housing Authority (MaineHousing)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 25, Weatherization Assistance Program Rule
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2019-016
CONCISE SUMMARY: This rule repeals and replaces the current Weatherization Assistance Program rule. The replacement rule (i) removes MaineHousing from the definitions; (ii) provides that priority ranking will be established in the State Plan; (iii) modifies the scope of permissible weatherization expenditures to align with industry standards; and (iv) makes minor technical edits and clarifications.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 23, 2019
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON / RULEMAKING LIAISON: Linda Uhl, Chief Counsel, Maine State Housing Authority, 353 Water Street, Augusta, Maine 04330-4633. Telephone: (207) 626-4600, (800) 452-6668 (Voice) or Maine Relay 711. Email: LUhl@MaineHousing.org .
WEBSITE: http://www.mainehousing.org/ .

AGENCY: 02-380 - Maine State Board of Nursing
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 5, Regulations Relating to Training Programs and Delegation by Registered Professional Nurses of Selected Nursing Tasks to Certified Nursing Assistants.
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2019-017
CONCISE SUMMARY: The amendment provides certified nursing assistants trained in another jurisdiction a mechanism to be placed on the Maine CNA Registry and eliminates the bridging process for this purpose.
EFFECTIVE DATE: January 30, 2019
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON / RULEMAKING LIAISON: Virginia E. deLorimier, MSN, RN, Maine State Board of Nursing, 158 State House Station - 161 Capitol Street, Augusta, ME 04333-0158. Telephone: (207) 287-1147. Email: Virginia.E.deLorimier@Maine.gov .
WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/boardofnursing/ .

AGENCY: 65-407 – Maine Public Utilities Commission (MPUC)
CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 395, Construction Standards, Ownership. Cost Allocation, and Customer Charges Rules for Electric Distribution Line Extensions and Service Drops
ADOPTED RULE NUMBER: 2019-018
CONCISE SUMMARY: The Public Utilities Commission adopts amendments to the Commission’s Construction Standards, Ownership, Cost Allocation, and Customer Charges Rules for Electric Distribution Line Extensions Rule (Ch. 395). These amendments clarify the responsibility for installation, ownership and maintenance of both above-ground and underground service drops. The adopted rule specifies that transmission and distribution (T&D) utilities shall install, own and maintain above-ground service drops, and that customers shall install, own and maintain underground service drops.
EFFECTIVE DATE: February 3, 2019
AGENCY CONTACT PERSON / RULEMAKING LIAISON: Jamie Waterbury, Public Utilities Commission, 18 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333. Telephone: (207) 287-1360. Email: Jamie.A.Waterbury@Maine.gov .
MPUC WEBSITE: http://www.maine.gov/mpuc/ .