City staff flags state bills moving quickly; councilors weigh positions on FOA changes, lobbying language and syringe-waste grants

At the April 28 City Council workshop, city staff told councilors that several state bills were being printed and scheduled rapidly and recommended the council consider positions or seek clarification on several measures that could affect municipal operations.

City Manager Deb Lohrey described two bills printed for the session: LD 852 (described in the briefing as an act to reduce the property-tax burden by adequately funding county jail operations) and LD 1645 (described as an act to improve legislative access to public information). Lohrey said LD 852—if enacted—would increase county funding for jails and could lower the property-tax burden on municipalities that currently fund county operations. ‘‘The city of Bangor pays somewhere between 23–24% of the total tax for the county,’’ she said, noting that earlier figures in the briefing had differed and would be clarified.

On LD 1645, staff advised caution. The draft discussed would create a distinct provision within the public records law to require certain legislative requests for information to be fulfilled within 20 days when three legislators from the Legislative Oversight Committee (including the committee chair) request it. Lohrey said the city viewed the measure as too broad as written and recommended the council consider opposing it or asking that municipalities be exempted or specifically identified.

Lohrey also summarized a bill by Representative Grama to create a state-level biohazard waste disposal grant program to support appropriate disposal of syringe waste. ‘‘If there was a state program to do that, I think we would all be very supportive of that,’’ she said.

Councilors discussed LD 1814, which staff described as proposing to increase transparency in state government by expanding lobbyist reporting to include participation in agency rulemaking. City staff raised concerns that the draft language could unintentionally classify municipal staff who provide technical information during rulemaking as lobbyists if they exceed time thresholds, potentially burdening municipal employees with registration requirements. Lohrey said: ‘‘If you spend more than 8 hours a month working on these efforts ... we may trip over being viewed as a lobbyist.’’ She recommended the city seek clarification on intent and possible exemptions for municipal staff who provide factual information during rulemaking.

Councilors did not take a formal roll-call vote on positions for the state bills during the workshop. Staff said they would circulate updates and potentially request council direction as hearings and votes move quickly; legislative committees were scheduled to vote on assigned bills by May 9, the city briefing said.

The staff briefing also reminded councilors that the Maine Mayors Day at the State House was scheduled for the following day, giving council leadership an opportunity to raise city-specific issues with legislators.