City staff briefs council on pending state bills, people's veto of LD 609 and local impacts

City staff briefed the Bangor City Council at the April 7 workshop on several pending state legislative matters that staff and councilors identified as municipal interests.

Staff said the Secretary of State has received a people's veto petition challenging LD 609 (the budget bills that close fiscal 2025 and the 2026 biennial budget). The Secretary of State must finalize ballot wording and share it with applicants; petitioners would then have until June 18 to gather and submit just under 68,000 signatures for certification. If certified, staff said the implementation of the budget could be delayed until the referendum is decided at the Nov. 4 ballot, a scenario that staff warned could produce a state shutdown and interrupt flows of state aid to municipalities, including potential impacts on aid to education, revenue sharing and some state services such as motor vehicle and Maine Forest Service operations.

Staff also reviewed bills the city is tracking and staff positions the council asked to pursue:

• LD 1194 would phase out the vehicle excise tax and replace it with a mileage‑based fee; staff recommended opposing the bill, noting the city collects just over $7,000,000 in excise tax annually and expressing concern that rental car fleets could register elsewhere and reduce local revenues.

• LD 1244 would require cities and counties to operate warming shelters when temperatures fall below 40°F; staff described the measure as an overreach that would impose operational and funding responsibilities on municipalities and said the city prefers that the state either fund or operate such a program.

• Two bills would raise liability caps under the Maine Tort Claims Act (currently $400,000 for municipalities); one would raise municipal caps to $1,200,000 and another would raise the cap for school field trip claims to $5,000,000. Staff recommended opposing the proposals based on potential increases to municipal insurance costs and property taxes.

• A bill addressing due process for confiscation or destruction of personal items of people experiencing homelessness drew council discussion. Staff described current city practices — giving 24–48 hours’ notice on public property, offering storage in targeted circumstances such as encampment closures — and said the proposed bill would create a near‑judicial process that may be impractical. Councilor Beck said she generally supports the bill because many unhoused residents have reported personal items lost or discarded; Councilor Dean and staff discussed current storage practices and limits.

Staff also said it will submit testimony in support of an act to support the Maine Discovery Museum’s statewide STEM programming and will consider positions on bills to sustain emergency shelter funding, continue support for the Maine Multicultural Center and clarify licensing jurisdiction for manufactured housing communities. Staff noted a related bill (LD 1247) could limit municipalities’ ability to assess fees for inspections, sewer hookups and other municipal services, which staff said would hamper the city’s capacity to recover costs for work it performs.

Councilors asked clarifying questions during the briefing; staff said it will prepare suggested testimony and proposed alternatives for some bills. The workshop transcript records no formal votes on legislative positions.