The Committee of Taxation Work Session begins Thursday 2/17/2022 at 9am.

LD 1334, An Act To Promote Economic Development through Increased Film Incentives, is the 2nd item on the agenda, but the agenda’s order is subject to change.

General information about Work Sessions is provided below:

Work Session: The purpose of work sessions is to allow committee members to discuss bills thoroughly and vote on the committee’s recommendation, or report, to the Legislature. The committee works with the legislative analyst to draft amendments or review amendments proposed by others. Some bills require several work sessions.

Work sessions are open to the public and, at the invitation of the committee, department representatives, lobbyists and others may address the committee about bills being considered, suggest compromises or amendments, and answer questions. The committee may also ask its legislative analyst to research and explain certain details of the bill.

Amendments are suggested changes to the bill, which may clarify, restrict, expand or correct it. At times, revisions are so extensive that the entire substance of the bill is changed by the amendment. On rare occasions, extensive revision of the bill may take the form of a new draft, rather than an amendment. A new draft is printed as an L.D. with a new number. Authorization of the President and Speaker is required to prepare a new draft.

Committee Report: The committee’s decisions on bills and amendments are expressed by votes on motions made during a work session; the final action is called a “committee report.” The report a bill receives is often the most important influence on its passage or defeat. Several types of unanimous and divided reports on a bill are possible.

A unanimous report means all committee members agree. Possible unanimous committee reports are: ‘ought to pass,’ ‘ought to pass as amended,’ ‘ ought to pass in new draft,’ ‘ought not to pass,’ and ‘referral to another committee.’

If committee members disagree about a bill, they may issue a divided report, which usually includes majority and minority reports on the bill. Example: a majority ‘ought not to pass’ report and a minority report of ‘ought to pass as amended.’ A less frequent situation occurs when there are more than 2 reports. Example: 6 members vote for ‘Report A,’ ‘ought to pass,’ 5 members vote for ‘Report B,’ ‘ought not to pass,’ and 2 members vote for ‘Report C,’ ‘ought to pass as amended.’

If an ‘ought not to pass’ report is unanimous, the bill is placed in the legislative file and the letter from the committee chairs conveying this report appears on the House and Senate Calendars. When that occurs, no further action may be taken by the Legislature unless a Joint Order recalling the bill from the file is approved by 2/3 of the members of both houses voting in favor of recall. If they do, the bill is considered.

Unless the committee report is a unanimous ‘ought not to pass,’ a legislator may move, at the appropriate time during floor debate, to substitute the bill for the report. A majority vote is required for the motion to proceed.

Prior to reporting out a bill, the committee must determine whether the bill will increase or decrease state revenues or expenditures as well as whether the bill constitutes a State Mandate under the Maine Constitution. The Office of Fiscal and Program Review makes the determination of whether the bill will have a fiscal impact. If it does, the office has the responsibility for producing a fiscal note, which describes the fiscal impact. If the bill constitutes a State Mandate, this fact is also noted in the fiscal note. If the bill does have a fiscal impact, the committee must amend the bill to add the fiscal note. Any necessary appropriation or allocation is also added by committee amendment.