This bill implements statutory changes and other provisions necessary to transition the Maine Land Use Planning Commission from the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to the Department of Environmental Protection. The bill also requires the Department of Environmental Protection, on or before January 1, 2026, to submit to the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources a report outlining recommendations, including necessary draft legislation, for the consolidation, by July 1, 2028, of the Department of Environmental Protection and the Maine Land Use Planning Commission into a single combined entity, to be known as the Maine Environmental and Land Use Commission. The new Maine Environmental and Land Use Commission must be designed to prioritize landowner rights, ensuring that private landowners are empowered to make use of their property subject to reasonable, well-established rules for the protection of the environment, and its activities and adopted rules must ensure sustainable land use development practices and not unduly or arbitrarily restrict landowner property use except as necessary to protect public health, safety and the environment. After reviewing the report, the committee may report out a bill relating to the report to the Second Regular Session of the 132nd Legislature.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text LD 383, SP 149: 5.935, 5.938, 12.683, 12.685, 12.5011, 12.5012, 12.5013, 38.480