Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

                                                                LAW WITHOUT
                                                                 GOVERNOR'S               CHAPTER
                                                                 SIGNATURE
                                                                                               324
                                                                 JUNE 17, 2025           PUBLIC LAW
                                  STATE OF MAINE
                                          _____
                          IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
                        TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-FIVE
                                          _____
                                 H.P. 1094 - L.D. 1653
               An Act to Develop Maine's Credentialed Workforce
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
    Sec. 1. 20-A MRSA c. 447 is enacted to read:
                                     CHAPTER 447
               MAINE CREDENTIALED WORKFORCE PROGRAM
§12995. Definitions
   As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise indicates, the following terms
have the following meanings.
    1. Authority. "Authority" means the Finance Authority of Maine.
    2. Eligible student loan. "Eligible student loan" means an undergraduate or graduate
school student loan obtained for study at an accredited institution of higher education by a
student eligible to receive assistance under a federal student assistance program authorized
under the federal Higher Education Act of 1965, Title IV.
    3. Fund. "Fund" means the Maine Credentialed Workforce Program Fund established
in section 12997.
    4. Priority occupation. "Priority occupation" means a profession needing skilled
workers as identified by the authority in consultation with workforce experts and in the
Department of Economic and Community Development publication "Maine Economic
Development Strategy 2020-2029," or successor economic development strategy for the
State.
    5. Program. "Program" means the Maine Credentialed Workforce Program
established in section 12996.
§12996. Maine Credentialed Workforce Program
    1. Establishment; administration. The Maine Credentialed Workforce Program is
established to support the credentialing needs of current and future participants in the
                                   Page 1 - 132LR1346(03)
State's workforce. The authority shall administer the program. The authority's chief
executive officer may consult with experts on an ad hoc basis regarding business,
education, labor and workforce needs in prioritizing targeted professions.
    2. Eligibility requirements. The authority shall establish by rule eligibility
requirements for the program, which must include, at a minimum:
    A. That the applicant has received an associate degree, bachelor's degree or graduate
    degree or a credential within 5 years of the date of application;
    B. That the applicant has outstanding student loan debt or eligible student loans; and
    C. That the applicant is willing to accept and maintain employment in a priority
    occupation position in the State for a minimum of 4 years in return for repayment by
    the authority of a portion of that applicant's student loan debt.
     3. Application. An application to the program must be made directly to the authority
at a time and in a format to be determined by the authority.
    4. Maximum loan repayment. The maximum loan repayment amount available to a
participant in the program is $25,000 per year for a maximum of 4 years.
    5. Loan repayment agreement; provisions. The authority shall enter into loan
repayment agreements with participants in the program on terms and conditions acceptable
to the authority, which at a minimum must require the participant and the participant's
employer to certify annually, before any payment by the authority under the loan repayment
agreement may be made, that the participant has been employed in a priority occupation
position for the preceding 12-month period.
§12997. Maine Credentialed Workforce Program Fund
    1. Fund created. The Maine Credentialed Workforce Program Fund is established
within the authority as a nonlapsing, interest-earning, revolving fund to carry out the
purposes of this chapter. The fund consists of any funds appropriated, allocated or
contributed from private or public sources, including from state and federal sources, and
any existing funding for other authority programs that, at the discretion of the authority,
may be combined with the program. The funds, to be accounted within the authority, must
be held separate and apart from all other money, funds and accounts. Eligible investment
earnings credited to the assets of the fund become part of the assets of the fund. Any
unexpended balances remaining in the fund at the end of any fiscal year do not lapse and
must be carried forward to the next fiscal year.
    2. Fund administration. The authority may receive, invest and expend on behalf of
the fund money from gifts, grants, bequests and donations in addition to money
appropriated or allocated by the State and any federal funds received by the State for the
benefit of workers in the State who have outstanding eligible student loans. Money received
by the authority on behalf of the fund must be used for the purposes of this chapter. The
fund must be maintained and administered by the authority. Any unexpended balance in
the fund carries forward for continued use under this chapter, except for federal funds that
must be expended according to guidelines issued by the Federal Government governing the
use of those funds.
    3. Fund expenses. Costs and expenses of maintaining, servicing and administering
the fund and of administering the program may be paid out of amounts in the fund.
                                   Page 2 - 132LR1346(03)
§12998. Awards
    1. Publication of priority occupations. The authority shall publicize, using a method
determined by the authority and taking into consideration the recommendations of
workforce experts, the priority occupations for the upcoming application cycle.
    2. Application cycle. The authority shall publicize the dates and deadlines of the
application cycle using a method determined by the authority.
     3. Award amounts. The authority shall maintain financial projections and establish
the targeted number of annual awards to be made to applicants each year who meet the
criteria described in section 12996, subsection 2. In accordance with the priority
occupations and point system established by the authority, an annual award may not:
    A. Exceed $25,000 annually;
    B. Exceed $100,000 in aggregate or 50% of a recipient's outstanding eligible student
    loan debt at the time of application to the program, whichever is less; or
    C. Be awarded to a recipient for more than 4 years total.
§12999. Rules
    The authority may adopt rules to carry out the purposes of this chapter. Rules adopted
pursuant to this section are routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375,
subchapter 2-A.
    Sec. 2. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and
allocations are made.
FINANCE AUTHORITY OF MAINE
Maine Credentialed Workforce Program Fund N524
Initiative: Provides base allocations to authorize expenditures of funds received from public
or private sources.
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS                                        2025-26         2026-27
 All Other                                                            $500            $500
                                                                __________      __________
OTHER SPECIAL REVENUE FUNDS TOTAL                                     $500            $500
                                   Page 3 - 132LR1346(03)
