130th MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST SPECIAL SESSION-2021
Legislative Document No. 1616
H.P. 1205 House of Representatives, April 27, 2021
An Act To Ensure That Municipalities and Multimunicipal Regions
of Every Size and Capacity Have Guidance on Climate Adaptation
and Resilience Strategies for Policy, Implementation and Investment
Decision Support
Reference to the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources suggested and ordered
printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative BLUME of York.
Cosponsored by Senator BRENNER of Cumberland and
Representatives: BAILEY of Gorham, DOUDERA of Camden, PERRY of Calais, Senator:
MAXMIN of Lincoln.
Printed on recycled paper
 1 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
2 CONCEPT DRAFT
3 SUMMARY
4 This bill is a concept draft pursuant to Joint Rule 208.
5 This bill proposes to implement the recommendations of the Community Resilience
6 Planning, Public Health, and Emergency Management Working Group of the Maine
7 Climate Council in order to provide municipalities and multimunicipal regions of every
8 size and capacity with guidance on climate adaptation and resilience strategies for policy,
9 implementation and investment decision support.
10 The bill seeks to:
11 1. Require municipalities to incorporate climate vulnerability and resilience plans into
12 their comprehensive plans or make separate climate vulnerability and resilience plans.
13 These plans would be updated at least every 5 years;
14 2. Require the Governor's Office of Policy Innovation and the Future to develop a
15 guidance document to assist municipalities in their review of comprehensive plans and
16 development of separate climate vulnerability and resilience plans and ensure that each
17 element of a comprehensive plan or separate climate vulnerability and resilience plan
18 considers climate adaptation and resilience planning when appropriate;
19 3. Amend the laws governing planning and land use regulation to include among the
20 state goals providing overall direction and consistency to the planning and regulatory
21 actions of all state and municipal agencies affecting natural resource management, land use
22 and development the goal of planning for climate change adaptation and resilience; and
23 4. Strengthen the ability of regional planning organizations to provide tools to
24 municipalities and multimunicipal regions to develop climate adaptation and resilience
25 strategies.
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