APPROVED CHAPTER
JUNE 21, 2021 293
BY GOVERNOR PUBLIC LAW
STATE OF MAINE
_____
IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD
TWO THOUSAND TWENTY-ONE
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H.P. 1279 - L.D. 1730
An Act To Correct Inconsistencies, Conflicts and Errors in the Laws of
Maine
Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, acts of this and previous Legislatures have resulted in certain technical
errors, conflicts and inconsistencies in the laws of Maine; and
Whereas, these errors, conflicts and inconsistencies create uncertainties and
confusion in interpreting legislative intent; and
Whereas, it is vitally necessary that these uncertainties and this confusion be resolved
in order to prevent any injustice or hardship to the citizens of Maine; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now,
therefore,
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
PART A
Sec. A-1. 4 MRSA §1051, as amended by PL 2019, c. 59, §1 and c. 475, §49, is
repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§1051. Legal holidays
Court may not be held on Sunday or any day designated for the annual Thanksgiving;
New Year's Day, January 1st; Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, the 3rd Monday in January;
Washington's Birthday, the 3rd Monday in February; Patriot's Day, the 3rd Monday in
April; Memorial Day, the last Monday in May, but if the Federal Government designates
May 30th as the date for observance of Memorial Day, the 30th of May; the 4th of July;
Labor Day, the first Monday of September; Indigenous Peoples Day, the 2nd Monday in
October; Veterans Day, November 11th; or Christmas Day. The Chief Justice of the
Supreme Judicial Court may order that court be held on a legal holiday when the Chief
Justice finds that the interests of justice and judicial economy in any particular case will be
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served. The public offices in county buildings may be closed to business on the holidays
named in this section. When any one of the holidays named in this section falls on Sunday,
the Monday following must be observed as a holiday, with all the privileges applying to
any of the days named in this section.
Sec. A-2. 5 MRSA §1531, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2019, c. 343, Pt. D, §2 and
Pt. IIII, §1, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
2. Average personal income growth. "Average personal income growth" means the
average for the prior 10 calendar years, ending with the most recent calendar year for which
data is available, of the percent change in personal income in this State, as estimated by the
United States Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis. The average
personal income growth is determined by October 1st, annually, by the State Economist.
Sec. A-3. 5 MRSA §1710-D, as amended by PL 2019, c. 343, Pt. D, §4 and Pt. IIII,
§2, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§1710-D. Staffing
The commission may receive staff support from the Department of Administrative and
Financial Services and the Department of Labor.
Sec. A-4. 5 MRSA §1710-I, as amended by PL 2019, c. 343, Pt. D, §5 and Pt. IIII,
§3, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
§1710-I. Staffing
The committee may receive staff assistance from the Department of Administrative
and Financial Services and, at the discretion of the Legislature, the Office of Fiscal and
Program Review. The committee may also utilize other professionals having revenue
forecasting, economic and fiscal expertise.
Sec. A-5. 5 MRSA c. 167, as enacted by 2019, c. 471, §1 and c. 472, §1, is repealed
and the following enacted in its place:
CHAPTER 167
MAINE PRESCRIPTION DRUG AFFORDABILITY BOARD
§2041. Maine Prescription Drug Affordability Board established
1. Board established. The Maine Prescription Drug Affordability Board, as
established in section 12004‑G, subsection 14‑I and referred to in this chapter as "the
board," shall carry out the purposes of this chapter.
2. Membership. The board has 5 members with expertise in health care economics
or clinical medicine, who may not be affiliated with or represent the interests of a public
payor, as that term is defined in section 2042, and who are appointed as follows:
A. Two members by the President of the Senate. The President of the Senate shall also
appoint one alternate board member who will participate in deliberations of the board
in the event a member appointed by the President of the Senate elects to be recused as
provided in subsection 7, paragraph B;
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 B. Two members by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The Speaker of the
House of Representatives shall also appoint one alternate board member who will
participate in deliberations of the board in the event a member appointed by the Speaker
of the House of Representatives elects to be recused as provided in subsection 7,
paragraph B; and
C. One member by the Governor. The Governor shall also appoint one alternate board
member who will participate in deliberations of the board in the event the member
appointed by the Governor elects to be recused as provided in subsection 7, paragraph
B.
3. Terms. Members are appointed to 5-year terms. Of the initial appointees, the
member appointed by the Governor serves an initial term of 5 years, one member appointed
by the President of the Senate and one member appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives serve an initial term of 4 years and one member appointed by the President
of the Senate and one member appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives
serve an initial term of 3 years.
4. Quorum. A majority of board members constitutes a quorum.
5. Chair. The Governor shall name the chair.
6. Meetings. Beginning no later than March 1, 2020, the board shall meet in public
session at least every 12 weeks to review prescription drug information and to make
recommendations pursuant to section 2042. Meetings may be cancelled or postponed at the
discretion of the chair.
A. Each public meeting must be announced 2 weeks in advance, and materials for the
meeting must be made public at least one week in advance.
B. Each public meeting must provide opportunity for comment from the public in
attendance at the meeting, and the board shall provide the opportunity for the public to
submit written comments on pending decisions.
C. The board may allow expert testimony at public meetings and any meeting
conducted in executive session as permitted by paragraph D.
D. Notwithstanding the requirements of Title 1, section 405, the board may meet in
executive session, except that any decision of the board must be made in public.
7. Conflicts of interest. The following provisions govern any conflict of interest for
a member of the board, a member of the advisory council established pursuant to subsection
10 or any staff member or contractor of the board.
A. When appointing a member of the board or the advisory council established
pursuant to subsection 10, the appointing authority shall consider any conflict of
interest disclosed by the prospective member. A member shall elect to be recused from
any board activity in the case in which the member or an immediate family member of
the member has a conflict of interest. For the purposes of this paragraph, "conflict of
interest" means an association, including a financial or personal association, that has
the potential to bias or have the appearance of biasing an individual's decisions in
matters related to the board or the conduct of the board's activities.
B. A board member or staff or contractor of the board with a conflict of interest shall
elect to be recused. For purposes of this paragraph, "conflict of interest" means any
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 instance in which a member of the board or an immediate family member of the
member has received or could receive either of the following:
(1) A direct financial benefit of any amount deriving from the results or findings
of a study or determination by or for the board; or
(2) A financial benefit from individuals or companies that own or manufacture
prescription drugs, services or items to be studied by the board that in the aggregate
exceeds $5,000 per year. For purposes of this subparagraph, "financial benefit"
includes honoraria, fees, stock or other financial benefit and the current value of
the member's or immediate family member's already existing stock holdings, in
addition to any direct financial benefit deriving from the results or findings
conducted under this section.
C. A conflict of interest must be disclosed in the following manner:
(1) By the board in the employment of board senior staff;
(2) By the Governor, President of the Senate or Speaker of the House of
Representatives when appointing members to the board and advisory council
established pursuant to subsection 10;
(3) By the board, describing any recusals as part of any final decision relating to a
prescription drug; and
(4) By the 5th day after a conflict is identified or, if a public meeting of the board
will occur within that 5-day period, in advance of the public meeting.
D. Conflicts of interest must be publicly posted on the website of the board. The
information disclosed must include the type, nature and magnitude of the interests of
the individual involved, except to the extent that the individual elects to be recused
from participation in any activity with respect to which the potential conflict exists.
E. The board, the advisory council established pursuant to subsection 10, a member of
the board or staff or a contractor of the board may not accept gifts, bequests or
donations of services or property that suggest a conflict of interest or have the
appearance of creating bias in the work of the board or advisory council.
F. A member of the advisory council established pursuant to subsection 10 who accepts
a gift, bequest or donation of services or property that suggests a conflict of interest or
has the appearance of creating bias in the work of the advisory council shall disclose
the gift, bequest or donation publicly.
8. Staff. The board may employ an executive director, whose salary, to the extent
feasible, must comport with state personnel rules and requirements.
9. Compensation. A member of the board and a member of the advisory council
appointed pursuant to subsection 10, paragraph L are entitled to legislative per diem and
reimbursement for expenses as provided in section 12004‑G, subsection 14‑I.
10. Advisory council. A 12-member advisory council is established to advise the
board on establishing annual spending targets pursuant to section 2042, subsection 1 and
determining methods for meeting those spending targets pursuant to section 2042,
subsection 3. The advisory council consists of:
A. The Governor or the governor's designee;
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 B. The Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services or the commissioner's
designee;
C. The Commissioner of Corrections or the commissioner's designee;
D. The Commissioner of Health and Human Services or the commissioner's designee;
E. The Attorney General or the Attorney General's designee;
F. The Executive Director of Employee Health and Benefits, within the Department
of Administrative and Financial Services, Bureau of Human Resources, or the
executive director's designee;
G. A representative from the Maine State Employees Association, appointed by the
Governor, based on a nomination by the association;
H. A representative from the Maine Education Association, appointed by the
Governor, based on a nomination by the association;
I. A representative from the Maine Municipal Association, appointed by the Governor,
based on a nomination by the association;
J. A representative from the University of Maine System, appointed by the Governor,
based on a nomination by the system;
K. A representative from the Maine Community College System, appointed by the
Governor, based on a nomination by the system; and
L. A representative of consumer interests, appointed by the Governor, who serves a
3‑year term.
11. Funds and grants. The board may apply for and receive funds, grants or contracts
from public and private sources.
12. Assessment. The board may recommend that a public payor, as defined in section
2042, subsection 1, pay an annual assessment to support the administrative costs of the
board.
§2042. Powers and duties of the board
1. Prescription drug spending targets. The board has the following powers and
duties. For the purposes of this section, the term "public payor" means any division of state,
county or municipal government that administers a health plan for employees of that
division of state, county or municipal government or an association of state, county or
municipal employers that administers a health plan for its employees, except for the
MaineCare program. The board shall:
A. Beginning for the year 2021 and in consultation with the advisory council
established under section 2041, subsection 10, determine annual spending targets for
prescription drugs purchased by public payors based upon a 10-year rolling average of
the medical care services component of the United States Department of Labor, Bureau
of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index medical care services index plus a reasonable
percentage for inflation and minus a spending target determined by the board for
pharmacy savings;
B. Determine spending targets on specific prescription drugs that may cause
affordability challenges to enrollees in a public payor health plan; and
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 C. Determine which public payors are likely to exceed the spending targets determined
under paragraph A.
2. Prescription drug spending data. The board may consider the following data to
accomplish its duties under this section:
A. A public payor's prescription drug spending data, which the 3rd‑party administrator
or insurer for the public payor's health plan shall provide to the board on behalf of the
public payor upon request notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
including:
(1) Expenditures and utilization data for prescription drugs for each plan offered
by a public payor;
(2) The formulary for each plan offered by a public payor and prescription drugs
common to each formulary;
(3) Pharmacy benefit management services and other administrative expenses of
the prescription drug benefit for each plan offered by a public payor; and
(4) Enrollee cost sharing for each plan offered by a public payor; and
B. Data compiled by the Maine Health Data Organization under Title 22, chapter 1683.
Prescription drug spending data provided to the board under this subsection is confidential
to the same extent it is confidential while in the custody of the entity that provided the data
to the board.
3. Recommendations. Based upon the prescription drug spending data received under
subsection 2, the board, in consultation with a representative of each public payor identified
under subsection 1, paragraph A, shall determine methods for the public payor to meet the
spending targets established under subsection 1. The board shall determine whether the
following methods reduce costs to individuals purchasing prescription drugs through a
public payor and allow public payors to meet the spending targets established under
subsection 1:
A. Negotiating specific rebate amounts on the prescription drugs that contribute most
to spending that exceeds the spending targets;
B. Changing a formulary when sufficient rebates cannot be secured under paragraph
A;
C. Changing a formulary with respect to all of the prescription drugs of a manufacturer
within a formulary when sufficient rebates cannot be secured under paragraph A;
D. Establishing a common prescription drug formulary for all public payors;
E. Prohibiting health insurance carriers in the State from offering on their formularies
a prescription drug or any of the prescription drugs manufactured by a particular
manufacturer when the methods described in paragraph B or C are implemented;
F. Purchasing prescription drugs in bulk or through a single purchasing agreement for
use among public payors;
G. Collaborating with other states and state prescription drug purchasing consortia to
purchase prescription drugs in bulk or to jointly negotiate rebates;
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 H. Allowing health insurance carriers providing coverage to small businesses and
individuals in the State to participate in the public payor prescription drug benefit for
a fee;
I. Procuring common expert services for public payors, including but not limited to
pharmacy benefit management services and actuarial services; and
J. Any other method the board may determine.
4. Report. The board shall report its recommenda