Maine Food Policy News
#12 May 4, 2021
Published weekly with support from
an Elmina B. Sewall Foundation grant to Maine Farm to Institution

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Committee Schedules 5/3 - 5/14

Note: Each Bill listed has 3 clickable links:
  • LD # link takes you to PDF text for the Bill
  • Committee links takes you to Committee Page which includes:
  • Hearings & Work Sessions
  • links to testimony documents
  • YouTube links takes you to hearings & Work Sessions, both live and earlier sessions.

We urge you to consider viewing Committee work and submit testimony for Bills that are important to you. Here is info on participating in Committees.
Abbreviations used for Committees:

Key Bills

LD 1565  An Act To Strengthen Maine's Agriculture, Food and Forest Economy Sponsored by Rep. Talbot Ross Hearing May 4, 9am AFC Committee. ACF YouTube

LD 1541   An Act To Support and Improve Municipal Recycling Programs and Save Taxpayer Money Sponsored by Rep. Grohoski Hearing May 10, 9am  ENR Committee.  ENR YouTube High priority Bill for NRCM (Natural Resource Council of Maine). 1541 Factsheet

Hunger, Food Rights, Equity Bills

LD 574 An Act To Clarify the Maine Food Sovereignty Act  sponsored by Rep Bill Pluecker, Work Session May 4, 9am AFC Committee. The bill amends the definition of "direct producer-to-consumer transaction" to mean any exchange of food or food products directly between a producer and a consumer in a manner mutually agreed upon by the producer and consumer of the food or food products rather than face-to-face transactions at the site of production. ACF YouTube

LD 1540   An Act To Reduce Hunger and Use Food Scraps in Farming and Energy Production Sponsored by Rep. Zeigler Hearing May 3, 11am  ENR Committee.  ENR YouTube
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LD 585 An Act To Restore to the Penobscot Nation and Passamaquoddy Tribe the Authority To Exercise Jurisdiction under the Federal Tribal Law and Order Act of 2010, sponsored by Rep. Rachel Talbot Ross, Hearing May 4, 9am Judiciary Committee.  JUD YouTube

LD 906  An Act to Provide Passamaquoddy Tribal Members Access to Clean Drinking Water sponsored by Rep. Rena Newell, Hearing May 4, 9am Judiciary Committee JUD YouTube

LD 961 An Act To Provide Equity in Access to Applications for the National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program sponsored by Sen. Vitelli, Work Session May 5, 1pm EDU Committee. Create a statewide school meal benefit online application, housed on the Department of Education’s website, so families can easily apply for school meals online. The data submitted via the application would not be visible to the Department of Education, but would be transferred directly to local districts.  EDU YouTube

LD 1309  An Act To Address Systemic Racism and Improve Economic Prosperity Sponsored by Rep Talbot Ross, Work Session May 4, 11am IDEA & Business Comm. IDEA YouTube


LD 1567  An Act To Equitably Fund Maine's Climate Change Mitigation Efforts Sponsored by Rep. Kessler, Hearing May 7, 9am ENR Committee.  ENR YouTube

LD 1568   An Act To Implement the Recommendations of the Task Force on Changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act Sponsored by Rep. Evangelos, Hearing May 4, 9am  Judiciary Comm. JUD YouTube

LD 1626  An Act Implementing the Recommendations of the Task Force on Changes to the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Implementing Act Sponsored by Rep. Talbot Ross Hearing May 4, 9am Judiciary Comm. JUD YouTube

Recycling, Pesticide Bills

LD 1541   An Act To Support and Improve Municipal Recycling Programs and Save Taxpayer Money Sponsored by Rep. Grohoski Hearing May 10, 9am  ENR Committee.  ENR YouTube High priority Bill for NRCM (Natural Resource Council of Maine). 1541 Factsheet

LD 125 An Act To Prohibit the Aerial Spraying of Glyphosate and Other Synthetic Herbicides for the Purpose of Silviculture, sponsored by Pres. Troy Jackson, Work Session May 6, 9am ACF Committee This bill prohibits the aerial application of glyphosate or other synthetic herbicides for the purpose of silviculture, including reforestation, regeneration or vegetation control after a timber harvest.  ACF YouTube

LD 640  An Act To Ban Single-serving, Disposable Plastic Water Bottles sponsored by Rep Lori Gramlich, Work Session May 5, 10am ENR Committee This bill prohibits the sale, offering for sale and distribution for promotional purposes of uncarbonated, unflavored drinking water in containers of one liter or less that are made of plastic except during proclaimed a emergency.  ENR YouTube

LD 1467  An Act To Promote a Circular Economy through Increased Post-consumer Recycled Plastic Content in Plastic Beverage Containers,  sponsored by Rep. Doudera  Work Session May 5, 10am  ENR Committee.  ENR YouTube

LD 1505  An Act to Restrict the Use of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Firefighting Foam, sponsored by Rep Gramlich  Hearing May 7, 9am in the ENR Committee.  ENR YouTube

LD 1541   An Act To Support and Improve Municipal Recycling Programs and Save Taxpayer Money Sponsored by Rep. Grohoski Hearing May 10, 9am  ENR Committee.  ENR YouTube High priority Bill for NRCM (Natural Resource Council of Maine).

LD 1570   An Act To Protect Drinking Water for Maine Residents Sponsored by Rep. Gramlich, Hearing May 3, 1pm HHS Committee.  HHS YouTube
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LD 1600   An Act To Investigate Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance Contamination of Land and Groundwater Sponsored by Rep. Gramlich, Hearing May 7, 10am ENR Committee.  ENR YouTube

Education Bills

LD 1389  An Act to Improve Maritime Education in Maine, sponsored by Rep. Cuddy, Work Session May 4, 1pm EDU Committee.  EDU YouTube
Federal Food and Agriculture Bills
The News is beginning to expand coverage of national legislation. Bills listed below have links to PDFs for each.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced that it is seeking comments on a Department-wide effort to improve and reimagine the supply chains for the production, processing and distribution of agricultural commodities and food products. 
 
In addition to asking about the agricultural supply chain, USDA is interested in comments about how to target pandemic-related stimulus relief programs and spending authorized by Congress in the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) and American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) toward long term, systemic change that results in food supply chain resiliency. In particular, the request for comment seeks input on—
  • bolstering local and regional food systems,
  • developing new market opportunities (including for value-added agriculture and products),
  • creating fairer and more competitive markets,
  • meeting the needs of the agricultural workforce,
  • supporting and promoting consumers’ nutrition security, particularly for low-income populations,
  • addressing the needs of socially disadvantaged and small to mid-sized producers, and
  • advancing efforts in other ways to transform the food system.
 

S. 1421 Food and Nutrition Education in Schools Act introduced by Senators Cory Booker and John Cornyn features:
  • Provides funding for the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a pilot grant program to create food and nutrition education positions in a range of rural, urban, and tribal schools. 
  • Food and nutrition educators will implement evidence-based practices proven to maximize students’ consumption—and enjoyment—of healthy meals. 
  • Priority will be given to schools in neighborhoods with high rates of childhood diet-related illnesses and schools in which 40 percent or more of students qualify for free or reduced price meals.

HR 7554, American Farmers, Food Banks, and Families Act

HR 5861: Agricullture Resilience Act.

HR 5845: Break Free from Plastic Pollutions Act

HR 5841: Food Recovery Act

Rep. Pingree and others introduced HR 1258: The Strengthening Local Processing Act will increase options for local livestock and poultry producers and assist smaller facilities as they adapt to the COVID-19 pandemic and expand to meet consumer demand. See the 2/23 Press Release for more information.

Rep. Alma Adams (D-NC-12) introduced the Local and Regional Farmer and Market Support Act (H.R. 8096), and it will help meet the needs of farmers who've been left out during the pandemic. Here are THREE big reasons to support this bill:
  • It offers direct support for producers selling into local and regional markets based on the losses they've experienced. 
  • It prioritizes funding for BIPOC farmers and low-income communities of color and includes robust outreach, technical assistance, and data collection to ensure that aid is distributed equitably. 
  • It provides emergency response grants for farmers markets and local food enterprises to allow those operations to adapt to new market conditions, implement public health and safety protections, and further support communities experiencing food insecurity.
The Maine Food Policy Website is now live. It includes an archive of all Newsletters, along with complete listings of all Bills we are tracking sorted by topics, tips on Taking Action and more. We continue to build this site as a toolbox for Food Justice and Democracy.
For more information, contact Ken Morse, Coordinator of the Maine Food Policy Work Group