RULEMAKING

Public Input for Proposed Rules Notices are published each Wednesday to alert the public regarding state agency rulemaking. You may obtain a copy of any rule by notifying the agency contact person. You may also comment on the rule, and/or attend the public hearing. If no hearing is scheduled, you may request one - the agency may then schedule a hearing, and must do so if 5 or more persons request it. If you are disabled or need special services to attend a hearing, please notify the agency contact person at least 7 days prior to it. Petitions: you can petition an agency to adopt, amend, or repeal any rule; the agency must provide you with petition forms, and must respond to your petition within 60 days. The agency must enter rulemaking if the petition is signed by 150 or more registered voters, and may begin rulemaking if there are fewer (Title 5 §8055). You can also petition the Legislature to review a rule; the Executive Director of the Legislative Council (115 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333, phone (207) 287-1615) will provide you with the necessary petition forms. The appropriate legislative committee will review a rule upon receipt of a petition from 100 or more registered voters, or from "...any person who may be directly, substantially and adversely affected by the application of a rule..." (Title 5 §11112). World?Wide Web: Copies of the weekly notices and the full texts of adopted rule chapters may be found on the internet at: http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules. There is also a list of rulemaking liaisons (http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules/liaisons.html), who are single points of contact for each agency. PROPOSALS AGENCY: 90-429 - Board of Licensure of Water System Operators CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 1, Water System Operators Licensing Rule PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2017-P186 BRIEF SUMMARY: This proposed amendment will eliminate the requirement for applications to be notarized before submission, establish a mechanism for the Board to address rule violations that do not rise to the level of revocation or suspension, and eliminate the "grace period" for license renewal. PUBLIC HEARING: January 19, 2018; 9 a.m.; Maine Public Utilities Commission, 101 Second Street, Hallowell, ME COMMENT DEADLINE: January 29, 2018 CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING / SMALL BUSINESS IMPACT INFORMATION / BOARD RULEMAKING LIAISON: Jonathan Leach, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 286 Water Street, 11 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0011. Telephone: (207) 287-9395. Email: Jonathan.H.Leach@Maine.gov . FINANCIAL IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: There is no anticipated financial impact on municipalities or counties. AGENCY: 13-188 - Department of Marine Resources (DMR) CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 32, Eel Regulations: Elver Quota System for the 2018 Season PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2017-P187 BRIEF SUMMARY: This proposed rulemaking establishes the elver quota allocations for the 2018 season for individuals licensed under §§ 6505-A and 6302-A, and the method of calculating individual elver quota allocations for individuals licensed under §6505-A. 2018 allocations for individuals who held a license in 2017 will be the same as their 2017 allocations, plus any quota associated with licenses not renewed in 2017, or licenses suspended for the duration of the 2018 season, which will be distributed evenly to all license holders with an allocation of less than 50 lbs. in 2017. Individuals who become eligible to purchase an elver license in the 2018 elver license lottery will receive a quota of 4 lbs. The rule-making also deletes language that has been moved to Ch. 55. PUBLIC HEARING: January 17, 2018 - 4:00 p.m., DMR Offices, Room 118 Marquardt Building, 32 Blossom Lane, Augusta, Maine. If the January 17, 2018 hearing is canceled due to inclement weather, the alternate date and location will be: January 18, 2018 at 4:30PM, DMR Offices, Rm 118 Marquardt Building, 32 Blossom Lane, Augusta, Maine. Weather related cancellations will be posted to the DMR website at: http://www.maine.gov/dmr/ . COMMENT DEADLINE: January 29, 2018 CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING / SMALL BUSINESS IMPACT INFORMATION / DMR RULEMAKING LIAISON: Amanda Ellis, Department of Marine Resources, 21 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0021. Telephone: (207) 624-6576. Fax: (207) 624-6024. TTY: (207) 633-9500 (Deaf/Hard of Hearing). Email: Amanda.Ellis@Maine.gov . DMR RULEMAKING TELEPHONE: (207) 624-6573 FINANCIAL IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: none AGENCY: 29-250 - Secretary of State (SOS), Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE: Ch. 157, The Administration of Over Dimension and Overweight Permits PROPOSED RULE NUMBER: 2017-P188 BRIEF SUMMARY: The rule is being amended to add additional safety requirements for 5-axle cranes crossing certain restricted bridges. PUBLIC HEARING: none planned COMMENT DEADLINE: January 26, 2018 CONTACT PERSON FOR THIS FILING / SMALL BUSINESS IMPACT INFORMATION: Steven Ashcroft, Chief of Motor Carrier Services, 29 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0029. Telephone: (207) 624-9056. Email: Steven.Ashcroft@Maine.gov . FINANCIAL IMPACT ON MUNICIPALITIES OR COUNTIES: none ADOPTIONS Pursuant to Ch. 380 of the Public Laws of 2011, notice of the adoption of rules will no longer be published in the newspaper rulemaking notices; our Wednesday web notices will continue to carry them, however. Information on rules adopted through the Maine Administrative Procedure Act as well as the full text of adopted rules is available on the internet at http://www.maine.gov/sos/cec/rules .