121st Maine Legislature
		Office of Fiscal and Program Review
		LD 1051
		An Act To Expand the Mission of the Public Advocate
		LR 1263(01)
		Fiscal Note for Original Bill
		Sponsor: Rep. Bliss of South Portland
		Committee: Insurance and Financial Services
		Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Fiscal Note
Current biennium cost increase - Other Special Revenue Funds
Current biennium revenue increase - Other Special Revenue Funds
					Projections	Projections
			2003-04	2004-05	2005-06	2006-07
Appropriations/Allocations
	Other Special Revenue Funds		$645,557	$622,902	$638,475	$654,436
Revenue
	Other Special Revenue Funds		$645,557	$622,902	$638,475	$654,436
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	Expanding the duties of the Public Advocate to include oversight of the insurance industry will require three Senior Counsel positions, a Senior Legal Secretary position and general operating funds to set up and rent new office space.  These new positions are required for the representation of consumers at the Bureau of Insurance and to handle complaint investigation requirements.  These allocations are to be offset by additional revenue derived from establishing a filing fee of $50,000 on an insurer who files for a rate change to workers' compensation insurance or employers' liability insurance.  The Bureau of Insurance in the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation may also incur additional costs under this bill to address issues raised by the Public Advocate. These additional costs will depend on the workload generated by the Public Advocate and cannot be estimated at this time.