Amend the bill by inserting after the enacting clause and before section 1 the following:
‘Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §12004-G, sub-§26-F is enacted to read:
26-F.
| Maine National Guard |
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Commission to Protect the Lives and Health of Members of the Maine National Guard |
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Legislative Per Diem and Expenses |
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37-B MRSA §532 |
Sec. 2. 22 MRSA §255-A is enacted to read:
The commissioner, through the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, shall provide for assistance to the Commission to Protect the Lives and Health of Members of the Maine National Guard in order for the commission to achieve the purpose for which it is created in Title 37-B, chapter 8-A. The Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the Commissioner of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management shall coordinate their resources, including staff assistance, to the commission and cooperate under the direction of the commission to provide a higher standard of preventative health care for members of the Maine National Guard.’
Amend the bill in section 1 in §533 in subsection 1 by striking out paragraph H (page 3, lines 22 to 25 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
‘ H. Work with the Bureau of Maine Veterans' Services to track the care of the physically and psychologically wounded Maine National Guard and Armed Forces service members from Maine within the health care systems of the United States Department of Defense and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs and serve as an advocate to ensure a high quality of care; and’
Amend the bill in section 1 in §534 by striking out all of the first line (page 3, line 38 in L.D.) and inserting the following: '§534. Meetings of the commission; public hearing'
Amend the bill by inserting after section 1 the following:
‘Sec. 2. Purpose. The intent of this Act is to provide higher and safer standards for preventative medical practices and health screenings administered to members of the Maine National Guard than currently exist and to encourage the federal military forces to adopt these higher standards. It is also the intent of this Act to prevent future noncombat deaths and injuries of military personnel by creating the Commission to Protect the Lives and Health of Members of the Maine National Guard and by directing the Maine National Guard and the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to take such action as necessary to accomplish this purpose including coordination and cooperation between these 2 agencies.’
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.
summary
This amendment clarifies that the Commission to Protect the Lives and Health of Members of the Maine National Guard will also track the care of wounded service members of all military services. It also makes a technical change by adding the commission to the list of boards and commissions found in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5 and by referencing the role of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Title 22, which governs health and welfare. This amendment includes a purpose section and clarifies a headnote.
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED
(See attached)