Amend the bill by striking out all of section 1.

Amend the bill in section 2 in §451 in subsection 2 in the 3rd line (page 1, line 31 in L.D.) by striking out the following: " January" and inserting the following: ' June'

Amend the bill in section 2 in §451 in subsection 2 in the 5th line (page 1, line 33 in L.D.) by striking out the following: " 2008" and inserting the following: ' 2009'

Amend the bill in section 2 in §451 in subsection 2 in the 6th line (page 1, line 34 in L.D.) by striking out the following: " 2008" and inserting the following: ' 2009'

Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 3 and 4.

Amend the bill by striking out all of sections 9, 10, 11 and 12.

Amend the bill by inserting after section 12 the following:

Amend the bill by striking out all of section 13 and inserting the following:

Amend the bill in section 14 in the 2nd line (page 5, line 15 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "July" and inserting the following: 'September'

Amend the bill in section 15 in the 5th and 6th lines (page 6, lines 8 and 9 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "in order to meet the requirement of Title 37-B, section 783 that at least one such shelter be established in each county no later than January 1, 2008"

Amend the bill in section 15 in the 3rd line from the end (page 6, line 11 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "September 1, 2007" and inserting the following: 'January 1, 2008'

Amend the bill in section 16 in the 5th line (page 6, line 18 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "required under Title 37-B, section 783"

Amend the bill in section 16 in the 3rd line from the end (page 6, line 23 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "September 1, 2007" and inserting the following: 'January 1, 2008'

Amend the bill in section 17 in the 6th line (page 6, line 31 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "required under Title 37-B, section 783"

Amend the bill in section 17 in the 3rd line from the end (page 6, line 34 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "September 1, 2007" and inserting the following: 'January 1, 2008'

Amend the bill in section 18 in the 6th line (page 6, line 42 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "code" and inserting the following: 'means of'

Amend the bill in section 18 in the 2nd and 3rd lines from the end (page 7, lines 1 and 2 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "July 1, 2007" and inserting the following: 'January 1, 2008'

Amend the bill in section 19 in the 2nd and 3rd lines from the end (page 7, lines 13 and 14 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "September 1, 2007" and inserting the following: 'January 1, 2008'

Amend the bill in section 20 in the 3rd line from the end (page 7, line 24 in L.D.) by striking out the following: "September 1, 2007" and inserting the following: 'January 1, 2008'

Amend the bill by striking out all of section 21 and inserting the following:

Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or section number to read consecutively.

summary

This amendment is the majority report of the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety and does the following.

1. It strikes section 1 of the bill regarding comprehensive emergency management plans, as the issue is being addressed in L.D. 222, "An Act To Ensure the Integrity of School Crisis Response Plans."

2. It specifies that local health officers must be qualified by education, training or experience in the field of public health or a combination as determined by standards set through the adoption of major substantive rules by the Department of Health and Human Services, Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention by June 1, 2008. A person employed as a local health officer before June 1, 2008 who is not qualified by education, training or experience must meet qualification standards no later than June 1, 2009.

3. Instead of creating statutory mandates for the adoption of policies in each of these areas, it directs the Maine Emergency Management Agency to continue to work with communities to develop plans for ensuring sheltering of pets, to ensure continuous medical care of persons transferred in emergencies and to ensure identification of persons who need transportation in an emergency and to report to the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety by January 1, 2008 with recommendations including legislative changes, if necessary.

4. It strikes provisions specifying that persons who have been certified by the Department of Labor, Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, Division of Deafness as being deaf or hard-of-hearing and have an income of less than 135% of the federal poverty level must receive a wireless communications device or 2-way pager and the monthly service for that device or pager without charge. This issue is referred for review to the Joint Standing Committee on Utilities and Energy.

5. It strikes provisions creating an annual fee structure for payment by municipal and private dam owners to support dam inspection, maintenance and repair.

6. It amends provisions dealing with rulemaking and establishing standards for local health officers by allowing the Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention more time to establish and adopt major substantive rules.

7. It changes the time by which the Director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency, in cooperation with the Maine Developmental Disabilities Council and the Public Utilities Commission, must develop and implement a plan, including funding, to provide a statewide disability indicator system to allow individuals with disabilities and special health needs to provide a means for identifying special assistance needed in an emergency. The director shall report regarding the implementation of the plan and shall identify any necessary implementing legislation to the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety by January 1, 2008.

8. It changes the time by which the Director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency, in cooperation with the Chief Information Officer and the Statewide Radio Network Board, must seek and coordinate information from fire chiefs across the State identifying those facilities in each chief’s community that pose radio communications challenges and, after a standardized risk assessment, are identified as having high potential for high vulnerability in an emergency event. The director shall report findings and recommendations, including any necessary legislation, to the Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety by January 1, 2008.

9. It changes the time by which the Director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency, in cooperation with the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation and the Department of Environmental Protection, must research the public safety factors involved in determining whether fuel tanks should be attached to buildings in order to withstand high winds and flooding and whether all fuel tanks should have emergency shut-off valves. The director shall report findings and recommendations, including any necessary legislation, to the Homeland Security Advisory Council by January 1, 2008.

10. It includes an appropriations and allocations section to implement an initiative to provide funding for 6 stream gauges to be installed on rivers in York and Cumberland counties and strikes appropriations and allocations that established 2 positions to support the Dam Safety Program and 2 positions to support Maine’s Fusion Center, some of which are in L.D. 499, "An Act Making Unified Appropriations and Allocations for the Expenditures of State Government, General Fund and Other Funds, and Changing Certain Provisions of the Law Necessary to the Proper Operations of State Government for the Fiscal Years Ending June 30, 2008 and June 30, 2009."

11. It amends Public Law 2005, chapter 634, section 21 by specifying that the Department of Education shall ask a school district whether it plans to use its school as a public community shelter after site approval and before concept approval.