Amend the bill by inserting after the title and before the enacting clause the following:
‘Emergency preamble. Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, the issues resulting from gender discrimination in the State exist and affect the lives of women; and
Whereas, the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women should begin to work on issues resulting from gender discrimination immediately; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, therefore,’
Amend the bill in section 1 in §7029 in the first and 2nd lines (page 1, lines 6 and 7 in L.D.) by striking out the following: " 12004-J, subsection 17" and inserting the following: ' 12004-I, subsection 88-A'
Amend the bill in section 1 in §7030 by striking out all of the first indented paragraph (page 1, lines 11 to 23 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
‘
The commission consists of 17 members, including 7 appointed by the Governor, 5 appointed by the President of the Senate and 5 appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives. In making these appointments, the Governor, the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives shall consider and appoint residents of the State who have a knowledge of problems facing women in the State, who have experience in advocacy relating to women's issues and who provide leadership in programs or activities that improve opportunities for women. The members of the commission must be chosen from throughout the State, and the majority of members must be women. A member of the Legislature may not be appointed to the commission. The Governor shall appoint 7 members, each of whom represents one of the following interests: minorities, the elderly, low-income people, persons with disabilities, youth, working with victims of domestic violence and federally recognized tribes in the State.’
Amend the bill in section 1 in §7030-D in subsection 5 in the last line (page 2, line 23 in L.D.) by striking out the following: " women;" and inserting the following: ' women; and'
Amend the bill in section 1 in §7030-D in subsection 6 in the last line (page 2, line 25 in L.D.) by striking out the following: " commission; and" and inserting the following: ' commission.'
Amend the bill in section 1 in §7030-D by striking out all of subsection 7 (page 2, lines 26 and 27 in L.D.)
Amend the bill in section 1 in §7030-E in the first paragraph by striking out all of the last underlined sentence (page 2, line 30 in L.D.)
Amend the bill in section 1 by striking out all of §7030-F (page 2, lines 31 to 33 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
The Secretary of State shall provide staffing support as required.’
Amend the bill by striking out all of section 2 and inserting the following:
‘Sec. 2. 5 MRSA §12004-I, sub-§88-A is enacted to read:
Amend the bill by adding before the summary the following:
‘Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.’
SUMMARY
The amendment makes the following changes to the bill.
1. It changes the membership of the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women. The Governor appoints 7 members rather than 9 and the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives appoint 5 members each rather than 4. Members of the Legislature may not be appointed to the commission. It also adds specific criteria for members appointed by the Governor.
2. It removes the position of executive director from the commission.
3. It provides that the commission will be staffed by the Secretary of State.
4. It moves the commission from the section of Title 5 listing independent advisory boards and places it in the section of boards with minimal authority with no line item in the budget.
5. It adds an emergency preamble and emergency clause.