124th MAINE LEGISLATURE
		LD 1185		LR 1588(01)
	An Act To Require Cause for Employment Termination
	Preliminary Fiscal Impact Statement for Original Bill
	Sponsor: Sen. Craven of Androscoggin
	Committee: Labor
	Fiscal Note Required: Yes
Preliminary Fiscal Impact Statement
			2009-10	2010-11	Projections 2011-12	Projections 2012-13
Net Cost (Savings)
	General Fund		($25,078)	$984,341	$993,941	$1,029,583
Appropriations/Allocations
	General Fund		$113,394	$1,205,973	$1,215,573	$1,251,215
Revenue
	General Fund		$138,472	$221,632	$221,632	$221,632
Fiscal Detail and Notes
	The Maine Labor Relations Board will require General Fund appropriations of $113,394 in fiscal year 2009-10 and $153,048 in fiscal year 2010-11 for one Attorney position, one Paralegal position, per diem for Board members and related All Other costs associated with the anticipated increase in complaints as a result of this legislation.  This estimate assumes an effective date of October 1, 2009.
	The Judicial Branch will require a General Fund appropriation of $1,052,925 in fiscal year 2010-11 for 3 Judge positions, 3 Deputy Marshall positions, one full-time and one part-time Assistant Clerk positions, one full-time and one part-time Judicial Secretary positions and one full-time and one part-time Law Clerk positions and related costs to address the anticipated increase in workload as a result of the Maine Employment Termination Act.  The General Fund revenue increase related to the increase in filing fees is estimated to be $83,160 beginning in fiscal year 2010-11.
	This legislation includes a provision for the Maine Labor Relations Board to establish a filing fee to be paid by a complainant in an amount not to exceed the maximum filing fee for a civil action in the Maine Superior Courts, which, according to information provided by the Maine Labor Relations Board is $150.  The Maine Labor Board estimates the potential number of claims that could be filed annually to be approximately 900, resulting in revenue from filing fees to be potentially $138,472 per year (see detailed assumptions below.)  Because this legislation is silent as to where these revenues are to be directed, this fiscal impact statement assumes they will be deposited into the unappropriated surplus of the General Fund to offset the General Fund costs of this legislation.  Actual revenues will be higher or lower depending on the filing fee set by the Board and the number of complaints per year.
	Revenue Assumptions:
	# employees in Maine who work for employers with 5 or more employees:				473,408
	% that work 1/2 time or have worked for employer for more than 1 year:				65%
	# of employees covered by this legislation:				307,715
	% laid off or terminated per year:				1%
	Potential claims per year:				3,077
	% who actually file claims:				30%
	# of estimated claims per year:				923
	Filing fee per claim:				$          150
	Potential revenue from filing fees:				$    138,472