‘Resolve, To Establish a Response Team To Facilitate the Redevelopment of Unoccupied Mills and Other Unoccupied Buildings’

‘Emergency preamble. Whereas,  acts and resolves of the Legislature do not become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and

Whereas,  this legislation establishes a coordinated response team to help municipalities to redevelop unoccupied mills and other large unoccupied buildings and to help improve their local economies; and

Whereas,  the response team must begin its work immediately in order to provide support to those municipalities in need of assistance to improve their local economies and to have sufficient time to prepare its report for submission to the next legislative session; 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, be it

Sec. 1. Coordinate and establish a response team to facilitate redevelopment of unoccupied mills. Resolved: That, beginning June 15, 2012, the Department of Economic and Community Development shall establish and coordinate a response team to facilitate the redevelopment of unoccupied mills and other large unoccupied buildings. The Department of Environmental Protection, the Finance Authority of Maine and the Maine State Housing Authority shall participate in the response team, and the Department of Economic and Community Development shall invite the participation in the response team of a representative of a commercial real estate developer, a representative from an economic development district, a local economic development representative and a private sector representative knowledgeable in the mill redevelopment process. The response team shall facilitate the Department of Economic and Community Development’s efforts to redevelop unoccupied mills, other large unoccupied buildings and former schools that are now unoccupied. The response team shall provide assistance upon request to a municipality that is actively working to implement a redevelopment business plan for an unoccupied building and that has identified within the business plan possible financing resources and marketing plans for the redevelopment of the unoccupied site. The response team may assist by visiting the unoccupied site and engaging in discussions with local officials regarding the availability of federal, state and local financing resources for municipalities seeking to redevelop such sites as well as identifying and removing whenever possible any regulatory obstacles to the redevelopment of the site; and be it further

Sec. 2. Report. Resolved: That, no later than February 1, 2013, the Department of Economic and Community Development shall provide a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over labor, commerce, research and economic development matters, the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over appropriations and financial affairs and the Governor on the coordinated response efforts under section 1. The Department of Economic and Community Development shall submit with the report any recommendations for changes that may be required in statute or local ordinances to remove obstacles to the redevelopment of the sites under section 1. The joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over labor, commerce, research and economic development matters is authorized to report out a bill implementing the recommendations to the First Regular Session of the 126th Legislature.

Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation takes effect when approved.’