An Act To Require Legislative Hearings on Citizen-initiated Legislation

Sec. 1. 21-A MRSA §907  is enacted to read:

§ 907.  Public hearing on direct initiatives

A petition for direct initiative of legislation under the Constitution of Maine, Article IV, Part Third, Section 18 that is determined valid by the Secretary of State pursuant to section 905, subsection 1 and is submitted to the Legislature in accordance with the procedure established in the Constitution of Maine, Article IV, Part Third, Section 18, Subsection 1 must be afforded a public hearing conducted by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over the subject matter of the petition or by a special legislative committee established for that purpose by the Legislative Council. The public hearing must be conducted in the same manner as other public hearings.

SUMMARY

This bill requires a petition for the direct initiative of legislation, once it has been certified by the Secretary of State to be submitted to the Legislature for consideration by the Legislature to receive a public hearing before a joint standing committee of the Legislature or a special legislative committee established by the Legislative Council. The public hearing must be conducted in the same manner as other public hearings.