§683-A. Creation of Maine Land Use Planning Commission
The Maine Land Use Planning Commission, as established by Title 5, section 12004‑D, subsection 1‑A to carry out the purposes stated in section 681, is created within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and in this chapter called "the commission." The commission is charged with implementing this chapter. The commission consists of 11 members, appointed in accordance with subsections 1‑A and 2. All appointments under this section are subject to review by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over conservation matters and to confirmation by the Senate.
[PL 2025, c. 534, §1 (AMD).]
1.
Appointment by the Governor.
[PL 2025, c. 534, §2 (RP).]
1-A.
Appointments by Governor.
Except as provided in subsection 2, the Governor shall appoint 2 members to the commission as follows:
A.
One appointee who resides or works in the commission's jurisdiction, is a former resident of the commission's jurisdiction or has significant professional experience working within the commission's jurisdiction and who has expertise in one or more of the areas of forestry, land use planning, conservation, fisheries, wildlife, outdoor recreation and natural resources-related businesses that operate in the commission's jurisdiction; and
[PL 2025, c. 534, §3 (NEW).]
B.
One appointee who is a member of a federally recognized Indian nation, tribe or band in this State based on the joint recommendation of the federally recognized Indian nations, tribes and bands in the State.
[PL 2025, c. 534, §3 (NEW).]
[PL 2025, c. 534, §3 (NEW).]
2.
Appointment of members representing a county.
One member must be appointed by each of the 8 counties with the most acreage in the unorganized or deorganized areas subject to the jurisdiction of the commission. The board of county commissioners for each of the counties shall appoint by majority vote a resident of that county to serve as a member of the commission. A county commissioner who is a candidate for appointment to serve on the commission may not vote on that appointment. In making the appointment, the board of county commissioners shall actively seek and give consideration to persons residing in or near the unorganized or deorganized areas within the county. At least 3 months before the end of a term for a commissioner appointed by a board of county commissioners, the director of the commission shall provide that board of county commissioners with general information about the commission's jurisdiction, the roles and responsibilities of a member of the commission and other materials that the board of county commissioners may share with interested applicants. Each board of county commissioners shall advertise the position for at least 30 days and in the same manner as the county advertises personnel positions. The board of county commissioners shall accept written or electronic applications from candidates, conduct interviews with candidates as determined by the board, evaluate candidates based on required qualifications and select from among those candidates an appointee.
An appointee under this subsection must have expertise in forestry, conservation, fisheries, wildlife, land use planning, outdoor recreation or natural resources-based businesses that operate in the commission's jurisdiction and must reside or work in the commission's jurisdiction, be a former resident of the commission's jurisdiction or have significant professional experience working within the commission's jurisdiction.
A.
[PL 2025, c. 534, §4 (RP).]
B.
[PL 2025, c. 534, §4 (RP).]
C.
[PL 2025, c. 534, §4 (RP).]
If a board of county commissioners fails to appoint a member to the commission under this subsection within 90 business days of a vacancy on the commission to be filled by that county, the Governor shall appoint a resident of that county meeting the criteria in subsection 1‑A to fill the vacancy.
For any county appointee, the board of county commissioners shall provide to the Office of the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the director of the commission the name and address of the appointee, together with information concerning that person's background and qualifications, in the same manner required of the Governor for nominations made pursuant to Title 3, section 154. A board of county commissioners has the same authority as the Governor, pursuant to Title 3, section 154, to withdraw the name of an appointee at any time before the Senate votes. The provisions of Title 3, sections 155 to 158 apply to the process of legislative review and confirmation of all county appointees to the commission.
[PL 2025, c. 534, §4 (AMD).]
2-A.
Legislative appointment.
The President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House shall jointly appoint one at-large member to the commission who has a scientific or technical background in one or more of the areas of forestry, land use planning, conservation, fisheries, wildlife, outdoor recreation and natural resource-based businesses that operate in the commission's jurisdiction and through life or work experience demonstrates knowledge of issues important to the commission's jurisdiction.
[PL 2025, c. 534, §5 (NEW).]
3.
Eligibility.
A state employee may not be appointed to or serve as a member of the commission. A county employee, municipal official or municipal employee is not considered to hold an incompatible office for purposes of simultaneous service on the commission. If a county or municipality is a participant in an adjudicatory proceeding before the commission, an official or employee from that county or municipality may not participate in that proceeding as a member of the commission. An incumbent county commissioner appointed after July 1, 2013 to serve on the commission may not serve simultaneously as a county commissioner and a member of the commission.
[PL 2013, c. 424, Pt. E, §1 (AMD); PL 2013, c. 424, Pt. E, §3 (AFF).]
4.
Terms.
All members are appointed to 4-year terms and may not serve more than 2 consecutive terms. Any member who has not been reappointed by the Governor or a board of county commissioners prior to the expiration of that member's term may not continue to serve on the commission, unless the Governor notifies the Legislature in writing prior to the expiration of that member's term that extension of that member's term is required to ensure fair consideration of specific major applications pending before the commission. That member's term ends upon final commission decisions on the specific applications identified in the Governor's communication. Any member reappointed by the Governor or a board of county commissioners prior to the expiration of that member's term continues to serve on the commission until the appointment is acted upon by the Legislature. Once a member of the commission has been appointed by the Governor or a board of county commissioners, a vacancy of that seat must be filled by the same appointing authority as provided in this section. A vacancy during an unexpired term is filled only for the unexpired portion of the term.
[PL 2025, c. 534, §6 (AMD).]
5.
Rules.
Unless otherwise provided in this chapter, rules adopted by the commission under this chapter are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A.
[PL 2011, c. 682, §7 (NEW).]
SECTION HISTORY
PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. W, §5 (REV). PL 2011, c. 682, §7 (NEW). PL 2013, c. 256, §3 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 424, Pt. E, §1 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 424, Pt. E, §3 (AFF). PL 2025, c. 534, §§1-6 (AMD).