Title 37-B: DEFENSE, VETERANS AND EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT

Chapter 1: GENERAL PROVISIONS - ORGANIZATION

§3. Commissioner; Deputy Adjutant General

1.  Adjutant General.  The Adjutant General shall be the Commissioner of Defense, Veterans and Emergency Management and shall:  

A. Be appointed by the Governor, subject to review by the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over veterans' affairs and confirmation by the Legislature and serve at the pleasure of the Governor;   [PL 1995, c. 302, §1 (AMD).]

B. Not hold a grade above major general;   [PL 1983, c. 460, §3 (NEW).]

C. Satisfy the requirements of section 107; and   [PL 1983, c. 460, §3 (NEW).]

D. Have the following powers and duties.  

(1) The Adjutant General shall administer the department subordinate only to the Governor.  

(2) The Adjutant General shall establish methods of administration consistent with the law necessary for the efficient operation of the department.  

(3) The Adjutant General may prepare a budget for the department.  

(4) The Adjutant General may transfer personnel from one bureau to another within the department.  

(5) The Adjutant General shall supervise the preparation of all state informational reports required by the federal military establishment.  

(6) The Adjutant General shall keep an accurate account of expenses incurred and, in accordance with Title 5, sections 43 to 46, make a full report to the Governor as to the condition of the military forces, and as to all business transactions of the Military Bureau, including detailed statements of expenditures for military purposes.  

(7) The Adjutant General is responsible for the custody, care and repair of all military property belonging to or issued to the State for the military forces and shall dispose of military property belonging to the State that is unserviceable. The Adjutant General shall account for and deposit the proceeds from that disposal with the Treasurer of State, who shall credit them to the Capital Repair, Maintenance, Construction and Acquisition Account of the Military Bureau.  

(8) The Adjutant General may sell for cash to officers of the state military forces, for their official use, and to organizations of the state military forces, any military or naval property that is the property of the State. The Adjutant General shall, with an annual report, render to the Governor an accurate account of the sales and deposit the proceeds of the sales with the Treasurer of State, who shall credit them to the General Fund.  

(9) The Adjutant General shall represent the state military forces for the purpose of establishing the relationship between the federal military establishment and the various state military staff departments.  

(10) The Adjutant General shall accept, receive and administer federal funds for and on behalf of the State that are available for military purposes or that would further the intent and specific purposes of this chapter and chapter 3. The Adjutant General shall provide the personnel, supplies, services and matching funds required by a federal cost-sharing arrangement pursuant to 31 United States Code, Chapters 63 and 65 (2013); 32 United States Code (2013); and National Guard Regulation 5-1 (2010). The Adjutant General shall receive funds and property and an accounting for all expenditures and property acquired through such a federal cost-sharing arrangement and make returns and reports concerning those expenditures and that property as required by such a federal cost-sharing arrangement.  

(11) The Adjutant General shall acquire, construct, operate and maintain military facilities necessary to comply with this Title and Title 32 of the United States Code and shall operate and maintain facilities now within or hereafter coming within the jurisdiction of the Military Bureau.  

(12) The Adjutant General may adopt rules pertaining to compliance with state and federal contracting requirements, subject to Title 5, chapter 375. Those rules must provide for approval of contracts by the appropriate state agency.  

(13) The Adjutant General shall allocate and supervise any funds made available by the Legislature to the Civil Air Patrol.  

(14) The Adjutant General shall report at the beginning of each biennium to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over veterans' affairs on any recommended changes or modifications to the laws governing veterans' affairs, particularly as those changes or modifications relate to changes in federal veterans' laws. The report must include information on the status of communications with the United States Department of Veterans Affairs regarding the potential health risks to and the potential disabilities of veterans who as members of the Maine National Guard were exposed to environmental hazards at the Canadian military support base in Gagetown, New Brunswick, Canada.  

(15) The Adjutant General may receive personal property from the United States Department of Defense that the Secretary of Defense has determined is suitable for use by agencies in law enforcement activities, including counter-drug activities, and in excess of the needs of the Department of Defense pursuant to 10 United States Code, Section 2576a, and transfer ownership of that personal property to state, county and municipal law enforcement agencies notwithstanding any other provision of law. The Adjutant General may receive excess personal property from the United States Department of Defense for use by the department, notwithstanding any other provision of law.  

(16) The Adjutant General may establish a science, mathematics and technology education improvement program for schoolchildren known as the STARBASE Program. The Adjutant General may accept financial assistance and in-kind assistance, advances, grants, gifts, contributions and other forms of financial assistance from the Federal Government or other public body or from other sources, public or private, to implement the STARBASE Program. The Adjutant General may employ a director and other employees, permanent or temporary, to operate the STARBASE Program.  

(17) The Adjutant General shall establish a system, to be administered by the Director of the Maine Bureau of Veterans' Services, to express formally condolence and appreciation to the closest surviving family members of members of the United States Armed Forces who, since September 11, 2001, are killed in action or die as a consequence of injuries that result in the award of a Purple Heart medal. In accordance with the existing criteria of the department for the awarding of gold star medals, this system must provide for the Adjutant General to issue up to 3 gold star medals to family members who reside in the State, one to the spouse of the deceased service member and one to the parents of the service member. If the parents of the service member are divorced, the Adjutant General may issue one medal to each parent. If the service member has no surviving spouse or parents or if they live outside of the State, the Adjutant General may issue a gold star medal to the service member's next of kin, as reported to the department, who resides in the State.  

(18) The Adjutant General may establish a National Guard Youth Challenge Program consistent with 32 United States Code, Section 509 (1990). The Adjutant General may accept financial assistance from the Federal Government or other public body or from other sources, public and private, to implement the National Guard Youth Challenge Program. The Adjutant General may employ a director and other employees, permanent or temporary, to operate the program.  

(19) The Adjutant General may execute cooperative agreements for purposes described or defined by this Title and other arrangements necessary to operate the department.  

(20) The Adjutant General shall act as the Governor's homeland security advisor.  

(21) The Adjutant General shall implement a program to identify residents of the State who are not considered veterans but are military retirees or former members of the Maine Army National Guard or Maine Air National Guard who successfully completed service.  

(22) The Adjutant General may negotiate and execute agreements to provide state military forces to or accept military forces from other states in support of federally funded National Guard missions.  

(23) The Adjutant General may provide logistical and administrative support to military welfare societies as defined in 10 United States Code, Section 1033(b)(2) in the performance of their functions and to state military welfare societies as defined in section 101‑A, subsection 3 in the performance of their functions to provide relief directly to members of the Maine National Guard and the Maine Air National Guard and to facilitate the distribution of emergency financial relief in accordance with section 158.  

(24) The Adjutant General shall provide current and former members of the National Guard who were the victims of sexual assault or sexual harassment while members of the National Guard and who are involved in administrative or Maine Code of Military Justice proceedings related to the sexual assault or sexual harassment with financial assistance to fully cover the expenses of traveling to and from and participating in those proceedings.  

(25) By December 6, 2023, and annually thereafter, the Adjutant General shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over veterans affairs containing:  

(a) Data regarding all reported incidents of sexual assault and sexual harassment within the National Guard in each of the preceding 10 years, including information on the current duty status of victims and the outcome of any state or federal criminal or Maine Code of Military Justice proceedings arising out of such incidents, to the extent that the sharing of such data and information is not prohibited by federal law or federal regulation and can be presented in a way that does not identify, and that cannot be used with other information to identify, any victim of sexual assault or sexual harassment. If necessary to protect the identity of victims of sexual assault or sexual harassment, the Adjutant General may submit a summary of specific items of data or information required to be included in the report;  

(b) A description of all sexual assault and sexual harassment prevention training provided to members of the National Guard in the preceding year;  

(c) A description of the current practices and procedures for the prevention of sexual assault and sexual harassment and investigation of and disciplinary actions taken in response to reports of sexual assault and sexual harassment in the National Guard; and  

(d) A summary of the activities during the preceding year of any advisory council or special study group convened by the Governor or the department or in which officials of the department have been asked to participate whose duties involve, at least in part, examining or making recommendations regarding the prevention of or the response to sexual assault and sexual harassment in the National Guard or, if no advisory council or special study group with such duties engaged in activities during the preceding year, a statement to that effect.  

After reviewing the report, the committee may report out legislation related to the report.  

(26) By December 6, 2023, and annually thereafter, to the extent allowed by federal law, the Adjutant General shall submit a report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over veterans affairs containing the:  

(a) Aggregate number of new members of the Maine National Guard broken down by gender in the previous year;  

(b) Aggregate discharge numbers of Maine National Guard members broken down by gender in the previous year;  

(c) Aggregate promotion rates from the previous year of Maine National Guard members broken down by gender;  

(d) Aggregate data or coded reason for discharge of all Maine National Guard members discharged in the previous year broken down by gender;  

(e) Percentages of Maine National Guard members broken down by gender reporting sexual harassment and sexual assault as measured by the anonymous survey with the highest percentage of Maine National Guard members having completed surveys from the previous year; and  

(f) Number of restricted and unrestricted reports of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the Maine National Guard by year broken down by gender of the reporting party.   [PL 2023, c. 474, §§2, 3 (AMD).]

[PL 2023, c. 474, §§2, 3 (AMD).]

2.  Deputy Adjutant General.  The Deputy Adjutant General has all the military-related powers, responsibilities and duties of the Adjutant General if the Adjutant General is unable to act or, if the office is vacant, until the vacancy is filled by the Governor, as provided by law. The Deputy Adjutant General may perform other military duties of the Adjutant General as assigned by the Adjutant General or the Governor.  

[PL 1995, c. 196, Pt. C, §1 (AMD).]

SECTION HISTORY

PL 1983, c. 460, §3 (NEW). PL 1983, c. 594, §2 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 376, §62 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 196, §C1 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 302, §1 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 684, §1 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 455, §32 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 401, §K2 (AMD). PL 1999, c. 565, §1 (AMD). PL 2001, c. 662, §14 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 404, §2 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 590, §1 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 461, §1 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 112, §1 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 251, §1 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 469, §1 (AMD). PL 2013, c. 569, §2 (AMD). PL 2015, c. 465, Pt. A, §1 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 108, §1 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 114, §1 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 475, Pt. A, §63 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 377, §6 (REV). PL 2021, c. 634, Pt. B, §§10, 11 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 474, §§2, 3 (AMD).