Maddy summaryLD 556 prevents Maine municipalities from banning specific safe, commercially available heating or energy systems (like oil, propane, natural gas, or renewable options) that residents or businesses choose for their own use, including for motor vehicles. It also stops towns from restricting the use of a chosen energy distributor (such as a propane or oil supplier) for installing, connecting, or servicing these systems. The bill does not override existing licensing requirements for energy providers or prevent municipalities from promoting certain energy types or using public funds to support them. This law directly affects homeowners, businesses, and local governments by preserving energy choice within existing safety and regulatory frameworks.
Sponsored bills
Maddy summaryLD 1777 sets new payment rates for businesses and other nonresidential customers in Maine who generate electricity from solar panels or similar systems (distributed generation resources) and send excess power to the grid under net energy billing. For systems over 1 megawatt, the payment rate equals the utility's standard rate for the customer plus 75% of transmission/distribution costs for small commercial customers, with exceptions for projects that began construction before September 2022 or are collocated with a customer using at least half the output. Smaller systems (1 megawatt or less) receive a base rate calculated from 2020 utility rates, increasing by 2.25% annually starting in 2023. The bill also caps all rates at 1.5 times the average rate in neighboring states to ensure fairness and competitiveness, with changes effective January 1, 2026.
Maddy summaryLD 1321 reformulates Maine's net energy billing program for solar and renewable energy systems. It limits new residential and small commercial systems to 20 kilowatts after November 2025 (with limited exemptions), caps shared ownership to 10 customers per project, and restricts individuals to owning no more than 5 systems. The bill sets a hard end date of December 31, 2045, or 20 years from a system's agreement date, whichever comes first. It also requires that renewable energy credits generated must be sold within Maine and adjusts compensation rates based on historical utility rates with annual 2.25% increases. This directly affects residential and small commercial customers with solar installations participating in net energy billing.
Maddy summaryLD 829 removes the requirement for a concealed handgun permit to carry a concealed firearm in Maine's state parks, Baxter State Park, the Allagash Wilderness Waterway, and Acadia National Park. The bill amends existing law to allow any person not prohibited from possessing a firearm to carry concealed handguns in these locations, without needing a permit. It directs the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to update its rules to eliminate the permit requirement for these specific parks. The bill also clarifies exceptions for permit holders, out-of-state permit holders with reciprocity, and active or qualified retired law enforcement officers. This change takes immediate effect due to the emergency preamble, requiring implementation before the summer 2025 recreation season.
Maddy summaryLD 866 modifies Maine's antlerless deer permit program to provide free permits to landowners who keep their property open for public hunting. Eligible landowners who apply and are selected through a special process will not be charged for these permits, and the law requires that at least 25% of antlerless deer permits in each wildlife management district be reserved for them. If a landowner is not selected in the special process but later obtains a permit through the regular lottery, they will also receive it at no cost. This policy directly affects landowners in Maine who manage hunting access on their property.
Maddy summaryLD 1330 clarifies that business software licenses and subscriptions are not considered "leases" for Maine's sales and use tax purposes. The bill amends Maine's tax code (36 MRSA §1752) to explicitly exclude business software access fees from the definition of "lease or rental." This change applies only to transactions entered into or renewed after the law takes effect, directly affecting businesses that pay for software access rather than purchasing it outright. The policy change simplifies tax treatment for these business software agreements, ensuring they are not subject to lease-based taxation.
Maddy summaryLD 371 removes a 100-megawatt capacity limit for hydroelectric generators, allowing larger projects to qualify as renewable energy sources. This directly affects hydroelectric developers seeking to build or expand facilities, as they will no longer face the previous size restriction. The bill also requires the Department of Environmental Protection to make approval decisions within 6 months of receiving complete applications and mandates public engagement through at least one community meeting. Additionally, it clarifies that approved projects may operate at full nameplate capacity, subject to existing environmental and fish passage requirements. These changes aim to streamline development while maintaining regulatory safeguards.
Maddy summaryThis bill increases the contingency reserve limit for Maine's consumer-owned electric utilities from 25% to 50% of yearly revenues above operating costs (excluding purchased power costs). It removes the previous exclusion of purchased power supply costs from the calculation, allowing utilities to retain more funds for capital projects like grid upgrades. The change affects all consumer-owned transmission and distribution utilities operating in Maine under Maine Revised Statutes Title 35-A, Section 3503. Any surplus beyond the 50% limit must offset future rate requirements, and interest earned on the reserve must be reinvested.
Maddy summaryLD 1212 is a study resolve requiring the Efficiency Maine Trust to collaborate with Maine's Department of Economic and Community Development and the modern wood heating industry. It directs them to study programs and incentives for promoting modern wood heating systems and submit a report to the Energy Committee by December 3, 2025. The report must include recommendations for potential future programs, though the study itself does not create new policies or funding. This affects the Efficiency Maine Trust, state agencies, and the wood heating industry, with no immediate policy changes enacted.
Maddy summaryLD 1887 requires Maine's Department of Education to amend school construction rules to set air quality and ventilation standards specifically for newly built public schools. This replaces a prior requirement that applied to all public schools, focusing the new standards solely on new construction (not existing schools). The updated rules must be adopted by January 4, 2026, and will apply to all new public school buildings completed between July 1, 2022, and July 1, 2026.