Planning For Ag Policy
What you’ll find on this page:
- Planning for Ag testimony, bill tracking, and archives from past legislatures
- Legislative toolkit
Legislative Calendars
As the bills travel to the House and Senate Chambers, you can check out each day’s calendar:
Senate Advance Calendar
House Advance Calendar
For more information on the Legislative process in general, CLICK HERE.
PLANNING FOR AG
Planning for Ag provides an opportunity to prioritize farmland protection and farm viability as essential smart growth outcomes equal to and directly related to directing growth to where development makes sense for the long term.
The 2024-2025 Supplemental budget and LD 579 – An Act to Support Farmland Conservation and Transition Planning for Farmers
The purpose of this memo is to share our collective support for strengthening the Bureau of Agriculture, Food and Rural Resources’ Working Farmland Access and Protection Program within the Maine Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry and to ask you to...
In Support of LD 2053
An Act to Exempt Buildings Used to Cultivate Crops from the Maine Uniform Building and Energy Code
In Support of LD 1940
An Act to Promote Consistent Policies within Growth Management Programs in Order to Increase Food Security and Economic Resiliency in Local Communities
Planning for Ag Legislative Outcomes 2023 Session
In June, GrowSmart Maine provided an update on the Policy Action 2023 bills, many of which have been carried over to the next session. Stay tuned for more information about next steps in ensuring effective implementation of those bills that passed, and next steps to...
In Support of LD 54
An Act to Require Compliance with Natural or Agricultural Resource Protection Ordinances
In Support of LD 1678 Resolve
Directing the Department of Agriculture, Conservation andForestry to Study and Report on Soil Carbon Sequestration Incentive Programs
In Support of LD 1700
An Act to Protect Agricultural Lands by Creating a Permitting Process for Solar Development on Those Lands
In Support of LD 1593
An Act To Increase Affordable Housing Development, with amendments
In Support of LD 596
An Act to Exempt Certain Conservation Lots from Municipal Subdivision Review
In Support of LD 1274
An Act To Increase Land Access For Historically Disadvantaged Populations
legislative toolkit
FIND YOUR LEGISLATORS Not sure who your legislators are? Find a list of all your state and federal elected officials HERE. Or visit the Legislature website to find a full list of all Maine Senators and Maine Representatives.
SUBMIT PUBLIC TESTIMONY: All bills and state agency commissioner nominees are assigned to one of 19 standing joint committees and receive a public hearing. Members of the public can offer testimony in support or opposition to a bill in person or via Zoom during the public hearing or in writing. If you want to testify during the hearing via Zoom, you must register at least 30 minutes before the hearing begins. You do not need to register to testify in person.
To register for Zoom or to submit your testimony in writing, follow these steps:
- Visit the legislative testimony page HERE.
- Select Public hearing
- Select the committee that is hearing the bill
- Select the date and time of the hearing
- Select the appropriate bill number
- To register for Zoom, select “I would like to testify electronically over Zoom.”
- To submit written testimony, upload your file or enter the testimony in the field.
- If you plan to testify in person, you are asked to bring 20 copies of your testimony to distribute to committee members.
You can find committee assignments and public hearing dates and times on the bill’s website. While you can submit testimony at any time and it will be shared with committee members and become part of the public record, only testimony submitted online by midnight on the day of the bill’s public hearing will be included on the bill’s web page.
People with special needs who require accommodations to participate in a hearing should contact the Legislative Information Office as soon as possible by phone (207) 287-1692 or email lio@legislature.maine.gov.