MSBA Legislative Update January 29, 2010 LEGISLATIVE UPDATE The Judiciary Committee held a work session on four bills of interest to the Maine State Bar Association on Thursday, January 28, 2010. LD 1622 – An Act to Make Technical Changes to the Laws Governing the Practice of Law There was no discussion of this bill nor were any amendments offered. The committee quickly moved to a unanimous vote of Ought-to-Pass. This bill was supported by MSBA and the Attorney General to conform Maine law with recent revisions to the Rules of Professional Conduct. LD 1511 – An Act to Remove the Age Limit Governing When a Court Must Consider the Wishes of a Child in a Proceeding for the Termination of Parental Rights. The entire bill reads as follows: Sec. 1. 22 MRSA §4055, sub-§3, as amended by PL 1997, c. 715, Pt. A, §12, is further amended to read: 3. Wishes of child. The court shall consider, but is not bound by, the wishes of a child 12 years of age or older in making an order under this section. The Committee amended the bill by substituting “may” for “shall.” The Committee voted unanimously to report the bill out Ought-to-Pass-as-Amended. LD 1624 – An Act to Ensure Rights to Children for Caretaker Relatives The Family Law Advisory Commission raised concerns about this bill. The Committee’s analyst reported that a fiscal note would be required, as this bill would increase litigation. Given these concerns, the Committee voted unanimously Ought-Not-to-Pass, effectively killing this bill. LD 1623 – An Act to Expand Options in the Permanency Plan for Children in Foster Care Representative Bryant proposed an amendment to this bill (attached). Committee members noted that the Family Law Advisory Commission has proposed altering Representative Bryant’s amendment. Ultimately, the Committee voted unanimously to table this bill in order to give the Committee analyst time to incorporate the Family Law Advisory Commission’s suggestions into Representative Bryant’s amendment. The Committee analyst noted that LD 1623 proposes to amend the exact section of code that LD 1511 proposes to amend. The analyst said she would not report LD 1511 out until the Committee takes final action on LD 1623. Click here to open a PDF of LD 1623. Of interest to the Business Law Section will be an upcoming amendment to LD 1580 pertaining to the Limited Liability Company Act. The bill was introduced as a placeholder for an amendment. A public hearing on the proposed committee amendment will be held on February 9 before the Judiciary Committee. As soon as we have a copy of the amendment, we have been asked to share the amendment as widely as possible, provide notice to all interested persons. Please look for the amendment to LD 1580 in the next few days. UPCOMING ISSUES LD 1554 (document fees at registries of deeds) – Work Session is February 3, 2010 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 216 of the Cross Office Building. LD 1580 (Maine limited liability company act) – Public Hearing is February 9, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. in Room 438 of the State House. LD 1631 (product stewardship) – Work Session is February 4, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. in Room 214 of the Cross Office Building. LD 1714 (information maintained by registries of deeds) – Public Hearing is February 4, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. in Room 438 of the State House. LD 1738 (duty to report serious injury) – Public Hearing is February 4, 2010 at 1:00 p.m. in Room 438 of the State House. LEGISLATIVE DATABASE Attached please find a copy of your Legislative Database. We recommend you read the database carefully, because a number of legislative proposals have been introduced, with public hearings and work sessions already scheduled. Click here to open the database. REGULATORY DATABASE Attached please find an updated Regulatory Database highlighting any changes in new proposed or newly adopted rules of interest to MSBA. Click here to open the Regulatory Database.

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Pattie Aho at 207-622-6311 or paho@pierceatwood.com