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Amend the bill in section 1 in §1198 in subsection 1 by striking out all of paragraph D (page 1, lines 12 to 16 in L.D.) and inserting the following:
 
‘D. "Eligible employer" means a public or private employer who is not delinquent in the payment of contributions or reimbursements or in the reporting of wages.’
Amend the bill in section 1 in §1198 by inserting after subsection 10 the following:
 
‘11.  Rules.     The commissioner shall adopt rules to implement this section. Those rules are routine technical rules pursuant to Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
 
12.  Repeal.    This section is repealed February 28, 2014.’
Amend the bill by inserting at the end the following:
‘Sec. 2. Reports. The Commissioner of Labor shall provide the proposed rules implementing the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, section 1198 for review by the Joint Standing Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development by January 15, 2012. The Commissioner of Labor shall report to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over labor matters on the implementation and status of the work-sharing program implemented pursuant to Title 26, section 1198 by January 15, 2014.
Sec. 3. Effective date. That section of this Act that enacts the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, section 1198 takes effect March 1, 2012.’
 
SUMMARY
This amendment clarifies that a public employer is included in the definition of "eligible employer" within the work-sharing program. It directs the Commissioner of Labor to adopt routine technical rules to implement the work-sharing program. The amendment requires 2 separate reports from the Commissioner of Labor to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over labor matters. It also establishes an effective date of March 1, 2012 and a repeal date of February 28, 2014 for the work-sharing program.