124th MAINE LEGISLATURE
LD 869 LR 1528(01)
An Act To Require the Development of Plans To Achieve the Payment of Livable Wages by State and Local Government Employers
Preliminary Fiscal Impact Statement for Original Bill
Sponsor: Rep. Butterfield, II of Bangor
Committee: Labor
Fiscal Note Required: Yes
             
Preliminary Fiscal Impact Statement
Future biennium cost increase - General Fund
State Mandate - Unfunded
2009-10 2010-11 Projections 2011-12 Projections 2012-13
Net Cost (Savings)
General Fund $18,674 $13,027 $0 $0
Appropriations/Allocations
General Fund $18,674 $13,027 $0 $0
State Mandates
Required Activity Unit Affected Local Cost
Annual reporting requirement to the Department of Labor identifying all employees who were not paid at least a livable wage during the previous year, the total wages paid to each employee and the total wages that would have been paid if the employees had been paid a livable wage. Municipality
County
Significant statewide
The required local activities in this bill may represent a State mandate pursuant to the Constitution of Maine.  Unless General Fund appropriations are provided to fund at least 90% of the additional costs or a Mandate Preamble is amended to the bill and two-thirds of the members of each House vote to exempt this mandate from the funding requirement, municipalities may not be required to implement these changes.
Fiscal Detail and Notes
The Center for Workforce Research and Information within the Department of Labor will require General Fund appropriations of $18,674 in fiscal year 2009-10 and $13,027 in fiscal year 2010-11 for the costs associated with collecting and compiling data to determine the costs of providing direct services to public workers who are paid less than a livable wage.  Of this amount, $16,749 in fiscal year 2009-10 and $10,767 in fiscal year 2010-11 is related to Personal Services costs for approximately 600 hours of staff time in fiscal year 2009-10 and 370 hours of staff time in fiscal year 2010-11 to work on the analysis.
The additional costs to the Department of Administrative and Financial Services to submit the required report to the Department of Labor can be absorbed utilizing existing budgeted resources.  This bill also prohibits the State, the University of Maine, the Maine Community College System and all municipalities, counties and school administrative districts from employing an employee at a wage that is less than the livable wage beginning July 1, 2012.  The future biennium cost of that prohibition can not be estimated at this time.  However, an analysis by the University of Maine System estimates a potential fiscal impact of $34.0 million in fiscal year 2012-13.