The following is part of a newsletter circulated by House District 95 Representative Bill Pluecker, I-Warren, to his constituents in Appleton, Hope, the eastern portion of Union and Warren. 

Dear friends,

Last week was the first week of meetings for the Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry Committee and the Criminal Justice & Public Safety Committee. In the Agriculture Committee, we heard presentations from the Department of Agriculture (including from Warren’s own Amanda Beal), the Bureau of Parks & Lands, and the Land Use Planning Commission. In the Criminal Justice & Public Safety Committee, we received an update from the Department of Public Safety Commissioner Mike Sauschuck, as well as the Maine State Police, Emergency Management Services, and the Office of Opioid Response.

Our committee has also begun working with the legislature’s Appropriations Committee on this year’s supplemental budget. This budget will make changes to the current budget to make up for revenue losses and change any programming necessary to make the budget work.

This coming week, the Agriculture Committee will be considering legislation on a variety of topics: investing in the stewardship and management of properties acquired from the Land for Maine’s Future fund, authorizing the Director of the Bureau of Parks & Lands to convey land in Augusta for Maine Veterans’ homes, and a proposal that would create the Maine Forestry Operations Cleanup & Response Fund. The Criminal Justice Committee will continue to hear presentations from interested parties, and will be receiving a briefing on the Maine Opioid Response Strategic Plan.

If you ever want to follow along with our meetings and other work happening in the Legislature, you may check out the calendar here, or you may watch all of the recordings of our meetings on the Legislature’s YouTube channel.

On Monday, Speaker of the House Ryan Fecteau appointed me to the Board of Agriculture. The Board of Agriculture is a policy-based research committee that works closely with the University of Maine System and advises the Chancellor and the President of the University. The board will work in collaboration with the University of Maine Cooperative Extension to identify research and programming based on the needs of the agricultural community in Maine. You can read more about the appointment here.

I hope you’re all healthy and staying warm. Please let me know if you have any questions or need help with a government agency. It’s my honor to represent you in Augusta.

Bill Pluecker
bill.pluecker@legislature.maine.gov