AUGUSTA – Gov. John Baldacci is expected to sign a bill today that will create a citizen trade policy commission, which will study how trade pacts such as the North American Free Trade Agreement affect Maine.

The governor will hold a formal signing of LD 1815, which establishes the Maine Jobs, Trade and Democracy Act, during a brief ceremony at 11 a.m. today in the governor’s office.

“I have a very serious concern about how NAFTA and countless other free trade agreements are affecting workers not only in Maine, but also around the country,” said House Speaker Patrick Colwell, D-Gardiner, who sponsored the legislation. “Let’s face it, we’ve lost 3 million manufacturing jobs in the U.S. because of policies passed. Maine has seen a tremendous amount of job loss … based on the policies enacted in Washington, not what we’ve done here.

“We need our own objective commission, made of up Maine people, to assess what’s happened and how it’s affecting Maine jobs,” he added.

In addition to studying the direct economic impacts of trade pacts on jobs and business in Maine, the 17-member Citizen Trade Policy Commission also will examine the effects of trade laws that give legal decision-making authority to international trade panels.

“There are at least a dozen laws that are in various states of appeal by NAFTA,” Colwell said. “It just doesn’t seem right to me that another country can impose their laws on the state of Maine.”

These appeals, if approved, would render the U.S. laws illegal, according to the speaker.

“They shouldn’t be able to determine what is legal in our state and our country,” he said.

The bill passed the House in April and the Senate in March and was co-sponsored by Sen. Beth Edmonds, D-Freeport.

When it came time to fund the $12,370 concept, Colwell said, the Legislature stepped up to the plate.

“This was a high enough priority that we actually funded this commission out of the ’05 supplemental budget so that we can really get to the bottom of this,” he said.

Members of the Maine Fair Trade Campaign, which was created last year in Bangor, have spent countless hours on this project, according to activist Jack McKay.

He said over 13,000 people signed a petition to get the ball rolling on the bill and hundreds of others have written letters, called or visited Augusta to support the legislation.

The 17-member commission will consist in part of three House and three Senate members representing at least two political parties, the attorney general, a small-business owner, and a representative of a Maine-based corporation active in international trade.

The group also will include a farmer, a labor union member, a health care professional, a representative of the Maine Municipal Association, an academic or other professional with expertise in international trade, a person who is active in the religious community, a representative from an environmental group, and someone from a human rights organization.

All will be appointed to their posts by the president of the Senate, speaker of the House or the governor.

“We need to send a message and this bill is a chance,” the speaker said. “People need to listen to us and hear the pain we’re going through.”