Maine homeland security bill draws fire

AUGUSTA – Legislation to implement the recommendations of the Legislature’s Task Force to Study Maine’s Homeland Security Needs drew fire Wednesday from the Maine Municipal Association for shifting security costs to the property tax.

“It’s not that municipal officials are against homeland security or against planning and making sure we are prepared,” said Kate Dufour, a lobbyist for the MMA. “What we are against are the numerous mandates that are in this legislation – mandate after mandate after mandate.”

She said several provisions of the legislation would shift costs of homeland security to local property tax payers without providing any funds to pay even a portion of the costs.

The measure would require municipalities that own dams, and private dam owners, to pay a $1,000-a-year fee to help fund dam safety inspections. Sen. Ethan Strimling, D-Portland, co-chairman of the Task Force, told the Legislature’s Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee that the fee is warranted.

“This is not a huge burden on them,” he said. “But we feel they should step up and help pay for this and the federal government will pay the other half.”

He explained that the fees from municipalities and private dam owners would be matched by federal funds to pay for an additional dam inspector.

Another recommendation that has municipal opposition is a requirement that rules be developed which would set local health officer qualifications and redefine the local health officer’s role. Current law requires every municipality to have a health officer but sets no qualifications for the post.

“It’s absurd that we have someone in there with no health training whatsoever as the town health officer,” Strimling said.

But Dufour countered that the legislation sets up a process that could require extensive training and educational qualifications for the health officer, with the towns expected to pay the tab. She said if the state is going to mandate qualifications, it should pay for the cost of meeting the mandate.

“This will end up costing the property tax payer,” she said, “with no help from the state.”

The legislation would also establish a process based on existing law that sets standards for buildings used as shelters, including schools and municipal buildings. Cities and towns are worried they could be forced to pick up the tab for mandates such as food and other supplies and even pet food.

The measure includes language requiring that all emergency plans include provisions for the care of pets that may have to be evacuated to a shelter.

The committee also heard testimony on a separate bill requiring that all emergency plans for a community include provisions for pets and service animals of individuals who may have to be evacuated.

“Few of us can forget watching the tragic scenes from Hurricane Katrina on the news,” said Rep. Mark Bryant, D-Windham, sponsor of the measure. “There were numerous people who refused transportation to safety because they refused to leave their pets behind.”

But acting Maine Emergency Management Agency Director Charles Jacobs said MEMA is already incorporating the handling of pets and service animals in its disaster plans. He said emergency planners across the country got the message after Katrina and are developing detailed plans to handle pets.

“MEMA has a lot of equipment. Do you have an ark?” joked Rep. Richard Sykes, R-Harrison.

“We do have equipment, but not an ark,” Jacobs said. “We have purchased cages that can be used in sheltering animals and we have distributed them to counties.”

The task force legislation also has a provision that every school administrative district have a crisis response plan that must be approved by local emergency response officials or other local public safety officials.

Strimling said that after news reports last year said nearly 40 percent of school districts did not have a plan as required by law, Education Commissioner Susan Gendron met with the task force and requested language in the bill which would allow her to withhold state subsidy from those schools that fail to meet the requirement.

“She came before us and requested this so the requirement has some teeth,” he said.

The legislation also includes provisions to fund an additional six rain gauges on rivers to predict floods and two positions to support Maine’s Fusion Center.

The center is designed to facilitate communication among local, state and federal law enforcement agencies regarding intelligence information and analysis.

The committee will consider the measure at work session later this month.