Government Affairs

Top Issues We Watch

  • Labor and employment policies
  • Environmental -  Packaging obligations, PFAS contamination 
  • Health - Insurance, hospitality health and safety code and compliance 
  • Housing - Short term rentals, workforce and affordable housing 
  • Taxation - Local options, meals and lodging 
  • Workforce - H-2B visas, apprenticeships, and college & technical education 

2024 Issues We're Following

  • Preserving the tip credit
  • Maine Paid Family Medical Leave
  • Local option sales taxes
  • Wage and hour standards
  • Energy costs and efficiency
  • Restaurant & lodging licensing
  • Business & childcare partnerships
  • Consumer privacy policy
  • Packaging compliance
  • Cannabis hospitality

  • Labor & Employment: The Labor & Housing Committee considers all legislation related to wage and hour regulation. Unlike most other Legislative Committees, the majority party largely disregarded concerns raised by HM and the greater business community. Legislation related to flexible work schedules, pay range disclosure, employee surveillance, and more, were advanced along party lines without any opportunity for compromise. Fortunately, these burdensome regulatory labor bills are now dead because the Legislature ran out of time for them to be appropriately considered by the Governor.
  • Taxation: The Taxation Committee considers legislation regarding income taxation, corporate disclosure, local option sales taxes, and much more. We led the successful effort to oppose two bills that would have increased the sales tax on lodging. One bill ultimately received a favorable vote out of committee, however, legislators in the Senate and House heard from hospitality members around the state and ultimately voted it down.
  • Energy & Environment: We have yet to see legislation pass that addresses the rising costs of electricity prices. The Energy, Utilities, & Technology Committee received an outpouring of testimony opposing legislation that would have limited natural gas expansion; that bill ultimately died, but the issue of natural gas energy is being studied by the Public Utilities Commission. In the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, legislators reached a bipartisan compromise on a bill to favorably modify Maine’s existing landmark PFAS law.  
  • Data Privacy: Two major pieces of data privacy legislation dominated much of the legislative session. While we originally supported a consensus version that exists in a majority of states with a data privacy law, the bill was eventually amended in ways that would have been harmful to businesses, especially small employers. We opposed the competing bill because of the restrictions it placed on targeted advertising. Both bills ultimately failed after months of work on the policy. This issue is likely to return next year if a federal policy is not established. We will continue to advocate for businesses’ ability to engage in targeted advertising and to use loyalty reward programs. 
  • Housing: The lack of affordable and available housing in Maine continues to create workforce challenges for businesses. We’ve yet to see comprehensive legislation pass that addresses this issue. The supplemental budget included $76 million for housing related issues. We hope to see legislation next session that incentivizes the production of housing and further explores the role employers could have in employee housing.    

  • Childcare: We continue to hear from HM membership that a lack of affordable and accessible child care contributes to employees leaving the workforce. We supported two pieces of legislation that would have helped employers in the state defray childcare costs for employees. Due to the constraints of the short session these bills ultimately failed. Given the substantial impact childcare challenges has on the workforce, this legislation is likely to return next year.

Dedicated to Advocacy

Nate Cloutier

Director of Government Affairs

Email Nate at:
Nate@hospitalitymaine.com

Or Call Nate at: 207-623-2178