Regulatory Comment Letter - Maine

MAINE REGULATED-ENTITY COMMENT LETTER

Use this form for comments focused on compliance cost, operational feasibility, small-business impact, reporting burden, implementation timing, and less intrusive alternatives. Use the separate general APA comment template when those regulated-entity issues are not central.

1. NOTICE CONTROL SHEET

Copy the current § 8053 notice exactly.

Section 8053 requires the agency to provide notice and make the proposed rule available at least 17 days before a public hearing or, if no hearing is held, at least 17 days before the comment deadline. The actual notice controls the filing deadline.

2. COMMENTER PROFILE

For § 8052(5-A), “small business” means a business with 20 or fewer employees.

Commenter is:

☐ a small business under § 8052(5-A);

☐ not a small business, but supplies evidence concerning small-business effects;

☐ an association submitting member information; or

☐ another interested person: [________________________________].

3. SUBMISSION LETTER

[__/__/____]

VIA [METHOD REQUIRED BY NOTICE]

[AGENCY CONTACT]

[AGENCY]

[ADDRESS OR EMAIL]

Re: Comments on Proposed [CHAPTER NUMBER AND TITLE]

Dear [AGENCY OFFICIAL]:

[COMMENTER NAME] submits these comments on the proposed rule identified above.

Commenter [DESCRIBE BUSINESS, OPERATIONS, LICENSES, OR REPRESENTED MEMBERS]. The proposal affects Commenter because [SPECIFIC REGULATORY NEXUS].

Commenter supports the proposal's stated objective of [________________________________], but requests the revisions identified below so that the rule remains within statutory authority, addresses supported impacts, and can be implemented effectively.

Commenter's principal requests are:

1. [________________________________]
2. [________________________________]
3. [________________________________]

Respectfully submitted,

[________________________________]

[NAME / TITLE / ORGANIZATION]

[ADDRESS / PHONE / EMAIL]

Attachments: [________________________________]

4. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Proposed Rule

The proposal would require:

[____________________________________________________________]

Material Operational Effects

[____________________________________________________________]

Requested Revisions

5. AUTHORITY AND PROCESS

Enabling Authority

Agency-cited authority: [________________________________]

Commenter states:

☐ the proposal fits the delegated authority;

☐ the following provision exceeds or conflicts with the delegated authority: [________________];

☐ the notice omits or misstates material authority: [________________].

Analysis and exact citation:

[____________________________________________________________]

Notice and Proposed-Rule Availability

Notice date: [__/__/____]

Date proposed text became publicly available: [__/__/____]

Hearing or comment date used for 17-day calculation: [__/__/____]

Potential issue, if any:

[____________________________________________________________]

Public Hearing

Section 8052 requires a public hearing when another statute requires one, any five interested persons request one, or the rule is major substantive.

☐ No hearing request.

☐ Commenter requests a hearing and coordinates with at least four other interested persons listed in Attachment [__].

☐ Another statute requires a hearing: [________________________________].

☐ The rule is major substantive.

6. ECONOMIC AND SMALL-BUSINESS IMPACT

Section 8052 requires the agency to consider all relevant information available before adoption, including economic, environmental, fiscal, and social impact analyses and filed statements and arguments.

Small-Business Economic Impact Statement

Before adopting a proposed rule that may adversely affect small businesses, § 8052(5-A) requires an economic impact statement addressing:

1. the types and estimated number of small businesses subject to the proposal;
2. projected reporting, recordkeeping, and administrative compliance costs, including required professional skills;
3. the probable impact on affected small businesses; and
4. less intrusive or less costly reasonable alternatives.

Commenter requests that the Agency evaluate the following evidence under those four categories.

A. Businesses Affected

Types of businesses: [________________________________]

Estimated number: [________]

Basis and source: [________________________________]

B. Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Administrative Cost

Professional skills or outside services required: [________________________________]

Assumptions and source materials: [________________________________]

C. Probable Business Impact

☐ capital expenditure: $[________]

☐ annual operating cost: $[________]

☐ price or fee effect: [________________________________]

☐ service reduction or market exit risk: [________________________________]

☐ staffing effect: [________________________________]

☐ other supported effect: [________________________________]

D. Less Intrusive or Less Costly Alternatives

Section 8052 also directs agencies to seek reduced burdens through flexible or simplified reporting requirements and permits flexible or simplified timetables that account for small-business resources. It permits consideration of clarification, consolidation, or simplification of compliance or reporting requirements.

Requested flexible approach:

[____________________________________________________________]

7. SECTION-BY-SECTION COMMENTS

Comment 1 — [PROVISION]

Proposed text:

[____________________________________________________________]

Operational effect:

[____________________________________________________________]

Evidence and assumptions:

[____________________________________________________________]

Legal or policy concern:

[____________________________________________________________]

Requested replacement text:

[____________________________________________________________]

Comment 2 — [PROVISION]

Proposed text: [________________________________]

Operational effect: [________________________________]

Evidence and assumptions: [________________________________]

Requested replacement text: [________________________________]

Comment 3 — [PROVISION]

Proposed text: [________________________________]

Operational effect: [________________________________]

Evidence and assumptions: [________________________________]

Requested replacement text: [________________________________]

8. IMPLEMENTATION PLAN AND ALTERNATIVES

Effective-Date Request

Requested implementation period: [________] days or months.

Implementation steps and critical path:

Support for requested period:

[____________________________________________________________]

Possible Alternatives

☐ phased compliance by entity size or transaction volume;

☐ pilot or limited initial implementation;

☐ simplified report or consolidated filing;

☐ safe harbor based on documented reasonable procedures;

☐ delayed application to existing contracts, systems, or inventory;

☐ alternative performance standard;

☐ other: [________________________________].

Explain how each requested alternative remains consistent with the enabling statute and proposed rule's purpose.

9. SUPPORTING EVIDENCE

Do not submit unsupported estimates as facts. Identify the author, date, assumptions, sample size, calculation method, and known limitations.

10. POST-HEARING AND REVISED-RULE ISSUES

When a public hearing is held, § 8052 permits written statements and arguments within 10 days after the hearing closes or within a longer period directed by the Agency.

Hearing closed: [__/__/____]

Post-hearing deadline: [__/__/____]

This filing is:

☐ a pre-hearing comment;

☐ hearing testimony or an exhibit; or

☐ a post-hearing statement.

Section 8052(5-C) bars adoption of a substantively different rule without requesting public comments on the changes and waiting 30 days from that request. If the intended adopted rule differs substantively from the proposal, identify the changes and request the statutory supplemental-comment process.

Potential substantive difference:

[____________________________________________________________]

11. AGENCY RESPONSE AND RULE FILE

At adoption, § 8052(5-B) requires a basis statement explaining the rule's factual and policy foundation. The Agency must list commenters and represented organizations, summarize comments, address specific concerns, and explain changes, rejected suggestions, or differing findings and recommendations.

Commenter requests that the Agency's adoption materials address:

1. [________________________________]
2. [________________________________]
3. [________________________________]

Section 8052(5-D) requires the Agency's rule file to include hearing testimony, written comments, commenters and organizations, and other relevant information considered in formulating, proposing, or adopting the rule.

12. FINAL CHECKLIST

☐ Actual notice deadline and method used

☐ Proposed chapter and authority quoted accurately

☐ Every cost figure sourced and reproducible

☐ Small-business definition and impact categories applied correctly

☐ Requested alternatives tied to statutory purpose

☐ Proposed replacement language supplied where possible

☐ Hearing request has five interested persons if relying on § 8052

☐ Post-hearing deadline calculated from actual closing date

☐ Confidentiality request grounded in separate applicable authority

☐ Submission receipt preserved

13. OFFICIAL SOURCES

• Maine Legislature, 5 M.R.S. § 8052: https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/5/title5sec8052.html
• Maine Legislature, 5 M.R.S. § 8053: https://legislature.maine.gov/statutes/5/title5sec8053.html