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Legistative Advocacy

How to Advocate

Get to know your state legislators. Keep yourself informed. Find your elected officials.

If you would like MAPP to advocate on behalf of an issue or if you would like to become more involved in MAPP advocacy, please  Send a e-mail to Dianna Poulin, Executive Director, MAPP

To Search for Bills by Number, Type or Text.

Testimony on bills of interest to psychiatry can be found below:

LD 1025, An Act To Prohibit the Provision of Conversion Therapy to Minors by Certain Licensed Professionals given by Dr. Henry Skinner

How to Contact Legislature

Maine’s legislature is composed of 186 members (151 members of the House of Representatives and 35 members of the Senate) elected every two years. Members are limited to four consecutive terms in one seat, but they may return after a break and may run for an appropriate seat in the other chamber. Maine also has a system of public campaign financing called the Maine Clean Election Act. Maine’s Governor is limited to two four-year terms. The Maine legislature meets for approximately 6 months (January to June) in the first year and for approximately 4 months (January to April) in the second year of the 2-year cycle.

All of the committees of the Maine Legislature are joint House/Senate committees generally composed of 13 members – 3 Senators with 2 from the majority party and 1 from the minority party and 10 Representatives with 6 from the majority party and 4 from the minority party. The following committees have jurisdiction over some portion of health care policy.

  • Joint Standing Committee on Health & Human Services. This Committee is the committee of oversight for the Department of Health & Human Services. It has jurisdiction over the Medicaid program (known as MaineCare), health care facility licensing (hospitals, nursing homes, ambulatory surgical centers, assisted living facilities, residential care facilities, etc.), and behavioral health and long-term care policy.
  • Joint Standing Committee on Insurance & Financial Services. This Committee is the committee of oversight for the Bureau of Insurance. It has jurisdiction over health insurance carriers and agents. It has developed Maine’s system of regulation of managed care organizations (Maine’s Patient Bill of Rights) and addressed mandated health care benefits.
  • Joint Standing Committee on Labor, Commerce, Research & Economic Development. This Committee is the committee of oversight for the Department of Professional & Financial Regulation. In addition to the Bureau of Insurance, this Department contains most of the administrative boards responsible for regulating individual health care practitioners. It also has a budgetary relationship with several “affiliated” health care boards – the Board of Licensure in Medicine (M.D.s), the Board of Osteopathic Licensure (D.O.s), and the Board of Dentistry. It has jurisdiction over the licensure and discipline of individual health care practitioners and handles scope of practice issues.
  • Joint Standing Committee on Judiciary. This committee addresses issues of medical liability, medical ethics, and medical rights. It developed all of Maine’s medical liability reform laws and has handled issues of advance directives and end-of-life care.

Stay Informed

  • Physician’s Guide to Maine Law You will find law affecting aspects of your practice. (compiled by the Maine Medical Association)
  • Maine Legislature’s Home Page You will find a wealth of information about Maine’s legislative process on this web page. You can find your legislators, research the legislative history of any bill and access Maine’s statutes online.
  • Bill Status Search You can determine the current procedural status of any bill in the current legislature at this site.
  • Joint Standing Committees You can find the membership of the joint standing committees of the current legislature at this site.
  • State Agency Rules You can find administrative rules promulgated by executive branch agencies at this site.
  • Physicians’ Day at the Legislature. Physicians’ Day at the Legislature is a bi-annual event promoted by the Maine Medical Association. Questions regarding this event can be addressed to [email protected]
  • Doctor of the Day The Maine Medical Association promotes “Doctor of the Day” at the Maine legislature You can find information about participating by visiting the MMA website. In addition to familiarizing yourself with Maine’s legislative process, your children may enjoy serving as “Honorary Pages” during your visit.
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