PLEASE NOTE: Legislative Information cannot perform research, provide legal advice, or interpret Maine law. For legal assistance, please contact a qualified attorney.
Resolve, To Promote Partnerships between the University of Maine System and the Maine Business Community
Sec. 1 Pilot project. Resolved: That the University of Maine System and the Department of Economic and Community Development shall establish a pilot project to provide financial support for developing partnerships between the University of Maine System and Maine's business community and to provide assistance to Maine's business community in developing the skills and expertise needed for Maine's future economic growth.
1. An equal amount of funding must be provided in each biennium to each university campus in the University of Maine System, to be used for funding new partnership initiatives with regional businesses. Of that amount, a maximum of 10% of the funds may be used for marketing the partnership initiatives of the pilot program to regional businesses and the remaining 90% of the funds must be used for either tuition or course development by the faculty of the university campus.
2. Any funds not used during the biennium by any university campus for the purposes of the pilot project may not be used for any other purpose, but must lapse to the General Fund.
3. Failure to use funds may not result in any penalty or restriction on future allocations.
4. University campuses may work in partnership with each other to provide services to regional businesses.
5. A university campus and a regional business or group of businesses may negotiate tuition funding, allowing each partnership initiative of the pilot project to be funded with up to 100% of tuition paid through the funds provided under the pilot project.
6. In order to participate in the pilot project, a regional business or group of businesses:
A. Must intend to create or preserve jobs. The new jobs created or preserved must pay a wage of at least 150% of the state minimum wage. If the regional business or group of businesses does not create or preserve the job or jobs anticipated, there is no recapture of the funding or penalty to the company or university, but that regional business or group of businesses is ineligible to participate in the pilot project; or
B. Be a Maine company, subject to increasing competition from nondomestic competitors, and be able to benefit from the opportunity provided by the pilot project to increase employee skill levels; and be it further
Sec. 2 Evaluation of pilot project. Resolved: That the University of Maine System and the Department of Economic and Community Development, referred to in this section as "the departments," shall establish a process and criteria for evaluating the effectiveness of the pilot project established in section 1. The departments shall submit the results of the evaluation to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over education matters in a written report no later than January 15, 2012, along with the departments' recommendation as to whether the pilot project should be expanded, modified, reduced or terminated. In lieu of any action by the Legislature, the pilot project terminates June 30, 2012.
 
SUMMARY
This resolve directs the University of Maine System and the Department of Economic and Community Development to develop a pilot project to provide financial support for developing partnerships between the University of Maine System and Maine’s business community and to provide assistance to Maine’s business community in developing the skills and expertise needed for Maine’s future economic growth.