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An Act To Protect Maine's Beaches and Shoreline
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 38 MRSA §1801, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1985, c. 794, Pt. A, §11, is repealed and the following enacted in its place:
 
3.  Beach and shoreline management, protection and access.     Support beach and shoreline management that gives preference to water-dependent uses over other uses, that mitigates the effects of coastal erosion on beaches and the shoreline, that keeps beaches and the shoreline healthy for habitat protection for coastal wildlife species and for protection against storms, that promotes public access to beaches and the shoreline and that considers the cumulative effects of development on coastal resources;
Sec. 2. Beach advisory group. In accordance with the provisions of this section, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall convene an advisory group on beach management, referred to in this section as "the group."
1. The Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall determine the membership of the group, except that the commissioner shall invite the participation in the group of a member of the Senate; a member of the House of Representatives; the Commissioner of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife; the Director of the Bureau of Resource Information and Land Use Planning within the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry; the director of the Maine coastal zone management program within the Department of Marine Resources; a representative of a regional coastal planning and development commission or council; a representative of an organization that represents the interests of municipalities in the State; a representative of an organization that represents the interests of the tourism or recreational industry in the State; and a representative of an environmental advocacy organization with specific expertise in coastal environmental matters. The Department of Environmental Protection, as necessary and within existing resources, shall provide staffing services to the group.
2. In addition to developing and recommending objectives, strategies, legislation and other actions to mitigate coastal erosion in the State and to keep the State's beaches healthy for protection against storms, for habitat protection for coastal wildlife species and for recreational uses, the group shall review the report titled "Integrated Beach Management Program Working Group Report," dated January 2017 and submitted to the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources in the First Regular Session of the 128th Legislature pursuant to Resolve 2015, chapter 66, update the data and findings contained in that report, if necessary, and review and update the specific recommendations for legislative, regulatory or other actions contained in that report, if necessary.
3. No later than February 15, 2020, the Commissioner of Environmental Protection shall submit a report to the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources containing the findings and recommendations of the group following its review and update of the 2017 report referenced in subsection 2, including any proposed legislation necessary to implement those recommendations. After reviewing the report, the committee may report out legislation to the Second Regular Session of the 129th Legislature to implement recommendations contained in the report.
 
SUMMARY
This bill amends the State's coastal management policies laws to ensure that those policies address the effects of coastal erosion on the State's beaches and shoreline and ensure the health of the State's beaches and shoreline for habitat protection for coastal wildlife species and for protection against storms.
The bill also creates an advisory group on beach management, to be convened by the Commissioner of Environmental Protection for the purpose of developing and recommending objectives, strategies, legislation and other actions to mitigate coastal erosion in the State and to keep beaches healthy for storm protection, habitat protection for coastal wildlife species and for recreational use. The group is directed to review the report titled "Integrated Beach Management Program Working Group Report," dated January 2017 and submitted to the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources in the First Regular Session of the 128th Legislature, update the data and findings contained in that report, if necessary, and review and update the specific recommendations for legislative, regulatory or other actions contained in that report, if necessary. No later than February 15, 2020, the commissioner is required to submit a report to the Joint Standing Committee on Environment and Natural Resources containing the findings and recommendations of the group following its review of the 2017 report, including any proposed legislation necessary to implement those recommendations. After reviewing the report, the committee may report out legislation to implement those recommendations.