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An Act To Reduce Costs and Emissions by Increasing Telecommuting at State Agencies
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1. 5 MRSA §901, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 270, §4, is amended to read:
§ 901.Legislative findings and purpose
The Legislature finds that alternative working hours, including part-time work, job sharing and more flexible work schedules will lead to greater efficiency by state employees. There are many qualified and talented Maine citizens of all ages whose personal responsibilities make it difficult to work full time or during the traditional hours of employment. The Legislature also finds that telework eliminates or substantially reduces the physical commute to and from an employee's usual work site.
Sec. 2.  5 MRSA §902, sub-§5  is enacted to read:
 
5.  Telework.     "Telework" means a flexible work arrangement under which an employee performs the duties and responsibilities of the employee's position from a location other than the office or location provided by the employer.
Sec. 3.  5 MRSA §904  is enacted to read:
§ 904. Telework
 
1.  Telework rate.     The Director of Human Resources shall ensure that at least 30% of state employees are teleworking by January 1, 2030.
 
2.  Employees in collective bargaining units.     The Governor, or the Governor's designee who negotiates a collective bargaining agreement, may bargain and conclude agreements, pursuant to Title 26, chapter 9-B, that include provisions for telework.
 
3.  Employees not in collective bargaining units.     The Director of Human Resources shall adopt rules to implement telework for persons who are not in collective bargaining units. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
 
4.  Report.     The Department of Administrative and Financial Services shall report annually to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over state and local government matters the State's progress in implementing this section. The report must, at a minimum, contain a breakdown of the number of employees seeking telework and the number of employees teleworking by department, the increase or decrease in the number of such employees from the preceding year by department, an estimate of savings achieved or costs imposed and a narrative summary of the efforts taken by the State to encourage the development of telework.
Sec. 4. Maine Revised Statutes headnote amended; revision clause. In the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, chapter 69, in the chapter headnote, the words "alternative working hours" are amended to read "alternative working hours and telework" and the Revisor of Statutes shall implement this revision when updating, publishing or republishing the statutes.
 
SUMMARY
This bill requires that, by 2030, at least 30% of state employees must be teleworking. The bill requires the Department of Administrative and Financial Services to annually report the State's progress toward this goal.