Foreign logger bill gets LePage veto
Gov. Paul LePage has vetoed a bill that would have barred the Maine Department of Conservation from hiring foreign loggers to work on state-owned land.
The bill, LD 340, would have prevented the department from hiring bonded workers, or foreign workers with federal approval to work in the United States, to work on logging jobs in state parks or on public lands, according to the Bangor Daily News. LePage said the measure, which the Legislature approved last month with a slim margin, was unconstitutional based on input from Attorney General William Schneider, who said the state cannot ban federally certified workers. Former Gov. John Baldacci vetoed a similar measure.
Sen. Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, who introduced the bill, said LePage's veto shows his support for large landowners who hire Canadian workers. Jackson and others have accused contractors of violating federal and state laws by hiring lower-cost Canadian loggers without first attempting to find Maine workers for the jobs, and other proposals related to logging are currently under review. In 2009, the U.S. Department of Labor barred two Maine logging companies from hiring foreign workers under the H-2A visa program for two years after they were charged with failing to adequately recruit U.S. workers for the positions.
The Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, which is part of the Department of Conservation, already has a policy that prevents contractors from using bonded workers on state lands. Bureau Director Will Harris said neither the bill nor LePage's veto would change its policy.
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