Hickman's Bill To Promote Food Self-Sufficiency Becomes Law in Maine

AUGUSTA – A bill to encourage food self-sufficiency in the state has become law in Maine.

“As a fellow farmer asserts, growing your own food is like printing your own money. It is the policy of the state to be food self-sufficient. This bill strengthens that policy by encouraging people to grow, process and preserve their own food to feed themselves, their families and their communities,” said Rep. Craig Hickman of Winthrop, the bill’s sponsor. “It also addresses the current shortage of available farm workers for the many new and expanding family farms that are taking advantage of the growing local foods movement.”

“When a state with a farming and fishing legacy as strong as Maine's imports ninety percent of the food its people consume, there is cleary something wrong with the picture. Thanks to the reputation and availability of our signature commodity foods ― lobster, wild blueberries, and potatoes ― Maine will always be a net exporter of food. But it makes no sense for us to import so much of the food we eat. Mainers produce only fifteen percent of the poultry that we consume. The rest comes from elsewhere. We can do better than this. We must do better. Our economy requires it. The public health, common good, and welfare of our people require it.”

LD 1291, its chaptered law embedded below, would direct the Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry to develop and administer an agricultural jobs network. It would link farms and facilities that process agricultural products grown in Maine with available workers who are involved in farming or a local food industry, or who are required to perform community service.

It directs the department to develop an educational marketing campaign, similar to the US Department of Agriculture and the US Food Adiministration World War II poster campaign, to promote food self-sufficiency by encouraging the public to grow gardens, raise farm animals and preserve garden-grown food.

Hickman’s bill also requires the Department of Agriculture to purchase food that is grown, harvested, prepared, processed and produced in Maine when purchasing food for an emergency or supplemental food program for elderly or low-income people whenever possible.

LD 1291 passed the Legislature by unanimous consent in both the House and the Senate after it was funded by the Appropriations Committee and sent to the Governor's desk. The law will take effect ninety days after the Legislature adjoured on July 16, 2015.

Hickman is an organic farmer and House chair of the Agriculture, Conservation and Forestry Committee. He is serving his second term in the Maine House and represents Readfield, Winthrop and part of Monmouth.

Hickman's Bill To Prohibit Rehoming Becomes Law in Maine

For Immediate Release
July 2, 2015
Contact: Ann Kim [Hickman], cell: 233-1838

Hickman’s bill to prohibit “rehoming” of adopted children becomes law

AUGUSTA – The Maine Legislature on Tuesday unanimously overrode the governor’ veto of a bill sponsored by Rep. Craig Hickman to prohibit the unauthorized “rehoming” of adopted children.

Hickman’s bill, LD 1342, addresses this practice. It prohibits the transfer of the long-term care and custody of a child without a court order. Hickman, adopted when he was a baby, has been involved in adoptee rights issues for the past 20 years.

“Imagine being shipped across oceans to a new culture with a new language to become part of a new family, only to have that family decide that they don’t want you. And since it is not against the law, that family advertises you on Facebook or Craigslist or some other social media platform and within days you are dropped off to another stranger in a parking lot behind some Walmart somewhere,” said Hickman, D-Winthrop. “Yes, this actually happens.”

The Judiciary Committee passed the bill unanimously with an amendment to make rehoming a crime subject to the current penalties for abandonment. It includes an affirmative defense clause to ensure people acting in good faith are not penalized.

The first time Hickman ever testified before a legislative body was before the same committee. In 2005, he spoke in favor of a bill that would allow adult adoptees access to their original birth certificates, which had been sealed when their adoptions were finalized. That bill became law in 2007 and took effect in 2009.

“This legislation will protect children and families from the outrageous indignity called re-homing and send a clear message to adoptees here and all over the nation that Maine people care about the safety and welfare of all our children,” Hickman said.

According to the Washington Times, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, Ohio and Wisconsin also have adopted laws against rehoming.

“When I saw the votes in favor of this bill light up the board all green, I was moved to tears,” said Hickman. “This is the most important piece of legislation I’ve introduced thus far. As an adopted person, it goes to the core of who I am. It feels like the culmination of two decades of work. I am forever grateful to my colleagues for their overwhelming support.”

Hickman is serving his second term in the Maine House and represents Readfield, Winthrop and part of North Monmouth at the foot of Mt. Pisgah.