An Act To Amend The Laws Governing Public Employee Market Pay Studies And Comprehensive Reviews Of The Classification Plan For State Service Positions

132nd Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Matt Beck and 6 co-sponsors

Mandates updated public-employee market pay studies and a comprehensive review of the State Service classification plan, funded by a $2M transfer, due by Sept 30, 2028.

Became Law without Governor's Signature

#paystudy #stategovernment #statepersonnel

Summary — LD 1265

Title: An Act To Amend The Laws Governing Public Employee Market Pay Studies And Comprehensive Reviews Of The Classification Plan For State Service Positions
Bill Number: LD 1265
Introduced: March 25, 2025
Sponsor: Rep. Dhalac (South Portland)
Subjects: Pay study; State government; State personnel
Current status: Held by the Governor (as of 2025-07-08)

Purpose / Intent

LD 1265 directs the State’s human resources apparatus to carry out updated market pay studies and comprehensive reviews of the classification plan for state service positions. The intent is to ensure state job classifications and pay relationships reflect current market conditions and provide an updated classification plan for state employees.

Key provisions (as reflected in available documents)

Requires the Bureau of Human Resources (BHR), within the Department of Administrative and Financial Services (DAFS), to issue a request for proposals (RFP) and contract with an experienced consultant to perform:

public employee market pay studies, and
comprehensive reviews of the State Service classification plan.

Sets a deliverable/report deadline for completion of the studies/reviews on or before September 30, 2028.

Funding mechanism changed by amendment:

Committee amendment(s) initially provided a one‑time General Fund appropriation to BHR.
A subsequent Senate amendment permits the State Controller to transfer up to $2,000,000 from the Salary Plan program (General Fund account in DAFS) to the unappropriated surplus of the General Fund on or before June 30, 2027 to fund the consultant contract.

Fiscal impact

The fiscal notes reflect a one‑time cost of $2,000,000 in FY 2026‑27 to fund consultant services (RFP and contract).

After the Senate amendment providing for an internal transfer, the fiscal note shows a corresponding transfer (rather than a new appropriation) of $2,000,000 in FY 2026‑27. Net long‑term impacts on compensation or classification implementation are not quantified in the fiscal notes.

Who is affected

Primary: Bureau of Human Resources and DAFS (administration and execution of the studies).

State employees and managers: potential downstream effects if classification changes or pay adjustments result from the studies (the bill requires the studies but does not itself enact pay changes).

State finances: a one‑time $2,000,000 outlay or internal transfer to fund the consultant contract; funding source per amendment is the Salary Plan program account.

Timeline and procedural highlights

Report/completion deadline: September 30, 2028.

Deadline for the Controller’s transfer (per amendment): on or before June 30, 2027.

Procedural history (selected):

Referred to Committee on State and Local Government (3/25/25).
Committee amendment A (H‑435) and Senate amendment A (S‑487) were adopted.
Passed both chambers and placed on the Special Appropriations Table; later motions led to reconsideration and adoption of the amended bill.
Final recorded status: Held by the Governor (7/08/25).

Notes / Limitations

Full bill text (beyond title and fiscal notes) was not provided; summary is based on available fiscal notes and legislative actions.

The bill mandates studies and a report but does not itself prescribe specific classification changes, pay increases, or implementation steps following the studies. Any policy or budgetary actions resulting from the studies would require separate legislative or administrative actions.