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LD 1273

An Act To Make Paid Family And Medical Leave Voluntary

132nd Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Barbara Bagshaw and 9 co-sponsors

LD 1273 makes Maine PFML voluntary and requires refund of all PFML Insurance Fund contributions to employers and self-employed, ending the program with a one-time $95M refund.

Placed in Legislative Files (DEAD)
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Bill Summary · LD 1273

Summary of LD 1273: An Act To Make Paid Family And Medical Leave Voluntary

Overview

  • Bill Number: LD 1273
  • Title: An Act To Make Paid Family And Medical Leave Voluntary
  • Status: Placed in Legislative Files (DEAD)
  • Introduced: March 25, 2025
  • Committee: Labor
  • Subject: Employment Practices, Family and Medical Leave, Leave

LD 1273 proposes to convert Maine’s paid family and medical leave (PFML) program from a mandatory program funded by employer and self-employed contributions into a voluntary program. A central feature is to return all contributions that have been paid into the PFML Insurance Fund to the contributors rather than continuing to fund the program.

Purpose and Intent

  • To terminate the mandatory PFML benefit program by moving to a voluntary framework.
  • To ensure that funds contributed by employers and self-employed individuals are repaid to those contributors.
  • To require the return of any unspent General Fund start-up dollars related to the PFML program back to the General Fund by a specified date.

Key Provisions

  • Make PFML benefits program voluntary rather than mandatory.
  • Require all contributions paid into the PFML Insurance Fund to be returned to the contributors (employers and self-employed individuals) who paid into the fund.
  • Return unspent General Fund dollars that were transferred as start-up funds for PFML to the General Fund unappropriated surplus on or before June 30, 2026.
  • The Department of Labor would implement the refund process and manage related fiscal matters.
  • Administrative and fiscal impacts related to existing and potential caseloads would be minimized as the program becomes voluntary.

Fiscal Impact

  • PFML Insurance Fund / Revenue:
    • FY 2025-26: Approximately $95,000,000 returned to contributors (negative revenue impact for the fund).
    • FY 2026-27 and beyond: $0 projected.
    • FY 2028-29: $0 projected.
  • General Fund / State Revenue:
    • Minor decrease in General Fund revenue from reduced collection of filing fees due to fewer court cases.
  • Judicial and Administrative:
    • Potential minor reduction in workload and costs for the Judicial Branch given a reduced number of PFML-related civil actions.

Affected Parties

  • Employers and self-employed individuals who contributed to the PFML Insurance Fund (they would receive a full refund of their contributions).
  • General Fund: potential impact from the requirement to return unspent start-up funds and from decreased fee collections.
  • Workers: The policy change would eliminate the current mandatory PFML program, changing access to paid family and medical leave benefits under the state program, unless alternative provisions exist outside PFML.

Procedural and Timeline Aspects

  • The bill was referred to the Committee on Labor in March 2025, with work sessions and votes throughout spring 2025.
  • On June 3, 2025, the committee’s report was re-considered and, after votes, the bill was placed in Legislative Files as Dead (DEAD).
  • Key financial deadline: any unspent General Fund start-up dollars related to PFML must be returned to the General Fund unappropriated surplus no later than June 30, 2026.
  • The fiscal notes (both preliminary and amended) project a one-time return of about $95 million to contributors in FY 2025-26, with no ongoing general revenue impact from PFML in following years.

Notes

  • The measure explicitly shifts from a funded obligation to a voluntary program, with substantial financial repayments to contributors and minimal anticipated ongoing fiscal impact after the initial refund. It also anticipates some administrative cost reductions in the judiciary due to fewer PFML-related filings.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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