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LD 388

An Act To Provide Access To Quality Family Child Care For Military Personnel By Exempting Certain Military Child Care Providers From State Licensing Requirements

132nd Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Wayne Farrin and 4 co-sponsors

Maine exempts on-base or DoD/Coast Guard-certified military family child care providers from state licensing, boosting access for service members while keeping federal standards.

Signed by Governor
#childcare #childrenandfamilies #militaryfacilities
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Bill Summary · LD 388

Summary — LD 388 (132nd Maine Legislature)

Title: An Act To Provide Access To Quality Family Child Care for Military Personnel By Exempting Certain Military Child Care Providers From State Licensing Requirements
Status: Signed by Governor (May 23, 2025)
Introduced: February 4, 2025
Committee: Health and Human Services
Final action: Passed to be enacted (concurred), Engrossed with Committee Amendment "A" (S-62)

Purpose / Intent

The bill’s stated purpose is to increase access to quality family child care for military personnel by removing overlapping state licensing requirements for certain military-run or federally certificated family child care providers. The intent is to recognize federal licensing/certification standards (Department of Defense or U.S. Coast Guard) for providers operating on military installations and reduce duplicative state regulation.

Key provisions

  • Exempts from Maine state child care licensing requirements those family child care providers who:
    • Operate on a military installation; or
    • Are licensed or certified as a family child care provider by the United States Department of Defense or by the United States Coast Guard.
  • The exemption applies specifically to state licensing requirements — it does not repeal or alter federal certification/licensing that applies to those providers.
  • The bill, as engrossed, passed with Committee Amendment "A" (S-62). (The text of that amendment is not provided in the fiscal documents.)

Who is affected

  • Primary beneficiaries: military families and service members who use family child care services on military installations in Maine.
  • Affected providers: family child care providers on military installations or those federally licensed/certified by DoD/Coast Guard; such providers would no longer be subject to state child care licensing.
  • State agencies: Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) would have reduced state licensing activity for the narrowly defined group of providers.
  • Unaffected: civilian child care providers off military installations remain subject to Maine’s state licensing rules.

Fiscal impact

  • Preliminary fiscal note (original bill) indicated possible minor General Fund savings and minor General Fund revenue decreases to DHHS.
  • Subsequent fiscal notes for the engrossed/amended versions report no fiscal impact. The final Fiscal Note for the engrossed bill (approved 05/19/25) indicates no fiscal impact.

Legislative timeline / procedural highlights

  • Referred to Health and Human Services: Feb 4, 2025
  • Work session and voted OTP-AM (committee amendment): Mar 21, 2025
  • Committee Amendment "A" (S-62) adopted; bill passed both chambers in May 2025
  • Signed by Governor: May 23, 2025

Notes / implications

  • The exemption is narrowly drawn: it does not broadly remove state oversight for nonfederal or off-installation providers.
  • Because the exemption recognizes federal certification/licensure, affected providers would still be bound by federal standards and installation policies.
  • No effective date is included in the provided documents; implementation timing should be confirmed in the enrolled law text.

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

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