Attorney Steve Arner was again award Katahdin Counsel status by Maine’s Supreme Judicial Court, in recognition of his provision of pro bono civil legal services to Maine’s underserved populations. Arner takes on such cases from the Volunteer Lawyers Project, Legal Services for the Elderly, and other sources. This is Arner’s 7th year in a row being on the roster of Katahdin Counsel. He was one of 95 attorneys across Maine so recognized in 2024.

Maine has created a new automatic investment program for employees of companies doing business in Maine, the Maine Retirement Investment Trust (MERIT). THE REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS AS EARLY AS APRIL 30, 2024. Maine employers with more than 15 employees must register for MERIT by April 30, 2024, while employers with between 5 – 14 employees will need to register for MERIT by June 30, 2024. For general information, see https://meritsaves.org/. There is a FAQ for employers available here: https://meritsaves.com/faqs/employer. Supposedly, all employers that are required to sign up will be notified by MERIT when it’s time to register. You will need the following information to register your business: Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN) and the MERIT access code that is included in your notice. You can also request an access code online if you did not receive notice and believe your entity is required to register here: https://meritsaves.com/employers/program-details. Under Maine law, Maine employers will be required to offer their employees some sort of retirement savings. This can be a traditional pension, a 401(k) plan, a 403(b) plan, a SEP Plan, a SIMPLE IRA plan, a governmental deferred compensation plan — or an account from MERIT. The plan essentially sets up an automatic payroll deduction to go into a Roth IRA account for each employee (with automatic increases if the employee does not take active steps to prevent that). The program will require employers to regularly provide payroll information to the state and integrate their payroll with MERIT. Employers do not contribute to employee savings. The MERIT program applies only to employers with 5 or more employees who don’t already offer their own qualified retirement savings plan (and who have been in business two years or longer). An employer-sponsored retirement plan includes a plan qualified under Internal Revenue Code sections 401(a) (including a 401(k) plan), qualified annuity plan under section 403(a), tax-sheltered annuity plan under section 403(b), Simplified Employee Pension plan under section 408(k), a SIMPLE IRA plan under section 408(p), or governmental deferred compensation plan under section 457(b). It does not include payroll deduction IRAs. If your entity has five or more employees and offers a qualified plan, you will still need to certify your exemption. You can begin the registration process here: https://meritsaves.vestwell.com/register/employer.

The federal government is now requiring companies to file a beneficial ownership information (BOI) report with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) under the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA). The CTA is a federal law that requires certain corporations and LLCs to file a beneficial ownership information (BOI) report with FinCEN. For general information, see https://www.fincen.gov/. You may file your company’s report online. Reporting companies created or registered to do business before January 1, 2024, have until January 1, 2025, to file their initial BOI reports. Reporting companies created or registered on or after January 1, 2024, and before January 1, 2025, have 90 calendar days after receiving actual or public notice that their company’s creation or registration is effective to file their initial BOI reports.  Specifically, this 90-calendar day deadline runs from the time the company receives actual notice that its creation or registration is effective, or after a secretary of state or similar office first provides public notice of its creation or registration, whichever is earlier. Unless your entity is tax exempt, you will likely need to file a BOI report. Failure to do so can result in civil and criminal penalties. Help and specific step-by-step filing instructions may be found here: https://boiefiling.fincen.gov/help. Most nonprofits are exempt from reporting to FinCEN. The CTA does not differentiate between for-profit and nonprofit entities, so nonprofits that meet the definition of a reporting company must file a BOI report. However, tax-exempt nonprofits, such as public charities and private foundations, are exempt from reporting. As part of the reporting process, you will be required to identify your entity’s beneficial owners. A beneficial owner is any individual who, directly or indirectly, exercises substantial control over a reporting company OR owns or controls at least 25 percent of the ownership interests of a reporting company. More specifically, you will need to provide the following: Reporting Company:  Full legal and any trade name or “doing business as” (DBA) name; complete current U.S. address (report the address of the principal place of business in United States, or, if the reporting company’s principal place of business is not in the United States, the primary location in the United States where the company conducts business); Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) (including an Employer Identification Number (EIN)); Each Beneficial Owner: Full legal name; date of birth; complete current address (report the individual’s residential street address); unique identifying number and issuing jurisdiction from, and image of, one of the following non-expired documents: U.S. passport, State driver’s license, Identification document issued by a state, local government, or tribe, if an individual does not have any of the previous documents, foreign passport.

Annual reports for non-profit and for-profit corporations and limited liability companies registered in Maine are due June 1, 2024. If your company was formed by a filing in 2023, your first report will be due. These reports are very simple and may be completed online. The filing fees are $85 for for-profit companies and $35 for non-profit companies. For the first report, you need the charter number, which you can look up through the provided link, the principal home office address (this is new this year), a brief statement of the character of the business (mine is “Legal Services” for Western Maine Law LLC), and the name and physical address of at least one member, manager, or authorized person. The fee is $85 and can also be paid online.

To find the charter number for your company, you can visit https://apps1.web.maine.gov/nei-sos-icrs/ICRS?MainPage=x and search by the name of your company. Once you find the name of your company and click on it, you can click on “Information Summary” to see the filing date, so you can tell if you need to file an annual report (if the filing date is any time in 2023 or earlier, you do). Once you have the charter number, visit this page to file the annual report: https://apps1.web.maine.gov/cgi-bin/online/aro/index.pl. The website will populate the form for you unless this is the first annual report. You can pay online by credit card.

Attorney Steve Arner was one of 105 attorneys awarded Katahdin Counsel status for 2023 for his ongoing commitment to providing pro bono legal services. Arner takes on such cases from the Volunteer Lawyers Project, Legal Services for the Elderly, and other sources. This is Arner’s 6th year in a row being on the roster of Katahdin Counsel.

Maine has a new law going into effect on January 1, 2022, that requires the installation of fuel gas detectors for many residential and business occupancies. Section 2469 of Title 25 requires the installation of fuel gas detectors (detectors akin to carbon monoxide detectors, and often found in a combined unit with a carbon monoxide detector) that detect elevated levels of propane, natural gas, and liquified petroleum gas. The law was passed by the legislature in response to the Sept. 16, 2019, explosion that leveled the two-story building that housed the offices of LEAP Inc., in Farmington.

Specifically, the law requires building owners to install (or cause to be installed) at least one approved fuel gas detector in every room containing an appliance fueled by propane, natural gas, or LPG in various locations, including each unit in any building of multifamily occupancy; a hotel, motel or inn; a mixed use occupancy that contains a dwelling unit; and a business occupancy. The law also requires installation of detectors in residential rental units. The law also applies to the sale or exchange of buildings containing specified uses, and requires those who acquire such property to install detectors within 30 days of acquisition or occupancy, whichever is later, and to certify in writing at closing that fuel gas detectors will be installed.

The text of the law may be found here: Title 25, §2469: Fuel gas detectors (maine.gov)

Additional information and a summary of the law from Maine’s State Fire Marshall may be found here: https://www.maine.gov/dps/fmo/sites/maine.gov.dps.fmo/files/inline-files/Gasdetection.pdf

For more information, please contact Steve Arner at steve@westernmainelaw.com or at (207) 237-0000.

On December 1, Attorney Steve Arner was again awarded Katahdin Counsel status by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in recognition of his continuing commitment to providing pro bono civil representation to those in need. Arner and 151 other attorneys throughout the state were so recognized.

Arner’s provision of legal services and education on a volunteer basis helps meet the legal needs of those who would otherwise not be able to afford legal services. Steve accepts referrals from Legal Services for the Elderly, the Volunteer Lawyers Project, and other nonprofit organizations, among other sources.

On December 1, Attorney Steve Arner was again awarded Katahdin Counsel status by the Maine Supreme Judicial Court in recognition of his continuing commitment to providing pro bono civil representation to those in need. Arner and 106 other attorneys throughout the state were so recognized.

Arner’s provision of legal services and education on a volunteer basis helps meet the legal needs of those who would otherwise not be able to afford legal services. Steve accepts referrals from Legal Services for the Elderly, the Volunteer Lawyers Project, and other nonprofit organizations, among other sources.

Western Maine Law LLC is one of the local businesses pledged to support our community’s efforts to combat the spread of Coronavirus and is part of Sugarloaf’s All In program. As such, we ask that you wear a mask if we are meeting in person, regardless of location, and we will provide one for you if needed. Your attorney will also be wearing a mask. We will be sanitizing before you arrive and after you leave to protect you, us, and the next customer. We will still gladly offer you a cup of coffee and a smile, even if you can’t see it well, and we are happy to see you in person. Of course, we also remain available to talk over the phone or video conference, and can perform notarizations and document executions virtually.

https://www.sugarloaf.com/all-in-businesses