AUGUSTA, Maine — Maine lawmakers may offer tax credits for logging and trucking businesses that hire U.S. residents.

 

The concept bill is sponsored by Democratic Senate Leader Troy Jackson, a fifth-generation logger whose family works in Maine's forest. It is set to be voted on Tuesday, February 20.

 

Trade group Professional Logging Contractors of Maine says it won't take a position on the bill until it sees details. But it says Maine has seen the closure of five pulp and paper mills over the past four years. They also say that Maine has lost 50 percent of its softwood pulp market - with over 5,000 jobs being lost from 2014 to 2016.