WISCASSET — Charlie Spies, CEO of CEI Capital Management, was recently appointed to the board of directors of the New Markets Tax Credit Coalition, a national advocacy group for the federal program aimed at encouraging private investment in low-income areas.

In a press release, CEI said the appointment comes as U.S. Sens. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Roy Blunt, R-Mo., are pushing for legislation that would extend the tax credit program indefinitely for census tracts where the poverty rate is at least 20 percent or where the median family income exceeds 80 percent of the median for the area.

CEI Capital Management, the forprofit subsidiary of Coastal Enterprises Inc., with offices in Wiscasset and Portland, this year became the largest aggregate recipient of tax credits through the new markets program, winning $858 million in total awards from the U.S. Treasury.