AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage says more red tape is being snipped for businesses.
The governor on Monday signed into law a bill that eliminates the requirement to publicly display certain permits and licenses for businesses. Retailers can instead use space to display merchandise and advertise, rather than cover their walls with documents.
The bill does retain the requirement that the license or permit be made available on the premises for inspection.
The Maine Restaurant Association, the Maine State Chamber of Commerce, and convenience store operators are among the groups that supported the bill.
LePage calls the new law another step toward reducing the red tape for job creators.
Millions will be saved by eliminating the push pins required for posting documents. Products and services will be cheaper everywhere now. Way to go, Guv.
What about the state employee who’s job it was to go around and check for the postings? Oh, that employee will still have to go around and ask to see them instead. Nevermind, job saved. :-)
Now that it takes longer, it will only be possible to do fewer inspections with the same manpower. Way to make the State less efficient !
Why does the state need to have anyone checking whether you have your sales tax certifiicate on the wall or certificates required by DHHS etc? With the vast information available without a visit in today’s world it is a thing of the past.
There is no such job. Not to my knowledge as no state inspector has ever come looking to see my licenses other than a Marine Patrol Officer once.
While I admit this was not dire legislation that needed to be passed I am somewhat pleased that I do not have to have a special board in the dining room of my restaurant that shows all my licenses anymore.
I always wondered who the State thought was going to actually look at or read them. I never have noticed large amounts of customers stopping to look at the mentioned board.
I read them, and so do other people I know. Be prepared to be asked to show your current inspection approval to patrons, and do it nicely.
Are you refering to Health Inspection Reports? If so I will tell you that Maine does not require those reports to be posted for public view like they in Boston or New York City. Furthermore I will tell you that I have not had a food inspector come into my restaurant in the last five years. In the last five years I have had an officer from the Marine Patrol come once. Health Inspectors and Liqour Inspectors have been virtually wiped out in Maine. Your chances of ever seeing one are very slim unless you get reported for some sort of issue.
I’m sorry to hear that. Thank you for commenting. It must be frustrating, knowing that other establishments can have questionable conditions yet continue to operate. This is where personal integrity and pride, plus thorough knowledge of food safety measures, monitoring of staff, etc., is paramount.
There should be regular inspections. If business is to be promoted, and, at this time of year, many will be reopening or opening for the first time, without sufficient manpower to complete inspections, the process all but comes to a halt.
My sarcasm obviously escaped you. Back in the seventies & eighties the various departments actually did such inquiries. Ever run a booth at a state fair? They still do inspections for licences/certificates there.
It was a stupid and unneeded requirement thought out by our illustrious Democrats who have managed to create the poorest state per capita in the nation. Way to go, Dems!!
Maine is 34th in per-capita income at $19,367. Mississippi is 50th at $15,853. Are you blaming Maine Democrats for Mississippi’s rampant poverty? Mississippi is run by Republican’s by the way.
Facts !?!
You Godless secular liberal.
well when you go to a an establishment for dinner wouldnt you like to know they have been inspected and liscensed by the state? let see how many people well ask to see the liscense before the are seated. and does the bill require compliance for the establishment t show it.
Lmao…not to mention a savings on carpal tunnel injuries from pushing all those pins…
Just think of th jobs lost, now not using the push pins?
Real progress.
It sounds like something Emily Cain would come up with.
Did she help?
And how big is the average display space for these licenses? Usually an 8×10 picture frame combining the license with the first dollar earned (old tradition, not always seen today). So, by “freeing up” this space, how many more packs of cigs or fifths of Allen’s Coffee Brandy will the retailer be able to display and sell? Very little if any. In other words, this is a joke and waste of time/money by our leader in chief.
Why not come-up with some real solutions/help for businesses?
Just another example of LePage reducing the regulations that have been holding back the job creators. I am sure that we can now expect to see all the jobs that LePage promised with the removal of this regulation.
So at least you agree that it was a stupid regulation to begin with so that’s progress.
Im thinking that BDN in its on going efforts against LePage prints news about these types of things to make him look bad. Having family who have served in State Government I can tell you that many little things like this happen everyday. This is in effect a policy or rules change that had to be done with the Governor signing his name to the paper that made the change. People can comment all about how this is his real idea about business development but the truth is it is just routing paperwork that he has to do and does everyday.
It’s a slap in the face of the public to put licensure out of sight of the public.
What are Maine businesses hiding ? That they’re all owned by out of staters ?
Those evil businesses and/or out of staters. Go online, it is a rare business who won’t reveal vast amounts of information about them. If they are secretive then don’t give them your business. You really think a piece of paper on the wall makes them OK?
It allows me to remove a very unattractive cork board from a location in my dining room. I have the following permits or licenses-
Liqour License
Retail Food Establishment License
Wholesale and Retail Shellfish License
Federal Wholesale Seafood Purchases License
Town Business License
Vacum Sealed Products License
I do agree though that it was not dire legislation that needed to be passed.
Nobody said you had to have the licenses displayed on an unattractive cork board. By the way, where do restaurants post their recent inspection approvals?
its not for you its for the people you serve its called customer service. you ask to see a liscense before you serve alcohol or sell cigs. So you want every customer to tell your servers to bring your liscenes to the table or bar so they can see em before ordering. many establishments display them in locations where they can be readily viewed. if you decide to put them on a crappy cork in the dining room so be it.
Ought Oh, where is that sales tax certificate?
petty!
another useless waste of time that LePage can pretend is some sort of ‘victory’. this governor has done NOTHING for this state.
Someone wasted time requiring them to be displayed in the first place.
Save space huh? 7″X5″
Does it matter either way, it’s such small space, and I don’t know of many people that walk into a place and look for that, or even notice it really.
I have often wondered if any of my customers have ever bothered to look at the board where I have them displayed.
The posting requirements are to allow an employee to see that their employer is following the laws. Workmens Comp notices prevent the employee from needing to ask if the business is enrolled. Posting accident and disease statistics tells employees how safe their workplace has been. Posting keeps responsibility on the business, where it belongs. This will make it fall on the employee who has to askto see the notices, which they won’t do.
How difficult is it to post a few new notices each year?
For this minor inconvenience, inquisitive employees have to fear that asking to see the papers could get them fired. All this just so they can easily see if their employer is tracking injuries and paying for Workmens Comp coverage.
Another ALEC law finds its way to Augusta. Isn’t it wonderful that multinational corporate dream legislation is now the top priority for the people of Maine.
Those are Department of Labor posters that you are posting about. Those have never had to be posted in public. What did have to be posted in public were things like Liqour Licenses, Sales Tax Certificates and Licenses for selling Seafood or Food for Retail Purchase. In the case of my restaurant those things had to be displayed in a public place which meant my dining room. Who do you suppose ever looked at them? Not a customer. Do you suppose anyone ever came from the State to look at them? Just once, a guy from the Marine Patrol. Do you suppose that when he came into the service entrance of the kitchen it would have been just as easy to show him the license hanging on the wall next to the minimum wage, polygraph, keyboard operating posters that you mentioned? Most likely it would have been but instead we had to march into the dining room with him tracking mud all over the place and creating a law enforcement presence in my dining room.
This one beats all, hands-down. A business owner will continue to jump through hoops with nails and pay and pay and pay Federal, State, County, and Municipal taxes — taxes on the number of leaves that blow across the property, but this is supposed to help business?
“First dollar earned,” means a heck of a lot more than that dollar bill. It means complying with all laws and regulations, known, and yet to be known, wise and idiotic, because there is always something else. It shows a business has paid their dues, and then some, and, just maybe, that products and food sold in the stores are there legally.
In regard to food establishments – if anyone could set up shop along the street, and sell food without a license, yet have consumers their chances, then fine. No regulation, period, but the seller could pay taxes on anything more than piddling amounts of money earned. But this isn’t the case.
As it is, inspections are rare, due to the lack of inspectors. Think about this. Farmer’s Market sellers were required to have visible permits, and they operate for a few hours? Restaurants, on the other hand, almost continuously. It’s not such a bad thing to have someone checking your work, as much as inspections raise the hair on the neck. Things get missed.
Every little burg gets their piece of a business. Every possible entity. And the cost and methods vary wisely. We operate, across the nation, on archaic laws that continue to be based on there being 13 colonies. There needs to be uniformity. How any business can begin with all the irregularities from town to town is beyond me. It just sets up an environment for power and fraud.
This post will probably be nonsensical. I am absolutely stunned by this piece of nonsense. Given the law – I want to see a permit. I want to see that inspection sticker, proudly displayed, or I ain’t eating or buying. I have to figure that any business that takes up the practice of not showing hard-earned licenses or permits has something to hide. (Are there special permits for selling imported goods?)
“This bill eliminates the administrative burden of publicly displaying certain
permits and licenses…”
This is akin to saying, “I’m going to solve the pothole problem by eliminating vehicular use.” Simple, right.
HP1247LD 1695 http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/bills_125th/billtexts/HP124701.asp
Wow, a piece of paper will make you feel safe.
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The poster misunderstood the law. It is against the terms of use, (and rationality), to respond as you have. Moderators need to remove your post.
Happy now Pointway ??? You and The Rexican are the same poster anyway so it doesn’t matter… Waaaaaaa !!!
Using foul language here is against the terms of use. It’s not a matter of making me happy. I only post using one pseudonym.
And not displaying a piece of paper on the wall is against the terms of the state bureaucrats. Rules are rules.
It’s a great day for business ALL OVER Maine !!! Yay….lol
Why don’t we do away with licenses all together. As a licensed professional it bothers me that many practice without a license and nothing much it done about it. If I break the rule I can be fined have to sit in front of the board and possibly loose my Licence.
Cuts have to start somewhere. Eliminating any governmental red tape busniess have to deal with is a good thing. Of course the majority of the folks with the smart comments likely do not own or have to deal with all the BS a bushiness owner has to wade through.
it did not eliminate anything, just makes you have to show it on demand. so be prepared to run to the back room dig it out, wipe off and show it. then run to the back room throw back into your files unitl the next time. Oh wait, now im trusting no one else will ask. you display your inspection sticker for a car. maybe you could display a menu in that space instead. great ideas no impact other than more work.
It eliminated a RULE! I am guessing your not a busniess owner. Failing to meet the mountain of stupid rules can cost a busniess time and money. I am also not for the stupid inspection stickers either.
no thats what i call creating jobs. like the ones created for removing the mural and for his kin.
Or like the jobs created in the aircraft repair and refurbishing by eliminating the sales tax on aircraft brough into the state only for refurbishing or sales tax on parts. Oxford Aviation and other aircraft companies in the Portland area are hiring.
Or you could use your IPad and check it online.
Wow, now they can use the 8 by 10 inch area to advertise… Awesome new bill… I’m sure it took deep thought…