Now that the 125th Maine Legislature has ended, let’s take a step back. Between Gov. Paul LePage’s vetoes, such as for research and development funding, and debate surrounding Medicaid cuts in the Department of Health and Human Services budget, some decent legislation deserves more attention.
Though the new laws may address different topics — such as domestic violence, access to public information, unemployment — the underlying theme is that they shift power, just a little, from those with more power to those with less.
First, the state took steps to strengthen laws surrounding domestic violence. On April 17, LePage signed LD 1867, sponsored by House Minority Leader Emily Cain of Orono. It requires judges instead of bail commissioners to set bail conditions in certain instances when domestic violence is involved.
A separate bill, LD 1711, presented by Cain, was signed by LePage on May 21 and requires law enforcement to complete an assessment of a suspected domestic violence offender to determine the likelihood of a repeat crime. The results may be shared with the bail commissioner and district attorney to help determine appropriate bail conditions and sentencing.
Both new laws realign power between domestic violence suspects and victims by better identifying potential repeat offenders and hopefully preventing them from being abusive again.
Another bill, LD 1465, shifts more power to people seeking information about their government. Sponsored by Sen. Richard Rosen, R-Bucksport, and signed by LePage on May 21, it amends Maine’s Freedom of Access Act to encourage more openness by state agencies, county and municipal governments and school districts.
It requires public agencies to designate an existing employee to field freedom-of-access questions and it provides funding for a public access ombudsman in the attorney general’s office. It also requires government agencies to consider maximizing access to public records when they purchase or contract for computer software and other technology.
Parts of the law require what many towns and agencies are already doing on their own, but the law makes clear that public access is a priority. It hands a little more power to residents seeking to learn more about their government’s operations.
Finally, a bill passed last session — and left unsigned by LePage — took effect this week. LD 269 was introduced by Rep. Diane Russell, D-Portland, and created a WorkShare program that provides an alternative to layoffs during a temporary slowdown in business. It allows workers to remain employed with reduced hours and still collect a modified unemployment benefit.
For this program to work well, businesses will have to take advantage of it. If they qualify, they won’t lose their employees to other jobs when they have to temporarily cut workers’ hours. And employees get to maintain their salary, benefits and seniority and won’t have to show a gap in employment on their resumes.
More flexibility and choice gives business owners and workers a little more power.
The 125th Legislature saw many changes, including pension and health care reform and sweeping education legislation. We didn’t always agree with some actions by LePage or some cuts to services, and we said so at the time, but the Legislature deserves credit for waking Mainers up with its debate about the state’s fiscal health, paying a portion of the money owed to hospitals and maintaining a moderate general obligation debt level.
It also deserves credit for these laws that will redistribute power the correct way — by providing Mainers with greater legal protections, streamlined access to public information and options that can help businesses remain competitive.
LD 1465
It requires public agencies to designate an existing employee to field freedom-of-access questions and it provides funding for a public access ombudsman in the attorney general’s office. It also requires government agencies to consider maximizing access to public records when they purchase or contract for computer software and other technology.
You gotta just love this one! Coming from the ” Red Tape ” cutters themselves,
A new bureau , the ” Department of Records Filtration ”
Efficiency !WoW! Just think how many “cuts” that they can make with that Paper Shreader!
It’s certainly a good start and we need Maine to continue down this path with increased momentum
Yeah, but the end of the ” Free Fall ” is gonna be a son of a gun!
It’s not the Fall it’s the Landing!
BDN= Bangor Democrat News
A cute cynic. Why do you bother to read the paper? Get a Republican paper or watch a Republican television station or listen to a Republican radio station. You’ll be happier, much less of a grouch and we won’t have you read your silly cynicism.
The Maine Legislature, like all state legislatures, is infamous for micro-managing more than the state can possibly afford and more than the bureaucracies that man the state should possibly be doing.
This latest round of initiatives in clearly running onto the shoals of micro-mismanaging Maine.
Let us all hope, the Maine Legislature and Governor Paul R. LePage -can work together- in the upcoming session to reduce the burden on Mainers of so many poorly thought out statutes -by striking twice as many laws as they make new laws-.
I would like to see Maine’s socially regressive mandatory auto insurance laws -stricken-, and, the auto inspection sticker law -stricken-, so our young people can afford to drive again. And Maine has to stop using road salt, which is year-after-year destroying every vehicle in the state. Maybe our young people will be able to find work if they have the automobile-mobility we all had in our youth!
And then the Maine Legislature should finally take the bull by the horns and deal with the dope problem.
Unilaterally Maine can outlaw all these dangerous and highly addictive synthetic opiate drugs -Big Pharma so rapaciously has been peddling all across this great land of ours. Canada did it.
Canada just outlawed these synthetic opiate drugs. Maine can too! GET SERIOUS ABOUT DOPE IN MAINE – PLEASE!!!
An excellent post but in this State, it unfortunately is a minority opinion. Too many Mainer’s benefit from State government to make the changes you want. And the synthetic opiates are much bigger than Maine, big pharma owns Washington DC, both republicans and democrats.
Mandatory insurance, which protects me financially from the consequences of another person’s driving, and auto safety inspections, which also protects me from the consequences of their failure to keep their car in safe working order … and yet you’d take that away. If they can’t afford auto insurance, tires, good brakes and wiper blades then surely they won’t be able to afford to repair my car when they loose control of their car and cause an accident. Thank you but no.
Why should Maine drivers be required to have insurance to cover another person’s car?
This results in the situation where a young person -just starting out- is required to have insurance on their car so that if in a Maine winter white-out snowstorm they slide into someone’s lovely $80,000 Mercedes Benz, they have insurance to cover the Benz-owner’s car.
Huh??? That makes no sense. It is too expensive, especially when we add in the cost of the insurance company’s overhead.
Everyone is Maine should be required to insure their own car, if they drive a car that merits insurance. If you have a boat, you insure it against loss or damage, if that is what you want, or your finance company requires you to insure it. We can do the same with cars.
I am 62, and have never had anything but mandatory insurance on any of my vehicles. I’ve never had any accidents either. I pay every six months so insurance companies can make extravagant payouts on other people’s cars in accidents that I have absolutely nothing to do with. It is just another ridiculous insurance swindle lobbied for by insurance companies.
Young kids are going without cars, unless their daddy is rich enough to pay their way. I see kids -driving- off to U/Maine Orono to party on dad’s dime. And I other poorer kids walking to work.
The average kid is struggling in Maine -just to get a car on the road! The bureaucracy has stifled the economy with these extravagant costs heaped upon us all.
As for inspection stickers, cars are routinely being denied inspection for things like windshield wiper squirters not working, the windshield wiper on the rear door of a station wagon not working, emergency brakes not working (I never use mine except to change a tire), power windows not working, or, a CV joint rubber being torn. It is preposterous what fails an inspection now, totally preposterous and totally a swindle. These things do not make safer cars. Good drivers make safer cars.
Inspection stickers have turned into just another way to fleece the public. Inspection stickers do not make our roadways safer in Maine.
Not every state requires inspection stickers! Not every state requires automobile insurance either. Wake up!
Secretary of State, Mr. Charles Summers, just made a big splash in the public pool about his only accomplishment as Maine’s Secretary of State. He has required motorcyclists to place an inspection sticker on their motorcycle license plate.
Woo hoo, Charlie! I feel safer already!!!! —NOT—
And now, Summers thinks he is qualified to go on to represent Mainers in the U.S. Senate, -based on his stellar accomplishments as Maine’s Secretary of State. Huh?
I am supporting the fiscally conservative Treasurer Bruce Poliquin for Senate. He has saved Mainers many millions.
I am all for firing Mr. Charles Summers and getting a new Secretary of States who can find ways to reduce the cost of driving in Maine down to where young people can begin to drive and make a living again.
Please, I’ve lived in three states that did not require inspection and there was no epidemic of unsafe cars causing accidents. It is simply a scam.
Mandatory insurance laws are regressive? Vehicle inspections are bad?
What synthetic opiate drugs are legal in Maine? Need a little help on this one.
I have uninsured coverage in my car insurance policy, but if liability insurance weren’t mandatory, I’m sure that I would have to pay more for my own insurance. My insurance knows it would have to charge enough to cover the increased payouts for more uninsured drivers. And car inspections? It seems likely that we would have more clunkers weaving toward us at 65 than we do now. That doesn’t seem like a good idea. They might hit a tree, but then again they might hit me.
I guess that about covers it… Oh, anything about abortion?
Democrats = Good; Republicans = Bad. Repeat.
More insipidity from the leftist BDN.
Why not start with LD1, a landmark regulatory reform law?
Landmark, alright. Like a sign that says “bridge out ahead”.
“shift power from those with more power, just a little, to those with less power,” giving kudos to the D’s who whined throughout the entire session, because they lost the absolute power they had before 2010, not allowing any Republican amendments or talks, etc. Governor LePage was more than civil with Emily Cain, and her comments last week really showed that she did not appreciate being given more power in the process.
I was certainly happy to donate some of my pension to the poor folks at the top. Gives me a warm, fuzzy feeling in the bottom of the Pot.
Great! A small handful of successes: and how much did this cost us?
If I had my way, we’d have an all volunteer state legislature. At least we’d be paying nothing for the nothing they give us…