A legislative policy committee voted by the slimmest of margins to oppose a governor’s bill that imposes a mandatory six-month driver’s license suspension for anyone convicted of violating the federal Controlled Substances Act.
Representatives for state agencies said the measure would conform Maine penalties to federal law.
Republican Sen. Scott Cyrway of Benton said the proposal to impose mandatory six-month driver’s license suspensions for convicted drug dealers provides law enforcement officers with another valuable tool.
“We are experiencing one of the worst drug epidemics in history, and we need to use all tools that are available to fight the battle to keep drugs off the streets,” Cyrway said.
Lawmakers on the Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee were urged by law enforcement officials to back the measure since much of the state trafficking in heroin and other opioids arrives by motor vehicle into Maine from out of state.
Maj. Chris Grotton of the Maine State Police said targeting the driver’s licenses of drug traffickers will affect the flow of drugs into the state.
“This provides an opportunity for law enforcement to take definitive action to remove the operator and vehicle from the roadway and hopefully interrupt the ongoing trafficking and transportation of drugs,” Grotton said.
Although Maine has successfully sought a waiver from the federal suspension provision in the past, Gov. Paul LePage is no longer inclined to do so.
John Nass, deputy commissioner of the Department of Transportation, said that without an approved waiver that can only be submitted by the governor or the Legislature, Maine risks losing $13 million in federal highway funds. Nass said the governor believes seeking a waiver of the drug penalties is inconsistent with his positions on drug enforcement.
“So to the extent that we’ve been receiving waivers in the past, there’s something wrong with that, and I believe that the governor believes that it’s not in line with his sense of integrity to certify something that he doesn’t believe in,” Nass said.
“This is another manufactured crisis from this administration,” Rep. Justin Chenette, a Saco Democrat, said.
Chenette said he resented the governor’s decision to let the state lose $13 million in federal funds in order to make a point.
“It’s very frustrating,” Chenette said. “When we see $13 million being held hostage in our transportation system because of just not signing off on a piece of paper — that’s infuriating to me.”
But Sen. David Burns, a Whiting Republican and former state trooper, said the bill’s opponents do not have a good grasp on how important it is to those in the drug trade to move their product with minimal risk and that the governor’s bill would disrupt a dealer’s operations.
“I can’t imagine any self-respecting drug dealer in their right mind who’s going to be transporting drugs for profit into the state of Maine sending somebody who’s under suspension to bring those drugs in,” Burns said. “They’ll find somebody else to mule those drugs in, so with that if nothing else, I see this as an extremely important tool.”
Seven members of the committee voted against the bill and six members voted in favor of the bill with the inclusion of technical amendments.