Four expensive experiments with your taxes
For many Maine legislators, using the public treasury to fund experiments in democracy is a no-risk venture with incredibly high costs to Maine's reputation, its taxpayers and its businesses.
An op-ed column in the Maine Sunday Telegram by Dr. Douglas Johnson of the Maine Biotechnology Information Bureau described what he calls "Dirigo laws" - "laws that are passed not to right a wrong or improve a situation, but
to punish someone, usually a corporation or some segment of the private sector.
"They are easy to spot. At legislative hearings you hear phrases like 'first in the nation' or 'send a message.' Along the way to enactment, they are almost always introduced to the public at State House press conferences where the transgressions of the evil-doers are laid out in grim detail." wrote Johnson who also notes that many are struck down in expensive and time-consuming court battles.
While Maine's economy limps along in the shadow of recession, here are four current examples of costly experimentation.
#1) Toxic toys or poisonous policy?
An excellent example is An Act to Protect Children's Health and the Environment from Toxic Chemicals in Toys and Children's Products (LD 2048).
This would require manufacturers to disclose the presence of chemicals of "high concern" to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection which, in turn can require safer alternatives [as defined by the DEP] to be used or ultimately ban a product.
Below are the legislators proposing this bill and their e-mail addresses. Please share your thoughts with them and ask what science and incident rates are being used to justify their experiment. How many people have been harmed or sickened and what source has been documented as the cause?
Sponsor:
Rep. Hannah Pingree (hannah@pingree.com)
Co-sponsors:
Rep. John Brautigam/Falmouth (jblaw@maine.rr.com)
Rep. Jill Conover/Oakland (repjill.conover@legislature.maine.gov)
Rep. Glen Cummings/Portland (gcforleg@aol.com)
Rep. Anne Perry/Calais (aperry@maineline.net)
Rep. Sharon Treat/Hallowell (repsharon.treat@legislature.maine.gov)
Sen. Charles Dow/Lincoln County (danadow@adelphia.net)
Sen. John Martin/Aroostook County (senjohn.martin@legislature.maine.gov)
Orchestrated support for the bill has begun in ernest with release of a study raising questions about chemicals used in the production of baby bottles (listen to coverage on Maine Public Radio's Maine Things Considered 2/7/08).
#2) Oil dealers: Punish them all to protect against the few
A Portland Press Herald editorial advocates enforcement of a 2005 law forcing all of Maine's oil dealers to prove they have the product before accepting pre-payment for heating oil. This proposal would require ALL oil dealers in Maine to submit to the state copies of contracts with their suppliers or post a performance bond because a few dealers have failed to deliver pre-paid heating oil as promised.
So, to protect consumers from the very few, all dealers will have to add to their costs which will be passed along to consumers. Knowing Augusta, there's likely to be a filing fee and additional staffing, as well.
If you follow the same logic, then all businesses that accept pre-payment for goods or services should also suffer the same over-the-top requirement even if there is no credible evidence of a wide-spread problem. That would include, for example, all newspapers having to attest to a reliable supply of paper and ink to ensure their pre-paid customers receive their daily news. It just doesn't make sense.
The better course, perhaps, has been the Attorney General's effort to freeze the assets of the most recent offender in order to recapture the lost money. Also, consumers should do their homework by choosing fuel dealers, not on price but on years of service at a reasonable price.
#3) Will the last person left in Maine, please turn out the politically correct lightbulb.
Sen. Ethan Strimling (ethanstrimling@hotmail.com) has announced his proposal for Maine to be the first state in the nation to ban the sale of incandescent light bulbs despite federal legislation that will force manufacturers to produce more energy-friendly bulbs beginning in 2012. Strimling, a candidate for the US Congress, quipped, "We're finally going to find out how many legislators it takes to change a lightbulb."
It apparently is more important to ensure companies across America view Maine as hostile and difficult for the sake of a campaign headline than to wait with the rest of the country to ease through this transition.
Once the roll-call is taken on Strimling's bill, we'll be anxious to see how many legislators it takes to unnecessarily degrade our state's reputation and how many it takes to exercise sound judgement in defeating this bill that Sen. Strimling considers worthy of "emergency" status.
#4) Ban energy drinks
Though highlighted in an earlier newsletter, a bill (LD 2034) to ban the sale of caffeine fortified drinks to minors sets people off like a Mentos candy dropped in a Coke bottle. The genesis of this proposed ban, including fines up to $500, comes from Rep. Troy Jackson (jacksonfor1@hotmail.com) who said he couldn't prevent his kids from using the drinks. Imagine the cost to convenient sotres as well as the cost of enforcement! That's another "one-of-kind" Maine can do without.
Please contact the legislators above and let them know how you feel about their experiments and pass this news letter along to your own contact list and ask that they do the same. That's what we mean by Prosperity through voter action. Thanks!
Tony Payne
Executive Director
tpayne@allianceformaine.org
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