May 29th Update
It has been a busy week! This week we passed the budget. The cuts that were made in this budget were difficult for all of us. I was impressed with the bipartisan work done in the Appropriations Committee. They had a very difficult job to do and they did it by working together. My hope is that this recession turns around quickly and that as a State we come out of this stronger then when we went in.
This week we discussed clothes lines, solar collectors, sales tax holidays, genetically modified crops, composting, the Maine Land Use Regulation Commission…among other things. We also discussed reducing the size of the Legislature. This sounds pretty cut and dry, but actually this is a very complicated issue and one that I am very torn on. The issue is representation in Northern Maine. With the census coming up Northern Maine already stands to lose representation in the House. When you add reducing the Legislature to this, Northern Maine will lose even more representation and Southern Maine will gain representation. This could mean a large shift of power to the Southern half of that State. I am all for reducing costs in State government, but how fair is that? There must be a better way???
We voted on a Sales Tax Holiday and the measure passed. This is a pilot project for 2009. Here is the info on the bill….
Columbus Day weekend 2009. Sales of tangible personal property from 12:01 a.m. Saturday, October 10, 2009 to midnight Monday, October 12, 2009, except sales of telecommunications equipment, tobacco products, gas, electricity, motor vehicles, prepared food or any single item the price of which exceeds $2,500. Transfer of possession of or payment in full for the property must occur on one of those days and prior sales or layaway sales are ineligible. This subsection is repealed June 30, 2010.
A bill that came out of my committee (Utilities and Energy) is LD 73 An Act to Protect the Right to Use Solar Energy. I am on the minority report out of our committee. This bill is about having the right to put up a clothesline or solar collector. The majority report allows renters, people leasing, and property owners living in a municipality the right to put up a clothesline or solar collector if they choose. The minority report allows property owners living in a municipality the right to put up a clothesline or solar collector if they choose. I am on the minority report, becuase I believe if you are an apartment renter or condo owner then in most cases before you sign on the dotted line you are fully aware of your landlords or condo associations rules and regulations. The issue here is about property owners rights. I expect the bill to come back to the floor next week. The vote this week was very close. I am hoping we can defeat the majority report.
This Thursday was color day in the House. We all wore our best colorful outfits. Even the men got in on the fun!
Legislative Color Day 2009
Our last day this session is expected to be June 12th. I have really enjoyed the experience so far this session and I just want to thank you all who voted for me. I am very honored to be representing you all. My roll call right now is 94.7%. I missed several days in February because we were passing the flu around at our house. I hope to bring up my roll call even more in the next couple of weeks.
