Area lawmakers sponsor 60 bills in the 126th legislative session

    AUGUSTA — If local lawmakers get their way in the 126th Maine legislature there will be stricter domestic violence laws, state employees would be prohibited from making financial contributions to state legislative campaigns, Moose Mountain will have a new name and residents would be able to veto any decisions made by county commissioners. Piscataquis County state legislators Rep. Paul Davis (R-Sangerville) and Pete Johnson (R-Greenville) along with their colleagues in Penobscot County Ray Wallace (R-Dexter) and Kenneth Fredette (R-Newport) and State Senator Doug Thomas (R-Somerset) sponsored 60 of the 1,607 bills filed before the Jan. 18 deadline.

    Thomas, a two-term senator, sponsored the most bills with 19. One of Thomas’ proposals is an amendment to the state constitution which stemmed from last year’s debate about the East-West Highway. Thomas sponsored the resolution to allay peoples’ fears about being forced into selling their land to private interests who want to construct a 220-mile highway from Calais to Coburn Gore. The amendment would prohibit all government agencies from using eminent domain to sell or give land to a private entity.

    “There has been some talk in the legislature about de-funding the feasibility study. I’m more in favor of slowing the process down enough to settle the matter on eminent domain. Once we have clarified that then we should proceed with the study,” Thomas said. “There is an awful lot of people upset about the prospect of the government taking their land. This will let them know if they don’t want to sell, then they won’t have to.”

    Thomas has also sponsored legislation to allow residents to circulate a People’s Veto petition to overturn decisions made by county commissioners. The law is based on state law which allows citizens to petition legislation enacted by the state legislature.

    Thomas sponsored the legislation in response to the Piscataquis County Commissioners considering to discontinue the Campground Road in Elliotsville Twp last year. Several residents believed if the commissioners had discontinued the road it would have eventually led to a local landowner barring motor vehicles access to the Little Wilson Stream.

    “If the commissioners didn’t change their minds then the public would have had no recourse,” Thomas said. “Whether or not this bill passes, it will still be a good discussion about making public officials accountable for their actions.”

    Among the other bills Thomas has sponsored include allowing residents to purchase out-of-state prescription drugs by mail, assisting the “Save the Depot” project in Greenville and allowing the town of Atkinson to deorganize.

    Maine residents were allowed prior to the spring of 2012 to receive prescription medications by mail from Canada, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. Former Maine Attorney General William Schneider ruled last year that Mainers could participate in the CanaRx, which allowed residents to purchase safe and affordable prescription medication from licensed, inspected pharmacies in Canada, only by traveling across the border. Thomas hopes the bill will allow Maine companies like Hardwood Products in Guilford to save thousands of dollars on a yearly basis in their health insurance premiums.

    “It was working before the AG ruled that Mainers couldn’t receive out-of-state drugs by mail. I spoke to people at Hardwood and they believe it’s a good program that made a significant difference for their business and employees.”

    Johnson, a three-term representative, submitted 10 bills including one which would have a significant impact on state legislative races. Johnson has sponsored LR 670 “An Act to Limit Political Contributions by Public Employee Labor Unions.

    Under Johnson’s bill, the Maine State Employees Association and the Maine Education Association unions would be barred from contributing to candidates for state legislative offices. The measure would also bar unions from backing outside campaigns that support or oppose a candidate.

    Johnson believes a conflict of interest arises when public unions make political contributions to the same people they negotiate with over wages and benefits. The state retirement system has two versions one for more senior employees and a separate one for those with less seniority.

    “I think it’s a clear conflict of interest,” Johnson said. “We had an incident a few years ago when a former Senate President backed a legislation to close the gap in the state retirement system. She wanted to take $350 million profit in the pension fund to fix the shortfall for the older workers. The problem was the plan was already under funded. It would have made the unfunded part of the plan even greater.”

    Johnson indicated that his bill is not in response to the Republicans losing their majority after one term. He believes the use of public union money has been troubling for a long time.

    “I’ve been thinking about proposing it for years, but I had too much going on last session. It’s going to be a tough time getting through, but I really think it’s the right thing to do,” Johnson said.

    Among the other bills Johnson sponsored include “An Act to Rename Moose Mountain to Red Eagle Mountain,” “An Act to Improve the Freedom of Access Act” and a proposal to allow municipalities to establish business development loans using property tax revenue.

    Johnson sponsored the bill to change Moose Mountain’s name in an attempt too bridge the gap between locals who still  call it “Squaw Mountain” and Native Americans who believe the old name is ethnically insensitive. A constituent requested him to submit legislation for renaming the mountain after a local Native American legend Chief Henry Red Eagle of the Maliseet Tribe.

    Red Eagle was born in 1885. He was the first Native American to graduate from Greenville High School. He later earned a masters degree and was an accomplished writer and performed in Wild West shows in North America and Europe.

    “The intent is to bring the two sides together by finding a name that everybody can be proud of and accept,” Johnson said.    

    Wallace submitted the fewest bills with three. His bills included to streamline the publication of municipal reports, amend the Dexter Utility District charter and amend laws governing registering recreational vehicles.

    Davis is a three-term legislator and the ranking member on the Inland, Fisheries and Wildlife Committee. Eight of the 10 bills Davis submitted dealt with hunting, fishing, wildlife and gun safety. Among his bills are an amendment to the Maine constitution to permit the legislature to provide a one-year period of relief for the withdrawal of forest land from current use valuation, direct the Department of Transportation to add a reference to the Katahdin Trail on the sign at the first Newport exit on Interstate 95 and “An Act to Strengthen the Consent Laws for Abortions Performed on Minors and Incapacitated Persons.”

    Davis believes adding a sign indicating the Katahdin Trail’s route would be beneficial in bringing more tourists through Piscataquis County.

    “Right now the signs only read Dover-Foxcroft, Moose Mountain and Moosehead Lake. There is nothing about the Katahdin trail which runs along Route 7 toward Milo and Brownville Junction up to Millinocket. This will help bring more tourists into our area.”

    Minority Leader Fredette submitted 16. One was in regard to domestic violence legislation. He submitted the session’s first bill with LR 101 “An Act to Facilitate the Use of Electronic Monitoring to Prevent Domestic Violence.”

    Fredette proposed the bill in response to his work with domestic violence victims’ advocates in the aftermath of Amy Bagley and her two children’s murders in 2011. The bill would allow judges to use electronic monitoring devices as part of bail conditions in domestic violence cases.

    He also sponsored a bill to require a Child Protective Services presence in every Maine county. Piscataquis is one of four counties that doesn’t not have a CPS office.