By Rep. Chad Perkins, R-Dover-Foxcroft

There is a statewide problem no one is talking about. Maine businesses are on the verge of closing due to legislative inaction.

This is Rep. Chad Perkins of Dover-Foxcroft with the Weekly Republican Address. 

The State of Maine and the Maine Legislature, must embrace a change in policy focus if we want to protect Maine businesses and Maine jobs.

We can see from current events that any number of outside forces can affect businesses in Maine.

Poor federal monetary policy, natural disasters, and national labor strikes can create supply pressures that raise prices for Maine businesses, even if these events happen many states away from us. In order to protect Maine businesses, and the Maine people who rely on them to provide jobs, it is extremely important that the legislature prioritize policies that support and strengthen our businesses.

With several Republican colleagues, I have had the opportunity in the last two weeks to sit down with both professional trade organizations, ad-hoc groups of local businesses and local business owners and have heard how decisions made in Augusta are keeping local businesses from being competitive and profitable.

During these meetings, the two most common concerns cited by the businesses were net energy billing and looming worker and employer tax increases required for Paid Family Medical Leave.

Commercial electric users recently saw drastic electric rate jumps due to net energy billing legislation and are scheduled to see even more increases in January and June of next year.

This has already caused one employer in my district to cease operations – a company that 30 families relied on for a paycheck.

Another business operator, one of the largest employers in my district, pointed out that his company was owned by a larger, national company and that there was nothing that required the company from continuing to do business in my district when they could produce their product cheaper in another state because of lower energy costs.

If this company were to close as well, it would be devastating to households in my district.

These business, along with others, cited electric rates rising from 55 percent to 136 percent.

I can only imagine how similar rate raises are affecting other companies across the state, or how losing them would further damage Maine communities and our economy.

When the legislature was in session, the Office of the Public Advocate published a letter stating that the increased costs from Net energy billing was costing rate payers an additional $220 million a year, and estimated that it would cost at least $4 billion over the next 20 years.

In essence, Maine consumers, struggling to pay bills, pay .21 cents a kilowatt hour for electricity that costs as little as .05 cents to produce.

During this last legislative session, I sponsored one of two Republican bills that would have ended the policy of net energy billing. This would have stopped expensive and wasteful tax-payer funded subsidies to larger solar development projects.

It also would have lowered consumer bills, saved jobs, and made Maine more competitive with other states.

I am not against solar, such as small, individual “rooftop” solar projects.

I am against the $4 billion in rate-payer funds going to out-of-state companies to build wasteful solar farms that contribute very little to our overall electric grid.

Both of the bills were defeated as the focus of the majority party is on pursuing a ‘green energy’ agenda. The result is excessive prices for Maine families and businesses that get funneled to special interests.

Our state, and our elected officials, need to change focus and place the priority on Maine businesses, Maine jobs and Maine employees. They also need to focus on lowering energy costs for all Mainers.

Our state is already financially burdened like never before. Our state budget has gone from $8 billion to $13 billion in just the last five years. We cannot afford to lose any more Maine businesses or employers, a vital part of our tax base.

The Bureau of the Budget has now forecast a future general fund structural budget gap of over $636 million dollars and a highway fund gap of over $312 million dollars.

Those numbers are likely to get worse if the dockworkers strike is not resolved quickly.

In order to attract and keep businesses in Maine, we need to change the economic outlook for the State of Maine, and one of the first steps we can take in doing that is lowering energy costs.

Repealing the solar subsidies of net energy billing will have an immediate positive effect for both Maine businesses and the average Maine consumer.

This has been Rep. Chad Perkins with the Weekly Republican Radio Address. I’d like to thank you for listening, subscribing, sharing and following us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Rep. Perkins is currently serving his first term in the Maine House representing District 31, which includes the towns of Brownville, Dover-Foxcroft, Lake View Plantation, Medford, Milo, the Orneville Township, Southeast Piscataquis, and the Atkinson Township.  He serves on the 131st Legislature’s Joint Standing Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety.

Rep. Perkins served in the United States Army for 11 years, specializing in armor, intel, and aviation. He serves his community as a member of the American Legion, North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association, Gun Owners of America, American Radio Relay League, Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine, Project Appleseed, and Gun Owners of Maine.

He and his wife, Dorothea, have 10 children: Haley, Olanna, Kala, Chad, Lliam, Owen, Brynn, Ainsley, Jordan, and Evelyn.