Did a powerful state council charged with setting the legislative agenda act in haste last month when it summarily tossed out scores of proposals? A series of recent re-steps suggests that it did just that.
Maine’s Legislative Council heard appeals last Thursday regarding its decisions on 81 proposed bills that the council initially rejected and accepted 16 previously rejected proposals, though only two were submitted by Republicans.
During their October meeting, the council, composed of six Democrats and four Republicans, voted on 258 proposed bills, determining that 82 would go forward to be considered as full bills in the upcoming session. The initial vote did not give bill sponsors an opportunity to defend their proposals, and the council only had bill titles and a brief explanation to go by when casting their votes.
Through the appeals process, however, sponsors of rejected proposals have the opportunity to write a letter explaining why they believe their legislation should be reconsidered and are allowed time to speak during the meeting.
Only two Republican-led bills were accepted during the appeals process: one from Rep. William Tuell (R-East Machias) and one from Rep. James White (R-Guilford), and neither bill addressed controversial issues.
Rep. Tuell’s proposal, “An Act Designating July 21st as Remembrance Day for Those Who Fish Commercially in Maine,” initially failed in a 6-4 vote, with opposition from Democrats and support from Republicans.
He was able to convince the Council to reconsider with a letter expressing the importance of honoring Maine fishermen who lost their lives at sea.
“Yes, this is simply naming a day, but as you will hear by those in the industry in the coming weeks, it is so much more than that,” said Tuell.
He also appealed a more notable proposal for a bill that would have required counties to hold a countywide referendum vote to approve budgets, but the Democrat-led council failed to approve that appeal. Voters in Washington county, part of which Tuell represents, shot down a request at the ballot box earlier to bail out county-level governments for its years of overspending and accounting errors.
The Council also accepted Rep. James White’s (R-Guilford) appeal of his proposed “An Act to Align the Law Governing Emergency Equipment for Trucks and Truck Tractors with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Act,” which previously failed with a 5-5 vote, drawing support from all Republicans and one Democrat on the Council.
That proposal would make extremely minor alterations to the legal language governing emergency reflectors on trucks.
One notable Democratic proposal came from Rep. Holly Stover (D-Boothbay) and aims to add additional deterrence against commercial sexual exploitation.
Her “An Act to Increase Accountability of Those Engaged in Commercial Sexual Exploitation and Human Trafficking and to Support Victims” initially failed with a 3-7 vote, but she was able to win over the council during her appeal.
“We simply cannot wait another year to consider how we could better deter these heinous crimes and provide increased support for survivors,” said Rep. Stover in her appeal letter.
Her proposal would impose fines on those engaged in commercial sexual exploitation and human trafficking, in addition to the penalties already associated with those crimes, and use those fines to combat sex trafficking and support its victims.
