Busy Day for Maine Legislative Committees

Committees consider proposals to protect children’s health, promote conservation, boost green home heating and improve boater safety

January 22, 2008

AUGUSTA – The Maine Legislature is back in full swing, and Tuesday was a busy day at the State House. Legislative committees considered a broad range of high-profile proposals that ranged from a ban on smoking in cars to promoting green home heating.

Although substantial issues like the state budget, school district consolidation, jail reorganization and health care have attracted much of the attention leading into the 2008 session, House Democrats have proposed a number of measures that aim to boost conservation and renewable energy, enhance laws to protect consumers and children’s health, and promote economic development.

A handful of those bills took steps in the legislative process Tuesday, including a widely-reported bill to ban smoking in cars when children are present. Mexico Rep. Sheryl Briggs presented the bill proposed by Rep. Pat Blanchette, who was unable to attend the hearing due to illness, to members of the Health and Human Services Committee in a public hearing. Several experts from varying backgrounds submitted testimony regarding the prevalence of smoking in cars, the potential savings if the ban goes into effect and the impact secondhand smoke has on children when in a confined space like a car.

Blanchette, D-Bangor, modeled her bill after a city ordinance passed last year in Bangor. She said that it should be the responsibility of the state to protect children who cannot otherwise speak for themselves, as kids do not have a choice when their parents smoke in the car. Blanchette’s bill would allow law enforcement agents to issue a warning or a fine of $50.

The Committee will hold a work schedule on the bill soon and make a recommendation to the entire legislature.

Another bill concerning automobiles and a different kind of airborne toxin was heard at the same time in the Natural Resources Committee, which considered a proposal from Portland Democratic Rep. Jon Hinck to limit idling of commercial vehicles.

The bill would prohibit commercial vehicle operators from leaving their vehicles running idle for more than five minutes when the temperature is above freezing, and sets other limits for loading and unloading cargo. Vehicles could idle longer in colder temperatures and the law would not apply to emergency vehicles or vehicles stuck in traffic. The bill includes some exemptions to provide for the safety and comfort of truck drivers.

Hinck told the Committee that idling not only wastes fuel, but also contributes to global warming and causes health problems, including asthma and heart disease. He said that childhood asthma is a silent epidemic in Maine. It is the most common chronic illness in children and a leading cause of school absences.

Hinck’s bill would not impose a restriction on private passenger vehicles.

Another bill presented Tuesday would also reduce pollution, and help Maine households to transition off of increasingly expensive heating oil and onto a green and inexpensive heating alternative.

Rep. Tim Carter presented a bill to the Utilities and Energy Committee that would allow consumers and businesses to overcome prohibitive installation costs for an otherwise cheap and renewable energy source by establishing a rebate program for the purchase and installation of geothermal heating units, similar to the solar energy rebate program implemented by Maine’s Public Utilities Commission.

Geothermal heating units take advantage of hot water and steam that exist below the earth’s surface to regulate the temperature of a home or business. Heat is pumped from the ground to the building during winter months to heat the home, and pumped out of the home back into the ground in the summer to keep the building cool.

“As home heating oil reaches record highs and our country’s dependence on oil finds us mired in an endless war, it is abundantly and urgently clear that we need to pursue clean, renewable heating options that will garner considerable savings in the long run for consumers and businesses alike,” Carter said in prepared testimony for the committee.

He said that the start-up costs of installing a geothermal unit is an upfront hurdle that many consumers are unable to make, but the long-term savings would more than pay for the price of the unit.

“The rebate program I’ve proposed would allow people to clear that hurdle and break their dependence on oil without breaking the bank,” Carter said.

Hinck and Carter’s bills will also be scheduled for a work session in the next few days.

Finally, the Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Committee worked on a bill sponsored by Rep. Thom Watson to require boater safety education for all motorboat users and personal watercraft users in the State.

Many recreational boaters and residents of lakeside towns joined a bipartisan group of legislators and representatives of the Warden Service and the Marine Patrol last week to testify in support of the bill, which would ensure that recreational boaters operating on Maine’s waterways possess the minimum boating safety knowledge necessary to ensure a safe and enjoyable experience for all users of the state’s waterways. Maine currently has the highest recreational boating fatality rate in New England. In 2007, 16 people died as a result of boating accidents in Maine.

The Committee held a vote and was split on whether to support the bill or not; however, only eight of the 13 committee members were present for the vote, so the committee will hold the bill until the remaining five members can weigh in.

Among other bills heard by committees Tuesday were a proposal that would provide substantial property and excise tax relief to certain veterans, sponsored by Kittery Democrat Walter Wheeler; and a proposal to require insurance coverage for colorectal cancer screenings, sponsored by Rep. Ed Mazurek, D-Rockland.

The Legislature’s schedule will get much heavier in the coming months, but Tuesday’s action represented the beginning of the fast pace that is common in Augusta while Legislators are in session.

Contact:

Travis Kennedy, Communications Director, 287-1433